If you're a cat lover then I'm sure you'll enjoy these 2 new picture books that we have just received at the King Library: Minette's Feast by Susanna Reich and I am Tama, Lucky Cat by Wendy Henrichs.

In Minette's Feast we are introduced to "Minette Mimosa McWilliams Child who was perhaps the luckiest cat in all of Paris." You see Minette belonged to Julia Child and her husband Paul Child who both believed that "a house without a cat is like life without sunshine!" As we follow Julia Child as she begins her cooking career, Minette is always there; perhaps taking a nibble of a new recipe, or feasting on the meat still clinging to a bone, or perfecting her hunting skills by chasing "a Brussels sprout tied to a string." Minette truly was a lucky cat! The illustrations are charming, done in pencil and water colors and the book is a wonderful introduction to that most famous chef, Julia Child.

I Am Tama, Lucky Cat: A Japanese Legend by Wendy Henrichs. Ceramic cats with one upraised paw are said to bring good luck and prosperity. In her book, Wendy Heinrichs lets Tama tell the traditional story of the cat's origin. Tama, a homeless Japanese bobtail, is taken in by a very poor monk who feeds her, loves her and takes good care of her. Both feel very fortunate to have each other and Tama always tries to repay his kindness in small ways. One day during a raging storm a wealthy samurai comes by their home and Tama manages to save his life by raising her right paw to him. The samurai repays Tama and her master by making their temple his "family's place of honor". At the end the old monk says to Tama, "you truly are a lucky cat, for you brought good fortune to us all." This is a beautiful retelling of the legend with wonderful watercolor illustrations. Give it a read.

Best books reviewer Peggy Sharp ranked Sarah Week's Pie (AR 5.0, Level 5.6) as the number one book that she read in 2011. To find this title, try our wonderful Link+ system!

The cover is captivating for children. I know of a child who selected this book from the Scholastic book order because of the cover. This same child highly recommends this book; she could not put down the title until she finished it.

Don't be fooled by the funny cat cover because this book is definitely a page-turner. Well, I guess I should amend that since some adult mysteries do have funny pictures of animals on the cover! At its core, Pie is a mystery, but a non-traditional mystery. Don't expect spooky-doings!

Alice is heartbroken. Her favorite Aunt Polly is full of love and insight. However, Aunt Polly's untimely death leaves a void in Alice's life. Her Aunt knew that the path to happiness lay in finding one's true talent and sharing that talent with others. Alice's bitter mother has yet to learn this truth. Jealousy eats at Alice's mother, who makes everyone else miserable. Alice's mother is especially angry about the recipient of Aunt Polly's pie crust recipe: Lardo the cat! Alice and her friend Charlie seek to find out what is behind several disappearances through various hilarious misadventures.

Sarah Weeks is best known for her young adult novel, So B It. Personally, I have enjoyed her picture book series about Mrs. McNosh, beginning with Mrs. McNosh Hangs Up Her Wash. I love authors who like to dabble in writing for different age groups. Ms. Weeks is especially gifted at knowing what will entertain different age groups. Read Pie not only for the story, but also for the pie recipes as well!

A little girl interacts with three friendly and energetic cats. Repetition and simple vocabulary make Oh, Cats! written by Nola Buck and illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott, a nice story for beginning readers. Children who don’t read yet may enjoy the repetition, rhyming and cute illustrations.   

Cat Days, written by Alexa Andrews and illustrated by John & Wendy is another helpful book for emergent readers.  A friendly green-eyed orange cat sits, plays and runs in this simple, gentle story.  

Three suspicious cats will question your authority to read this delightful new picture book by author Jef Czekaj. As it is clearly explained in Cat Secrets, this book is strictly for cat eyes only!

In order to be allowed access, you will need to pass several cat tests that will have you meowing, purring, stretching, and napping to prove your worth. Along the way, extra observant readers may notice another silent character on the pages who is also trying to get his hands... er, paws on this top secret book. 

I went on vacation recently and took my Kindle which was loaded with books I'd wanted to read. My sister brought one paperback book, Homer's Odyssey. As she was reading she kept telling the rest of us little snippets from the book. Pretty soon we were all asking her to tell us more about Homer, the blind wonder cat. 

Homer goes through several major events, moving several times within a few years, finally ending up in New York from Miami, then promptly getting trapped in a building during the events of 9/11.  Yes, this one of those books for animal lovers, the cat is super cute, the story is inspiring and life affirming, but really, you should read it because it's so much fun to see the world through Homer's eyes!

Kids love dogs and cats, including grown-up kids.  That's speaking from experience. Growing up, I was closer to our family's calico cat Patches, and our next-door neighbor's dachshund Gus, than I was to my siblings. (Shh.... don't tell them that.)

Dogs and Cats takes that innate fondness kids have for their pets, and runs with it. While the short book can easily be read at one sitting, and is designed to appeal most to children from about age 6 to about age 10, it is packed full of information, for the most part dished out in one-paragraph nuggets.  For example, on one page we learn why dogs chase balls, why dogs roll in manure, why they bark at strangers, and why they are easy to housebreak. On another page, we learn why cats purr, whether they can see in the dark, why they sleep so much, and why they chase their tails. 

The book is beautifully laid-out, with attractive pictures on every page. A nifty little trick, too, that makes one go "Wow. How neat!", is that the book can be read from both sides. Namely, open the book, then start reading about dogs. Close the book, flip it over, open it, and now you're reading about cats. 

So whether you read this book back to front, or front to back, if you are fond of your pets, you're sure to like this book. Enjoy! And pet your cat or dog while reading it, too!