Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World,Books,0446407410,

	Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron
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Product Details Binding Hardcover Dewey Decimal Number 636.80929 EAN 9780446407410 ISBN 0446407410 Manufacturer Grand Central Publishing Number Of Items 1 Number Of Pages 288 Publication Date September 24, 2008 Publisher Grand Central Publishing Availability Usually ships in 24 hours Product Description How much of an impact can an animal have? How many lives can one cat touch? How is it possible for an abandoned kitten to transform a small library, save a classic American town, and eventually become famous around the world? You can't even begin to answer those questions until you hear the charming story of Dewey Readmore Books, the beloved library cat of Spencer, Iowa. Dewey's story starts in the worst possible way. Only a few weeks old, on the coldest night of the year, he was stuffed into the returned book slot at the Spencer Public Library. He was found the next morning by library director, Vicki Myron, a single mother who had survived the loss of her family farm, a breast cancer scare, and an alcoholic husband. Dewey won her heart, and the hearts of the staff, by pulling himself up and hobbling on frostbitten feet to nudge each of them in a gesture of thanks and love. For the next nineteen years, he never stopped charming the people of Spencer with his enthusiasm, warmth, humility, (for a cat) and, above all, his sixth sense about who needed him most. As his fame grew from town to town, then state to state, and finally, amazingly, worldwide, Dewey became more than just a friend; he became a source of pride for an extraordinary Heartland farming town pulling its way slowly back from the greatest crisis in its long history. One frigid Midwestern winter night in 1988, a ginger kitten was shoved into the after-hours book-return slot at the public library in Spencer, Iowa. And in this tender story, Myron, the library director, tells of the impact the cat, named DeweyReadmore Books, had on the library and its patrons, and on Myron herself. Through her developing relationship with the feline, Myron recounts the economic and social history of Spencer as well as her own success story—despite an alcoholic husband, living on welfare, and health problems ranging from the difficult birth of her daughter, Jodi, to breast cancer. After her divorce, Myron graduated college (the first in her family) and stumbled into a library job. She quickly rose to become director, realizing early on that this was a job I could love for the rest of my life. Dewey, meanwhile, brings disabled children out of their shells, invites businessmen to pet him with one hand while holding the Wall Street Journal with the other, eats rubber bands and becomes a media darling. The book is not only a tribute to a cat—anthropomorphized to a degree that can strain credulity (Dewey plays hide and seek with Myron, can read her thoughts, is mortified by his hair balls)—it's a love letter to libraries. (Sept.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Her first thought upon hearing a strange sound coming from the book drop one frigid January morning was 'this can't be good.' In fact, for both the tiny kitten found shivering in the metal box's corner and for Myron, director of the Spencer Public Library, the discovery was the best thing that ever happened to either of them, and to the tiny Iowa farming community beset by an unrelenting string of economic challenges. Filthy and frostbitten, the kitten was in dire need of massive doses of TLC; fortunately, the library staff, patrons, and townspeople had plenty to spare. The story of how a bedraggled orange fur ball became 'Dewey Readmore Books,' an enchantingly irresistible library mascot capable of bringing international attention to a small midwestern town and melting the heart of even the most curmudgeonly visitor, is uplifting enough; but woven among the cute-cat anecdotes are Myron's own inspirational stories of enduring welfare, the abuses of an alcoholic husband, breast cancer, and single motherhood. Myron's beguiling, poignant, and tender tale of survival, loyalty, and love is an unforgettable study in the mysterious and wondrous ways animals, and libraries, enrich humanity. --Booklist--Starred Review, August 1, 2008 An abandoned kitten serves as balm, comic relief and social director to a hard-pressed Midwestern town. The feline came in through the book drop on a bone-crackingly cold winter's night. The place was the public library of Spencer, Iowa, where the corn grows nine feet high and the earth is so fertile 'you would swear the ground is about to push up and tip the sky right out of the picture.' But this was in the 1980s, when the farm crisis was in full tilt; lenders had foreclosed on 50 percent of the family farms in northwest Iowa by the end of the decade. Local librarian Myron paints a town in crisis: economically, socially and in terms of the human spirit. She was in crisis too and neatly tucks her own recovery into the larger story of the town's gradual rejuvenation. Named Dewey (after the decimal system), the kitten became the library mascot and a synecdoche: 'He never lost his trust, no matter what the circumstances, or his appreciation for life...He was confident.' Myron doesn't overplay this metaphor, but works it subtly as she depicts the town's fortunes reviving and shows Dewey playing his role in that revival with composure, social skills, patience and a measure of mischief. In an easeful voice and with an eye for detail, she delineates Spencer: its economic swings, the lay of the land, the Prairie Deco downtown. Dewey is the pivot; he even became a bit of a national celebrity, and the New York Times ran his obit. He was, this loving account demonstrates, the right cat in the right place for Spencer and most certainly for its librarian. Intimate portrait of a place snugly set within its historical moment, preserved in Myron's understated, well-polished prose. How much of an impact can an animal have? How many lives can one cat touch? How is it possible for an abandoned kitten to transform a small library, save a classic American town, and eventually become famous around the world? You can't even begin to answer those questions until you hear the charming story of Dewey Readmore Books, the beloved library cat of Spencer, Iowa. Dewey's story starts in the worst possible way. Only a few weeks old, on the coldest night of the year, he was stuffed into the returned book slot at the Spencer Public Library. He was found the next morning by library director, Vicki Myron, a single mother who had survived the loss of her family farm, a breast cancer scare, and an alcoholic husband. Dewey won her heart, and the hearts of the staff, by pulling himself up and hobbling on frostbitten feet to nudge each of them in a gesture of thanks and love. For the next nineteen years, he never stopped charming the people of Spencer with his enthusiasm, warmth, humility, (for a cat) and, above all, his sixth sense about who needed him most. As his fame grew from town to town, then state to state, and finally, amazingly, worldwide, Dewey became more than just a friend; he became a source of pride for an extraordinary Heartland farming town pulling its way slowly back from the greatest crisis in its long history. Vicki Myron was born on a farm fifteen miles from Spencer, Iowa. At the age of thirty-four, after a failed marriage, single motherhood, and a stint on welfare,she graduated summa cum laude from MankatoStateUniversity and has a masters degree from EmporiaStateUniversity.She worked at the Spencer Public Library for twenty-five years, the last twenty as director. She lives in Spencer, Iowa. Bret Witter is a book editor and professional writer. Raised in north Alabama, he currently lives in Louisville, Kentucky, with his wife, two children and his fourteen-year-old cat Kiki. His other cat, Feasor, died four days after the completion of this book. Customers who bought this item also bought Wesley the Owl: The Remarkable Love Story of an Owl and His Girl The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel (Oprah Book Club #62) Letter to My Daughter American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House Customer Reviews for: Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World Rating - Underwhelming I'm sure Dewey was a great cat, but this book would have been better as a short story or even an essay. There simply wasn't enough material here about Dewey, the supposed subject of the book. Additionally, I really disliked how the author constantly anthropomorphized him, even going so far as to say what he was thinking (in italics) throughout the book. Overall, I felt that the quality of the writing was lacking. I skimmed the last third of the book, just to get through it. It just wasn't as enjoyable as all ... Read More Rating - Purfectly wonderful TAIL I loved this book. It was the best read I had in a very long time. After seeing this in the check out line at Best Buy (of all places) I checked it out of our local library. I laughed, I cried and was uplifted by the stories of Dewey, Vicki and the entire town of Spencer. It goes to show that one person (or in this case, cat) really can make a difference in peoples lives. Thank you, Vicki, for sharing the story of Dewey Readmore Books with the world. I wanted the book to go on forever as it was such an enjoyable ... Read More Rating - Heart warming Dewey This was a nice book. I would have liked more about the cats day to day antics and more pictures, but the author by using history of the area around her helped you understand Deweys appeal. Nice book see more reviews See all books by author Vicki Myron

Books : Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World