Between 2010 and 2019, Cauli Le Chat (2006?-2020), feline roving reporter for Mooresville Public Library (Mooresville, Indiana), reported all things interesting to cats (and humans) happening at the library. Related stories from across the state (and beyond) were also included.
The New York Public Library lions, Patience and Fortitude, have been greeting patrons since 1911. When Patience disappears, Fortitude must search the library high and low before sunrise, when they both must return to their pedestals. Can you help them be reunited?
MPL Book Trailer #464
Lost in the Library: A Story of Patience & Fortitude
by Josh Funk (illustrated by Stevie Lewis)
This delightful children's picture book will entertain young readers while they help Fortitude search for his lost friend, learning about the New York Public Library along the way.
If you ever have a chance to meet the lions in person, you should. They are quite an impressive pair! I met them at the end of 2011, as I previously blogged. Buffalo Gal took my picture and everything.
I can certainly relate to the feline main characters in Paul Gallico's classic children's chapter novel, The Abandoned (1950). Minions, make with the book trailer.
MPL Book Trailer #460
The Abandoned, by Paul Gallico
Human readers may find it far-fetched that the little boy Peter turns into a white cat after being accidentally struck by a coal lorry (in American English, that's a truck). The change is definitely an improvement, as far as I'm concerned. Peter is only cat on the outside, however; inside, he's still a little boy, and that makes him a lousy street-roaming kitty. Luckily, he quickly meets Jennie, a street-wise feline who is willing to teach Peter the ropes and watch out that his human qualities don't get him into too much trouble.
It's truly a hard life for strays--I know, for I've lived it--but with good friends to take care of one another, the duo sets sail from London to Glasgow in search of Jennie's family. Although Jennie is a heart-hardened cat--her experience with humans has been filled with betrayal and sadness--Peter's humanity shines through at times, teaching his protector that not all two-leggeds are irretrievably bad.
Can the little boy trapped inside a furry feline body find his way home? You'll have to read the novel to find out. Can he change back to being a kid-person again? More to the point, why would he want to? Being a cat is such an improvement over being human.
Although this novel is classified as a children's chapter book, it would be a difficult read for any people under age eleven. I think it would be better suited for older 'Tweens and young adults (traditional teens) (i.e., ages 11-18), and even adult readers should thoroughly enjoy Peter and Jennie's adventures. So, in short, ages 11 and older would be my recommendation.
The author, Paul Gallico (1897-1976), was clearly a cat lover who wrote several novels (and nonfiction books) devoted to feline characters. Goodreads has an excellent bibliography of Gallico's books, of which my library has three available to checkout from our Evergreen Indiana catalog (search all Evergreen libraries to find additional Gallico works).
On a personal note, I was once a street-wandering kitty. Having a loving family and a forever home is much better. Thank you, kindly couple, for "rescuing" moi. That said, I still enjoy venturing out now and again, so let's leave that kitty door open, shall we? 'Nuff said.
My library has recently completed a book trailer featuring a wonderful children's picture book called Angel in Beijing, by Belle Yang (Sommerville, MA : Candlewick Press, 2018).
Angel in Beijing, by Belle Yang
(MPL Book Trailer #447)
Through most of the book, the white cat is named "Kitty," but by the end, her name is Angel, because, as it turns out, she can actually fly (with the help of a huge kite). I became quite distressed when the little girl couldn't find Kitty after she disappeared over some trees holding onto the kite's tail (Kitty, not the little girl). But all ends well. This book showcases the beauty of Beijing in delightful drawings, and the story shows how love and kindness are best when shared.
Checkout the book from our Evergreen Indiana catalog to read to your young human(s). If you don't have a library card, you could always buy a copy from your favorite bookseller. We felines (and slobberdogs) will enjoy the readaloud, too. But don't read to kittens--they're too scatterbrained to pay proper attention. If you know Harley Quinn, my "cub" kitty reporter, you'll know what I mean.
The Lady With the Red Hair Tries to Read to Harley Quinn
This week a charming new children's picture book arrived at my library. I think that title's misleading, however. Those seven cats were never so bad! At least, not from their point of view.
Seven Bad Cats, by Moe Bonneau
(MPL Book Trailer #435)
The book's available to checkout from our Evergreen Indiana catalog. It is a wonderful readaloud that human kids (and cats) will enjoy. The book is written in rhyme, so that's how we did the book trailer.
Remember, cats having fun are never bad. That's our story, and we're sticking to it!
What makes a cat . . . a cat? That's the theme of a delightful new children's picture book. Naturally, we have a book trailer.
MPL Book Trailer #419
I Am A Cat, by Galia Bernstein
Simon is a cute cat--what humans typically call a house cat. (Like we're going to be stuck inside a house if we want to go out? Still, it's probably less insulting than domesticated cat, which is obviously an oxymoron.) Simon knows he is a feline, but his bigger cousins disagree. The large wild felines each describe cats in their own terms, depending upon their specific physical attributes (fur color, fur length, spots, ability to run fast, etc.) But Simon sees beyond superficial physical characteristics to see the commonality among all felines. Finally, the big cats get the big picture.
This is a heartwarming book that shows young readers that we may look different, but we're all cats. I think that works for people, too.
Meet the official mascot of my library's youth services department.
Meet Captain Book, by Mooresville Public Library
(click arrow above to play video)
What about moi?, you may ask. Why am I not the official youth services mascot? For starters, I am the library's official feline roving reporter (retired), which is much higher on the food chain than a mere mascot. So the captain can do that--it's okay by moi. I'm just relieved that I'm not being replaced.
TV's Amanda did a great job introducing Captain Book in that promo trailer (video). She's a natural talent, given her family's television background.
What will Captain Book be doing at the library? You'll have to drop by to find out! What am I, a social secretary? Not!
Seriously, the captain will be doing lots of fun things with TV's Amanda in her children's programs. Those superpowers will come in handy once programming resumes on Monday, January 29.
LAST UPDATED: April 3, 2018. Little human kids love reading aloud to our Paws 2 Read slobberdog, Darla, who is an excellent listener. (Humans call her a dog, but I call all canines slobberdogs, because, well, they do. They just do.)
Darla
(Click Image to Bigify)
Paws 2 Read is a literacy program offered at the Library to help young people folks improve their reading skills. Please drop by our youth services desk to sign-up. Darla will be listening to young readers on the first and third Saturdays of each month from 10-11 a.m. in one of our study rooms.
I applaud the wonderful service this nice slobberdog is doing for our community. Maybe she can open a can of tuna-in-oil for moi as well. You can never have too many useful skills, slobberdogs. Just saying.
Your Roving Reporter On The Go,
Cauli Le Chat
MPL Book Trailer #363
P.S. A few days ago, we created this book trailer (above) featuring the children's picture book, Madeline Finn and the Library Dog, by Lisa Papp. It's a fun read! It would be especially good to read to Darla.
Although I've been retired for some time from my job as MPL feline roving reporter, I couldn't resist blogging about an exciting new children's chapter book, Lucky, by Chris Hill. It's about scurrydogs. Well, that's what I call them. You may call them something else entirely.
Lucky, by Chris Hill (MPL Book Trailer #263)
You'll see why this red scurrydog is called Lucky in our book trailer (above). I'll help with the reading-between-the-lines bit:
Lucky escaped the talons of a hawkenswooper (humans call them hawks, probably for short);
He was "adopted" by a grey scurrydog clan called the Cloudfoot;
He hasn't gotten beaten up (yet) by the rival scurrydog clan, the Northenders;
He's living in Albion Park, which has bunches of places where humans toss away perfectly good food (plus the trees have nuts, the bushes berries, etc., which I assume scurrydogs eat);
None of the many other predators in the park (including slobberdogs and felines) have decided to make a snack out of him; and
He's a character in a book, so the writer can get him out of any tight jams with a flourish of keyboard strokes.
Actually, it's quite an exciting story for children who enjoy chapter books (so we're talking human elementary school grades 3-6, presumably). I'd recommend it for humans aged 8-11. Younger felines, of course, might enjoy it, too. Slobberdogs might, also, if they had someone to read to them (like our Paws to Read program at the Library).
One of my Library's recently cataloged children's chapter books is Listen to the Moon, a novel by Michael Morpurgo, who also wrote War Horse. Learn more on the author's website.
Naturally, we have a book trailer.
MPL Book Trailer #229
Young readers aged 9-12 and early teens should find this an enjoyable read.
Thanking the Moon: Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, by Grace Lin, is a delightful children's picture book that tells about a family's nighttime celebration. I'm down with all things nocturnal. Our book trailer elaborates.
MPL Book Trailer #228
Near the end of the story, the family sends out wishes for the coming year. What would your wish be?
A Tale of Two Beasts, by Fiona Roberton, is a delightful children's picture book that looks at a human/wild critter encounter from both perspectives--the little girl's and the critter's. The little girl thinks she is giving the wild critter a happy home, but the critter thinks otherwise. Eventually, they find common ground based upon mutual affections. The book is available to checkout from our Evergreen Indiana catalog.
I had a similar experience once. Back in December, 2010, when I was hanging around outside Mooresville Public Library (mostly in the Kinder Garden outdoor program area), it was getting well below zero degrees Fahrenheit at night. Assuming I was a stray, Kindly Couple, one of whom worked for MPL (the other volunteered here), thought that I might freeze outside, so they hustled moi into their car and took moi to their home. I stayed for a couple weeks in their son's bedroom, which was nice and toasty warm. They fed moi some excellent meals, I must say. I was safe and secure. But it wasn't my style; I'd been a free-roaming feline for years, and I hankered to return to the travelling ways. One day, they let moi out the front door for some fresh air, and I was off in a flash! They didn't catch moi again, but I decided it was nice having a human house to lounge around, so I moved into a neighbor's home just up the hill from Kindly Couple's abode.
Of course, I returned to the Library frequently to resume my then-newly established feline roving reportership. It wasn't such a long journey, and I was accustomed to walking vast distances everywhere. So I reported about all things Library-related (or anything else I felt like blogging about) until my retirement in March, 2015. I'm pretty much an indoor kitty now, only roaming around the yard at my forever home (I decided, after all, that Kindly Couple were fun to hang around.) As I've gotten older, I don't have wanderlust so much.
Don't get moi wrong: I truly appreciated Kindly Couple's thoughtfulness back in 2010. But we freedom felines don't like to be hemmed in; it cramps our exploratory natures. There's a lesson there, minions.
The Library's seasonal reading programs give children the first step toward a lifetime of literary pleasure. Our program trailer elaborates.
Library Children's Reading Programs Promo Trailer
by Mooresville Public Library
Drop by our youth services desk to sign-up for our children's reading programs. Winter reading runs until January 31. Don't be (wait for it . . .) left out in the cold. Climb aboard a good book today. Check-out our tens of thousands of cool reading with your Evergreen Indiana library card.
Watch the books pile up as your preschoolers (assuming, of course, that you have some--if not, you could always borrow) enjoy reading a thousand books before kindergarten. That's a whole lotta books, to be sure, but your kiddies can do it in our 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program. Crafty Gal can show you how. Our program trailer elaborates.
1,000 Books Before Kindergarten Program Trailer
Our early literacy crowd enjoys children's picture books, and read-alouds count toward reading totals. So this is definitely doable. Check out tons of books at the Library, and you're good to go. Need some ideas for fun reading? We've got a playlist for that.
MPL Book Trailer Playlist, Children's Picture Books (Click Play Button Above to Start Videos) (Or CLICK HERE to See the Playlist)
