Elizabeth Jane Coatsworth - The Cat Who Went to Heaven

Pros: beautiful message
Cons: some of the poems which introduce each chapter seem oddly placed

This Newberry award-winning book is short enough to read in one sitting, but poignant enough to remain in your heart long afterward. It is the simple tale of a starving artist who has never gotten the recognition he deserves. He barely has money to take...

Pros: Beautiful story beautifully written.
Cons: None.

This book is a sleeper. Too long and a bit difficult for very young readers, it falls into a niche where it can be easily overlooked. It shouldn't be. (This is the kind of story Pixar should tackle.) It's a wonderful story with philosophical and spiritual implications. And you don't have to be a cat lover to appreciate it.
It would be a good book to read with a child somewhere between the ages of five to nine. And certainly any precocious reader could tackle it - but it is a bit long.
Great books are often difficult to categorize and often too easy to criticize. I'll keep it simple: It's a unique story about a cat, set in Asia, and it would be wonderful to read aloud. I'll leave deeper analysis to the critics. I'm just a reader. This is one book that belongs on every bookshelf, whether there are children in the home or not.