I got this hardcover at Toadstool Books in its new Nashua location. Originally published in 1940, it's a classic children's book about a little girl named April whose cat has three kittens - but her father says theirs is a one-cat apartment. (They live in New York City, where nobody has much room "because so many people are trying to live there at the same time".) What's a child to do?

Aside from the lack of any mention of spaying the cat - something that wasn't that common in 1940 - the story touches on many sound aspects of pet ownership, from the ways in which people choose the kittens they want to the concerns about caring for them, introducing kittens to grown cats, and even the possibility of re-homing an older cat in favor of a kitten... Not to worry, though; by the end of the story, April's parents have come up with a highly satisfactory solution to poor April's dilemma!

The illustrations are really lovely, in a spare black-and-white-with-red-accents style, whether showing individual kittens (the scenes where April's father chooses their names are very cute) or illustrating how the neighbor's two resident black cats react to having a new kitten (they're scared of the kitten, a rather realistic reaction from my experience, but their owner knows how to introduce cats so all will be well). Lovely book!

Guidelines for safely visiting and stocking Little Free Libraries during the COVID-19 pandemic, from the LFL site here.

I left this book in this new-to-me Little Free Library; hope someone enjoys it!

[See other recent releases in RI here.]

*** Released for the 2020 Spooktacular October challenge, for the (very cute) black cat on the cover. ***

*** Released for the 2020 Tick Tock challenge. ***

*** Released for the 2020 You're Such an Animal challenge. ***