Babette

This was my favorite book from childhood. I still have it. I am 65 years old.

Due to having a "one cat" apartment, after BABETTE had been completed, my mother took Babette to live with her own parents in Flint, MI. As Clare told the story, "At first, my rather taciturn father regarded Babette with skepticism and said','She looks like a weasel! Of course, my mother loved Babette. However, Babette had made up her mind to win Dad and followed him around,looking up at him as if to say 'You great big wonderful man!'In a few days, I noticed Daddy edging over on his chair to make room for Babette. Before I'd left he'd get up in the middle of the night to make sure she was covered in her basket. I've just had a letter saying that he now takes her walking on a leash, and doesn't care a whoop what the neighbors think of that!"Both Babette and Mittens spent their retirement years living with my grandparents in their cozy little house. I am glad BABETTE is newly printed--even if it is listed as "out of print," it is brand-new.

I first read this over 30 years ago when I was six. It made me want a siamese cat. I have lived with a succession of them from age 16 onwards. The illustrations are still with me now. hurry up and reprint it, I'm sure Im not the only onewaiting to buy it.

I first became familiar with Clare Newberry's books a couple of years ago when a lady came into the Barnes & Noble store where I work looking for 'Babette,' which was read to her as a little girl (at least some 40 years prior). At that time, the book was still out of print, but for some reason, this lady's request stuck in my mind. I was very excited when I saw that 'Babette' and other Newberry titles had been reissued and were on display in our store. I love cats, and the charcoal illustrations in these books are simply precious (I have made my coworkers sick, gushing over them as I do!). I figure any book that someone will actively seek out after 40 or more years is a bona fide gem. I have since collected all of Newberry's cat books (Smudge, Mittens, April's Kittens...). Young cat & kitten lovers will especially prize these beautiful books!

My Aunt Winnie, who raised Siamese cats, gave me an autographed copy of this when I was a child. Unfortunately, I no longer have that original copy. How wonderful that this book, and Ms. Newberry's other books, are being re-published. They are really special.