The Story of Fester Cat

November 1, 2014
Fester, the little tuxedo cat with one and a half teeth, had already left two owners and was living as a stray in suburban Manchester when he decided to adopt Paul and Jeremy. After spying on them for a few weeks and accepting occasional treats, he moved in. Paul and Jeremy take care of his mange and his flea bites, feed him so he is no longer skinny, and clean up his infected gums, and Fester decides to stay this time. Told in Fester's voice, this little gem of a book gets the hard part out of the way firstFester tells of his headaches and failing eyesight, and of his last breathbut then it moves on to the joy of his finding a new home and of the two men he helps make into a family. Paul channels and translates for Fester as he describes his days with the pack of stray cats, his decision to move in with the boys, and his wonder at all the silly things that humans do (like fight, pick on each other, abandon family, befriend people who aren't true friends) when cats are materialists and realists who live for the moment. As Paul says in his afterword, Fester taught them to be a family and that he made being happy seem easy.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)