I still remember the joy I felt when my name was called as the second place winner in the reading contest. I was seven years old, and my teacher, Mrs. Johnson, understood young readers...those who love to read just want to read more! The prize for my hard work was a brand new book, a lovely book with a bright yellow cover and a picture of a slender black cat wearing a red scarf. My teacher had inscribed the book for me, and I took it home to treasure it and read it again and again.

Almost thirty years later, I got to relive a little of that joy when I recently picked up a copy of Jenny and the Cat Club at my local library. Hallelujah, it had the same bright yellow cover and the same wonderful cover art and illustrations by Esther Averill, who also authored the book. The precious copy my second grade teacher gave me is alas, no longer in my possession (though I keep hoping it might turn up in an unexplored region of my parent's attic). But at least I could revisit the magic of these charming, simple stories once more, and share them with my husband and daughter during one of our family reading times.

My love for the Cat Club stories might seem a bit odd to anyone who knows me well, as I am much more of what's known as a "dog person" than a "cat person." True, we had a cat as I was growing up, a smart and crafty indoor/outdoor cat, a black tomcat with white markings. His name was Harvey, and he'd joined the family before my birth, making him a bit resentful of my intrusion. We were not particularly close during my childhood, though I admired his hunting prowess and his independent spirit. It was only during his old age, after he had been injured in an attack by some stray canines, that Harvey and I forged a new kind of gentle friendship. He let me hold him on my lap on the way home from the vet's, and we remained very fond of one another during the last few years of his life, when the grand old cat had to slow his lifestyle down a bit. Harvey even grudgingly but kindly made room in the household for the dog I had managed to talk my family into letting me get. My golden retriever, Louie, tenderly bathed Harvey (like he was his own puppy) during the final week of the old cat's life.

I guess most of us have known at least one wonderful cat at some point in our lives, just like I did. Esther Averill's Jenny and the Cat Club pays homage to all those wonderful kinds of cats we remember with such fondness: the shy mewling kittens, the graceful fluffy felines that look as though they belong to royalty, the scrappy independent cats that like to get into fights and often have patches of missing fur, the funny ones that like to dart around chasing cat toys, watching squirrels out the window, or simply stretching themselves in sunny spots on the carpet, and the independent cusses (aren't they all, really?) who deign to let us love them for a while.

Averill (1902-1992) was at various times in her long career a cartoonist, a photographer, a writer, an illustrator and a publisher. She is probably best known for her cat stories written for children. She based the main character of Jenny Linsky on her own small, shy black cat, and Jenny's friends on other cats she had known. Jenny and the Cat Club is a collection of five stories originally published separately: The Cat Club (1944), Jenny's First Party (1948), When Jenny Lost Her Scarf (1951), Jenny's Adopted Brothers (1952) and How the Brothers Joined the Cat Club (1953). We have the New York Review Children's Collection to thank for the book's recent reissue, complete with Averill's original illustrations. They are simple black and white drawings with splashes of red and yellow, and they bring all of the cats to memorable life, especially Jenny.

Jenny is a very shy cat who was rescued from the streets by her kind master, a sea-captain named Tinker. Captain Tinker not only gives her a home; his love and kindness give her confidence to venture out into the wider world, wrapped in the bright red scarf he knitted for her. Jenny has many adventures in Captain Tinker's garden, where she first meets the illustrious and somewhat daunting members of the neighborhood Cat Club. She thinks these cats are so clever, she's sure she can never be a part of their gatherings, but she discovers she too has gifts to contribute. You will undoubtedly recognize at least one cat in the club as a cat you've known and loved: Mr. President, large and stately, and his nephew Junior; wise Solomon who likes to perch (and sleep) on books; fluffy Madame Butterfly (who can play the flute!); rough and tumble Sinbad and the Duke; Concertina (who can sing, and who also takes minutes of each meeting by scratching the notes on a nearby tree); the lover cats Arabella and Antonio; the dancing Macaroni; and the amiable twins Romulus and Remus. Although somewhat anthropomorphized, these cats are still feline through and through, and young readers will enjoy the fun gatherings where they enjoy fish-y picnics, discuss what to do about the exploits of the neighborhood dogs, and otherwise have cat-like fun.

In these stories you'll also get to meet one of Jenny's most memorable friends, Pickles the Fire Cat, a mascot for a fire station in Lower Manhattan, and her adopted brothers Edward and Checkers. The stories are wonderful for younger children -- good as read-aloud for preschoolers, and as a fine early reading experience for children around 6-8. They have an unsophisticated simplicity of tone, plot, and language that seems to befit the simplicity of our shy heroine Jenny, but the vocabulary is in no way "dumbed down" for young readers. The stories also tout the virtues of courage, patience, and unselfishness in ways that little ones will appreciate (and parents too). In fact, as I read them through this time around, I found myself newly grateful for my second-grade teacher's choice -- this was a wonderful book to give to the smallest, shyest girl in her class.

My two and a half year old daughter wanted more of these stories when we were done. She especially loved the illustrations! My favorites, and the ones I remember most clearly from childhood, are of Jenny gracefully ice-skating on one paw, her red scarf fluttering in the breeze; Jenny dancing the "sailor's horn-pipe" that Captain Tinker taught her; and Jenny stepping out in style with Pickles (who wears his fire helmet) and their fashionable friend Florio (who wears an Indian head-dress). There's also the very funny picture of Edward, Jenny's adopted brother, dressed as a pirate. This accompanies the poem Edward has written about the life of a pirate cat, which is incredibly fun to read aloud. A sample stanza for your reading pleasure: In times gone by, Oh me, oh my! In another life I carried a knife With a pointed tip At my snarling lip And sailed on a ship With a sword at my hip As a pirate cat -- That's that. We read the poem twice! It was my husband's favorite part of the book, and it cracked up my daughter.

Not all of Averill's cat stories have been reissued, although The Fire Cat (the back story for Jenny's friend Pickles) is now back in print. A half dozen others are still out of print and can only be found at exorbitant prices at used booksellers. We can only hope they'll all make their way back into print eventually. In the meantime, if you're shopping for used copies and find one with an inscription from a Mrs. Johnson (penned around 1975) let me know.

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This review has been written in honor of wonderful teachers everywhere who encourage a love of reading in their students. It's also written in honor of my old cat Harvey, my sister's cat Pickles, and all other finicky felines who so graciously let us love them!


Recommended: Yes