Customer Reviews

Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Remember Marley: A Dog Like No Other, a canine greatly loved by his master? Well, here is Dewey, an abandoned orange kitten not only beloved by his mistress but by the entire town of Spencer, Iowa.

Dewey's origins were questionable as was his introduction to library director Vicki Myron. January 18, 1988 was a frigid Monday in Spencer. "It was a killing freeze, the kind that made it almost painful to breathe." When Vicki arrived at the library that morning her assistant told her she had heard a noise coming from a metal slot, the library's after-hours drop box behind the building. Soon, they both heard the noise and thought it was an animal. The opening of the box was only a few inches wide, so whatever it was had to be very small. Being metal the box was even colder than it was outside, and there in a corner of the box was a tiny kitten.

It was the most pitiful thing she had ever seen, so thin she could see every rib, and she could feel its heart beating, its lungs pumping. "The poor kitten was so weak it could barely hold up its head, and it was shaking uncontrollably. It opened its mouth, but the sound which came two seconds later, was weak and ragged." But one look into his big eyes and she was Dewey's and he was hers.

Dewey was not the only one who had endured hardship - Vicki was a single mom who had lost the family farm and survived an abusive husband. The people of Spencer were going through tough times during the farm crisis of that time. Depression, ennui seemed to be everywhere.

Nonetheless, Vicki was determined to capture the interest of those who came to the small library and hopefully make them a little happier. With the help of Dewey she did that and more. For 19 years he returned the affection of the townspeople twofold, amusing them, enchanting them, rubbing against many hands in gratitude for their caresses.

What difference can one small animal make? Dewey's story spread across state lines and even around the world. In 2003 Japanese Public Television filmed Dewey, and his obituary ran in well over 200 newspapers. His story will warm your hearts, make you laugh and cry. Don't miss it.

Highly recommended.

- Gail Cooke

This is the book of Dewey Readmore Books, a cat who began his association with the Public Library in Spencer, Iowa, on a day in which the weather was somewhere around -30 C without the wind-chill factoring in (the book lists it at -15 F). Of course, before we learn that fact, we get a history lesson about why Iowa is such a great place to live.

The book then goes on to explain a bit about how the kitten was allowed to stay in the Library—despite parental concerns about allergies and some crazy lady threatening to bring her cow in there if the cat didn't leave—and onto how he got his full name.

The book, unfortunately, falls off topic a lot, delving into much large issues of the time that have no relation to the cat's actions or existence. In fact, the author also took the opportunity to air out all the problems in her life (some against the express wishes of her family, according to the text) and that, along with the constant raising of Iowa on some sort of social pedestal, just soured the whole book for me. The general impression I got was of one of those parents who put their children on reality shows so they can exploit their talents and make a living as their agents. The book should have been about Dewey, instead more than half ended up being about the author, or the depression (financial, not strictly emotional) that was overtaking the town and country.

At the end, the book also seems to get strange about time. There's a reference to The Lion King in a section that seems to be taking place in 1989 (I was older than 5 when that movie came out, in fact, I believe it came out closer to 1994-1995). The confusion is even present when Dewey finally passes away. While it is certainly an emotional scene, the year remains somewhat unclear due to a strange choice to splice at least one chapter out of chronological order.

While other pet books could get away with insertion of the author's personal life into the narrative without effecting the rating I would give them ("Marley and Me" comes to mind as an example of such a book), this book was not advertised as that of the woman who ran a Library and the cat who happened to have lived there for many years, but rather the story of that cat and his effect on Spencer, Iowa.

[As I doubt that I would be tempted to reread this book (I may have been, if there was less off-topic personal stuff tossed in it), I donated my copy to the local Library.]

I love cats, I love libraries and I love cats that live in libraries or book shops. There is this little used bookshop in downtown Edmonton, Alberta, Canada that is graced with the presence of a feline. During my first visit to this shop I was kneeling down on the floor looking at some books and reached out to touch a big fluffy pillow which turned out to be one big fat fluffy cat, I was delighted!

When I heard of "Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World" by Vicki Myron I had to read it. The first chapter about the rescue of Dewey from the returned book bin on the coldest night of the year is touching and it brought tears to my eyes. I also enjoyed reading about Dewey recovering and loving everyone he meets, but after the first few chapters the book just stops being magical and pretty much becomes a story that any cat owner could write. I was not that interested in the author's life and wanted to hear more about Dewey and his antics.

A wonderfully warm and uplifting book. You will definitely enjoy it, especially if you are an animal lover. If only all libraries could have cats!

This is a wonderful, heartwarming book which moved me to tears at times. I particularly enjoyed Vickey Myron's personal story not only about her own life but about the town and the people of Spencer.

I'm not a cat person per se (I have two dogs) but I ordered this book after reading all those praising comments from well-known authors, among others, as well as the customer reviews on the Amazon website. Unfortunately, I do not agree with most of the reviewers. In fact, I'm very surprised that this book was a #1 New York Times Bestseller! Although I agree that Dewey's story is touching and inspiring, I find that the book does not revolve enough around Dewey's life, but rather it revolves too much around the author's life...her alcoholic husband, her family, her challenges and struggles, her numerous surgeries and fragile health, the town of Spencer, etc. Instead of the author's personal story, which fills many pages or even chapters, a large portion of the book could have been filled with stories from library regulars, such as the homeless man who turned to Dewey for affection or the little girl with Down Syndrome who lightened up when she saw or touched Dewey. Actually, so many touching stories could have been told by the staff of the Spencer Public Library, who cared so lovingly for Dewey, as well as some stories chosen amongst the thousands and thousands of visitors who were enthralled by Dewey during his 19 years at the library. Instead, the author gets off-track from the very beginning. For example, besides the front jacket description, Dewey's name is mentioned for the first time in the last paragraph of the five-page introduction...the rest is all about Iowa! Besides two frivilous - and very short - mentions about Dewey in the 10 pages of chapter 6, the rest is all about the town of Moneta. And, in the eight pages of chapter 7, where Spencer is showcased, Dewey is mentioned only towards the end. And, not a single word about Dewey in the 12 pages of chapter 12...again, Spencer takes over! In fact, I think this book should have been titled,"Vicki - The Small-Town Librarian Whose Cat, Dewey, Touched the World"!

Dewey is a story of love, courage and devotion. The library cat of Spencer reminds me of another orange four-year-old male cat called Rascal, who learned how to jump on a door handle to open the door and whose captivating adventure stories described in the series "Why Some Cats are Rascals" educate children about American geography and history, zoology, survival skills, and such positive values as friendship, loyalty, love, and trust. Like Rascal, Dewey is charming, lovely, and moving. If you are cat lover, you may not miss any of these books. Dewey and Rascal are like brothers to me.

Dewey was an adorable cat. How could one not be fascinated by such a people-loving, heart-rendering little feline who came in from the cold and warmed the hearts of an entire community.

From the moment of Dewey's discovery in the drop-off box of the local library, he captured the reader's love and attention.... and never let go. However, where the book fell short was in the author's on-going saga of the hard times and financial woes of the agricultural district of Spencer, Iowa. This kept cropping up as if the author was trying to fill up space, had nothing to do with Dewey (obviously, the main focus of the book,) and meant absolutely nothing to someone who is not from the area.

While one could not help falling in love with Dewey, the author's writing experience (or lack of it, perhaps) was clearly evident by the style and lack of fine-tuned grammarical skills. Overall, the book was worth reading, especially for any cat lover, but do not expect a top-notch book such as that of "Marley and Me" by John Gorgan. This book does not even come close to Grogan's, but the reasons it did not live up to expectations had nothing to do with Dewey and everything to do with the author's writing style and off-topic rambling.

I have just finished reading Dewey,The Small Town Library Cat and while it was not what I expected I thoroughly enjoyed it. Friends who had read the book just mentioned Dewey, but nothing about Spencer or the Library, which to me was a very important part of the Dewey's story. I loved reading about the history of the town and Vicki Myron's story. Mrs. Myron brought me into the town and I felt part of the family. I am looking forward to reading the sequel.

A friend gave me this book after my dog passed away. He thought Dewey's story would help, how Dewey changed so many lives - and it did. My dog did the same for so many people. I cherish that. I have purchased this book as a Christmas gift for a dear friend. I don't think it matters how old you are or how young you are, this book is defintely a story to behold.