The Cat Who Wouldn't Come Inside

This is an absolutely delightful, touching story that is visually beautiful and cleverly executed. All of us cat lovers have experienced elusive cats that we would like to have closer to us. Friends of mine live in a Victorian house that looks a whole lot like the one in the story, and they have a cat in their yard they feed who won't come inside. (Fortunately we live in California so no snow to contend with, as in the book.) When I heard about this book in Cat Fancy magazine I bought it to give them but wanted to keep it too. You can't miss if you buy this book.

The Cat Who Wouldn't Come Inside is a touching story of trust, patience, friendship and love, thoughtfully written and exquisitely illustrated by Cynthia von Buhler with such warmth and detail that you feel like you too have been invited inside the charming Victorian home. The Cat Who Wouldn't Come Inside is the story of a little Victorian girl who leaves warm milk on her porch for a stray cat she invites inside, but the cat will not come in. Each day the girl leaves gifts for the cat on the porch, and again invites the cat inside. Each day the cat declines her invitation. Children will delight in the repetition of the story, while parents enjoy the artistry of the illustrations and the variation as the gifts build in grandeur from a simple bowl of milk to elaborate Victorian furnishings. With patience and time, the cat comes to trust the little girl and eventually shows her affection by inviting the little girl into the cat's home they have built on the porch. This storybook and the true story of Olympus, the stray cat von Buhler rescued which inspired her tale, will touch everyone's heart. The Cat Who Wouldn't Come Inside is complemented by von Buhler's website, [...] which has been skillfully crafted to showcase her storybook with the same attention to detail and beautiful illustrations. Click on your mouse to discover personal information about von Buhler and the inspiration for her story, an inside look at the making of the book and the Victorian house (von Buhler's childhood dollhouse), step-by-step instructions for young readers to make and showcase their own clay kitty and reviews, and valuable information for saving other cats. Both The Cat Who Wouldn't Come Inside and its complementary website, [...], are extraordinary!

This book is destined to become a classic. The author and illustrator is talented indeed and spins a clever, humorous, and also touching tale based on a true story (she herself rescues cats). My niece already has the book memorized. And according to von Buhler's web site, she's donating part of the book's proceeds to a local animal shelter. There's nothing NOT to love about this charming book.

I was really impressed with this book as an object when I first saw it. It's beautifully designed, and pretty high quality for its genre (many kids books these days are kind of cheap). It looks expensive, like a leatherbound volume from the library of some old English manor house. There are some very cute, whimsical touches, like cat scratch marks on the "wallpaper" lining the inside of the covers. The artwork is unimpeachable, and it's really novel the way von Buhler seems to have exclusively used clay to sculpt the characters and then photographed them, rather than painting or drawing them. According to the author's note on the dust jacket and also the book's stellar website (can be found via Google), the story is based on Cynthia's own experience taming a stray cat. It is sweet and heartwarming story of a stray cat who learns to trust a human, and a human who learns to accommodate the cat's needs in a cute way. Kids I've read this to seem to really like that it's based on someone's actual experience. The visuals are interesting for everyone, not just children. They are amazing and quirky and include an elaborate set with easy-to-miss details like pieces of tuna sushi, tiny framed pictures of frogs on the wall, a ouija board on the coffee table, and lit period lamps that appear to actually plug into the wall! I've bought this book for a couple of my nephews and the children of friends, and every single one of them has ended up loving it, whether I'm reading it to them or they're looking at the pictures themselves and talking about various details they notice. It is truly delightful, and an excellent find for any shopper looking to buy a book for kids in the 2-6 year old range. After coming across it, I also discovered that the author has illustrated several other people's books, but none of them in this style. I'll have to check those out as well. Highly recommended!

Just a simply beautiful and wonderful book! Our 4 year old daughter loves it so much, she demands we read it to her every night! A real treat!