How much of an impact can an animal have? How many lives can one cat touch? How is it possible for an abandoned kitten to transform a small library, save a classic American town, and eventually become famous around the world? You can't even begin to answer those questions until you hear the charming story of Dewey Readmore Books, the beloved library cat of Spencer, Iowa.
Dewey's story starts in the worst possible way. Only a few weeks old, on the coldest night of the year, he was stuffed into the returned book slot at the Spencer Public Library. He was found the next morning by library director Vicki Myron, a single mother who had survived the loss of her family farm, a breast cancer scare, and an alcoholic husband. Dewey won her heart, and the hearts of the staff, by pulling himself up and hobbling on frostbitten feet to nudge each of them in a gesture of thanks and love. For the next nineteen years, he never stopped charming the people of Spencer with his enthusiasm, warmth, humility (for a cat), and, above all, his sixth sense about who needed him most.
As his fame grew from town to town, then state to state, and finally, amazingly, worldwide, Dewey became more than just a friend; he became a source of pride for an extraordinary Heartland farming town pulling its way slowly back from the greatest crisis in its long history.

I wasn't really expecting such a long read when I commenced with this book. Once I started I realised I was going to learn about the town of Spencer, the life of Vicki and how Dewey fits into the general scheme of things alongside a few stories of his adventures.

I'll be honest, like one of the librarians mentioned in the book I am not visualising an incredible cat. Maybe this is because I live with 3 cats with very strong personality traits - all very different and they get on fabulously with each other and one of them in particular has survived being shot, lost on two occasions for several months and is still a delightfully friendly boy with people and all the other animals that also live here or visit regularly :0). I can't help to think that Vicki has transferred her emotions onto Dewey as a result of loving him so much and having so many problems in her life but he still sounds like a fab feline to me and his attraction towards people that need a cuddle is rather lovely....my Labrador used to pull on her lead and go and say hello to random people from time to time....the way of knowing the impact the animal has is the way a person's face can light up when approached by a furry friend :0)

This book is reserved for the raffle at the uk uncon in Loughborough

Won as part of the raffle prize. Thank you so much :)

I already feel like it's going to make me cry!