All About ‘Dewey’

   The yellow kitten that turned up in the most unexpected of places under the most dire of circumstances ended up with the best of all possible lives. And now his uplifting story is told in “Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World.”
   Author Vicki Myron (with help from Bret Witter) describes how she found the kitten in the Spencer (Iowa) Library book drop box on a bitterly cold January day in 1988. From that terrifying start, young Dewey Readmore Books embarked on a lifelong career as an adorable library cat. Dewey’s people-first personality really did reach across the world.
   Dewey’s story is told in context of the library director, Myron, a single mother trying to get her life together, and the town of Spencer itself, a farm community facing an uncertain future as well. Dewey offered a new focus and gave his many fans a fresh outlook to face hard times. His sometimes regal bearing, sometimes goofy antics and oftentimes snoozy breaks in any empty box were catnip to anyone with a camera.
   Dewey is not portrayed as having super or weird or unworldly powers or of playing a larger role than he actually did in the lives of Spencerites. He was a cat, after all. But he was good at his “job,” seeking out those in need — in the case of the disabled child, Crystal — and those who needed a little teasing to lighten up.
   If you are an animal lover, you will enjoy this book. If you are a cat lover, what are you waiting for? And, yes, there is word of a movie. Just don't forget the tissues.