This is a wonderfully readable book about a cat, a library, a small-town, a single parent, a rebellious (thought not too) teenager, Iowa, and love.

Librarian Vicki Myron, who finds a kitten half-frozen in the library book return one January morning in Iowa, manages to weave her personal story (including divorce, cancer, parenting issues, and job) into the story of the library, and the small town, without becoming totally maudlin. The stories would not have hung together, or been anything close to interesting, without the glue of Dewey Readmore Books...the cat on the cover.

There are enough 'warm fuzzies' in this book to melt almost anyone. ( )

***SPOILERS***

When Vicki Myron was the library director of a public library in Iowa, she came in on the coldest day of the year to find a small kitten dumped in the book drop. She bathed the cat, warmed him up, and eventually convinced the board to let the library have him. Dewey Readmore Books became the Spencer library cat, affecting the library's brand in the community, the town of Spencer, and many individuals in town (not least Vicki herself). Eventually, Dewey became known worldwide, regularly visited by out-of-state folks, and even featured in a Japanese documentary. It's a warm and fuzzy tale and all the more interesting because it's true.

I'm not much of a nonfiction reader, and this book was even outside of the nonfiction I tend to choose. It was a good story, and Myron clearly loves Dewey, the library, and her town. Expecting a story mostly about a cat, I was a little surprised by the personal focus. It affected how I felt about the book, because I couldn't shake the feeling of the narrator as someone who was telling me a great story but was distracting me by standing just a little too closely in my personal space for me to really focus on the story at hand. My mood and reaction to the style had a huge impact and I would have given it a higher rating if my expectations were different. ( )

If you can get past the idea of a community, let alone the world, forming an emotional attachment to a cat, you'll probably like this book. Myron wisely decided to interweave her own story and that of her community (the small town of Spencer, Iowa) with her tale of a discarded kitten who becomes a library cat. While the frequent assertions of community love for the cat eventually become tiresome, she proves her subtitle's assertion very satisfactorily. A quick, satisfying read. ( )

I can't remember where I first heard about Dewey the library cat, but I know it was during those wintery months of unemployment when my day consisted primarily of both the public library and my cats. It seemed like a perfect fit, though it took four months on the New York Public Library wait list to actually get the book.

Vicki Myron's Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World is the true story of an orange tabby kitten that was left in the library drop box one frigid January night in Spencer, Iowa. He was then officially adopted as Spencer's library cat, and there he remained for his nineteen years. As the residents of Spencer discovered, Dewey was a special cat, in that he was incredibly outgoing, enthusiastic, and always seemed to know who needed him the most.

He became, in a sense, the town's mascot, boosting morale during the farm crisis of the 1990s and bringing thousands of people to the local library. In fact, Dewey Readmore Books became an international celebrity as he was featured in numerous publications, radio shows, news broadcasts, and even documentaries. Every person who encountered Dewey seemed to have his or her own personal relationship with him.

Some of the most fascinating tidbits from this book are the descriptions of life in midwestern farm country. Corporate purchase and the ensuing construction are the typical trends of development in small towns, where the population grows after a Walmart is built. But in Iowa, land can be sold and entire towns can disappear to create even bigger cornfields.

Let's get one thing straight: this is not a work of literary fiction. I'm not sure it even contains enough depth for a book club selection. But, it does go deeper than just the biography of a Iowan cat. Myron uses many examples to illustrate how Dewey affected the mentality of individuals and the town as a whole, which is the real meat of this book. While she herself suffered through a divorce, single parenthood, and a cancer scare, hundreds of other people recognized Dewey as a pleasant distraction from their own troubles or as an unconventional source of support. Dewey is a quick and easy read that will make you think, make you chuckle, maybe make you cry (if you're a sap like me), and will definitely make you appreciate all that you love. ( )

I absolutly loved this book. This is a biography of a very special cat that made the library and the town happy, and able to get over the loss of jobs during a tough time. I loved this book partly because I could iddentify with the town. I come from a very small ranching community that is always struggling but also pulling together. I also loved this book because I love cats, and Dewey is one of the more special cats. Great Book!!! ( )