This is a very different book than we have ever read before. It is all written in letters. I know why Daddy Tim brought it to me, the main character (that’s what readers call made-up kitties or humans in books!) The made-up kitty character in the book is a pretty orange kitty named Tabby. She is so smart that SHE writes. |
I never had a typewriter (which is what Daddy Tim calls the thing Tabby writes letters on. It’s like Daddy’s laptop with a paper screen). Daddy Tim says there used to be a human lady named Abby who offered advice to other humans on all kinds of topics in her newspaper column "Dear Abby", so that is where Carolyn Crimi came up with "Dear Tabby." Ha ha! (Though I am not sure little humans will know that). I didn't know newspapers were anything more than toys or litterbox liners! |
The animals write Tabby letters, like a dog named Manfred who is bored (dogs are too dumb to ever be bored!). Tabby tells him to try chasing his tail…see he was too dumb to think of that on his own. And a parrot named Polly who wonders why no one likes her (it’s because she won’t shut up). And a skunk named Stanky who worries that no one will ever love him. She even advises a hamster to stop running in his wheel all the time and enjoy life more by eating celery and smelling the cedar chips. What a smart kitty! |
So mostly I really like the book since it is so true to my life…excerpt for the advice Tabby gives the cat Boots. Boots lives with a little girl human who is terribly annoying. First Boots doesn’t like sardines & that’s all she gets…Tabby tells Books that she never gets things like that because she doesn’t have a human.
Like I said I like this book a lot. Tabby and I have a lot in common. I think little humans will like it too. David Roberts’s illustrations are like cartoons, but they are bright and funny and perfect for the story.
Today’s Tip for Cat Children of Human People (CaCHuPs): Send food
(What? Tabby gets sardines and table scraps for her advice! Why shouldn’t you all send me food for all the wonderful advice I have given you in the past couple years? I like butter and treats and bluebag food and anything fishy in a can!)