Catnip

December 15, 2017
After his wife, Margaret, was diagnosed with a brain tumor in the summer of 2016, Korda (Alone, 2017), former longtime editor-in-chief of Simon & Schuster, began sending her daily drawings of their beloved cats in funny situations as a cheering effort. He'd spend just a few minutes, using whatever supplies were on handthe back of an old manuscript, a ballpoint pento maintain the exercise's spontaneous spirit, then snap a picture of the finished product, email it to Margaret, and toss the original. (He later learned that she'd been forwarding the images to friends.) In Korda's doodles, organized by season with narrative introductions, Kit Kat, Ruby, and Tiz Whiz apply for jobs at Dunkin' Donuts, play sports, trade upstate New York winter for Florida beaches, and, of course, sleep (Korda's calligraphic caption, Ruby exercising ). Though eventual loss grounds Korda's endeavor, it's foremost a sweet tribute to the Kordas' passions: his lifelong love of drawing, his and Margaret's love for their dear pets, and their love for one another.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)