Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World
By: Vicki Myron, Bret Witter / Narrated By: Susan McInerny
Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins
See?!? EVERY book hub neeeeeds a cat!!!
Small-town library director, Vicki Myron, finds a tiny orange (with some white!) kitten stuffed into the book-return bin on the coldest day of the year. The little frozen thing with frostbitten feet soon hobbles his way into the hearts of the library staff, but it certainly doesn’t end there.
Myron is always looking for ways to raise the profile of her library in Spencer, Iowa, and this little kitten just might be what the library, heck! what even the entire town needs. And she’s not wrong.
Dewey is not just about the library cat; it’s about what happens when a farm crisis hits a rural community and what that community needs to find hope and comfort. Cuz Dewey is aaaaaall about people. An unemployed farmhand gazing dolefully into the screen of a library computer and looking for work? Dewey is there! Those with no place to go? Dewey is climbing onto their laps.
Children with disabilities? Dewey has them calm and waiting for him to come around, doling out attention to each child individually.
Dewey brings warmth in some cold Iowa winters, and his antics bring laughter to those who really need it. Plus, Vicki has a hard past of her own, and she has health-issues, but Dewey is there for her too, making her smile when her body is aching. And when her mother is ill and dies, Dewey is there for her too.
Susan McInerny brings warmth, humor, emotion to Vicki’s “voice” as she narrates all the goings and comings in Spencer, as she narrates all the ins and outs of Vicki’s life. I did, however, have to listen to the audiobook at x1.5 speed at times because I felt the narration was quite slow at times, but unfortunately it wasn’t ALL the time, so I felt I had to go back to x1.25 (my general preference) speed. But other than a few flat parts, McInerny did a decent job with telling the story of such a fine cat.
Be prepared. Dewey was written after Dewey’s death, so be prepared for stories from his kitten hood, his cat hood, his ultimate death. I know I should’ve expected it, but I was still moved to wipe away a tear or two.
Still, it’s a mostly sweet book with life in Iowa, Myron’s life with an alcoholic husband, her difficult relationship with her daughter (which Dewey does much to mend!), her ailing body. Plus, we’re treated to how Dewey becomes a world-phenom, and the outpouring of love from all across the world when he dies is really quite touching indeed.
AND it ends on a really sweet note, an ending that makes ya chuckle.
EVERY library or bookstore should have a cat!
And every audiobook should have a feline (or canine… or infant!) Accomplice! May you listen to Dewey with an Accomplice of your own!
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