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The Lion in the Living Room

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The Lion in the Living Room: How House Cats Tamed Us and Took Over The World by Abigail Tucker
Who it’s for: Adults
Format: Book

What have cats ever done for humans? They don’t provide food, they aren’t pack animals, they don’t protect our homes. So why are there nearly 100 million house cats in the US alone (and almost a billion worldwide)? In this well-researched and fascinating book, Abigail Tucker explores the history of the house cat, an animal that adapted to humans and essentially domesticated itself.

Unlike dogs and other domesticated animals, house cats haven’t physically evolved over the centuries. They are built to survive outdoors on their own, but they can also survive in a small apartment if necessary. They have, however, evolved their behaviors to influence us. Cats share some facial characteristics with human babies (round heads, front-facing eyes, small nose), and they’ve learned to use familiar sounds to get our attention. Many house cats have purrs and meows that sound suspiciously like a baby’s cry.

Tucker also addresses the impact cats have on environments around the world. Cats are hypercarnivorous and they do quite a bit of damage to ecosystems. Over the centuries, cats have been transported to new environments regularly, and they often destroy them by preying on native species. Yet we continue to live side by side with them, watch videos of them online, and follow them on Instagram.

Find The Lion in the Living Room in our catalog.

The Summer Nick Taught His Cats to Read

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Submitted by Ms. Josie!

The Summer Nick Taught His Cats to Read by Curtis Manley and Kate Berube. One summer day, Nick decides to teach his two best buddies, Stevenson and Verne, how to read. There’s just one problem–Stevenson and Verne are cats! They don’t know how to read! Nick, who loves doing everything with his cats, persists with his idea anyway. If he could learn to read, so could his furry friends! Nick plans out a thorough lesson plan starting with the basics of spelling. He first tries to teach his cats words that might appeal to them like “ball,” “food,” and “nap.” The cats continually ignore him. But Nick doesn’t give up! After a few trials, his cat Verne becomes interested in books about fish and is soon reading all by himself. Stevenson, on the other hand, becomes more and more agitated by the idea of reading (*gasp*) and hides from Nick and Verne. Stevenson’s reluctance to read worries Nick. Will he ever be able to share his love of reading with Stevenson? One afternoon, Nick and Verne discover a pile of colorful drawings under the bed–Stevenson has illustrated an entire story about pirates! So Stevenson was interested in reading after all! But instead of using words, he preferred to use pictures to tell a story. Nick and Verne decide to add to Stevenson’s story by writing in words. For the first time, Stevenson seems intrigued by words. The very next day, Stevenson is found with his whiskers in another book about pirates. Through understanding and encouragement, Nick is able to assist both of his cats as they build their individual reading skills. During this process, the cats even discover subjects that enhance their love of reading. This story kindly reminds us that each reader is unique and that building reading skills comes more easily to some than to others. With a bit of patience and persistence, young readers can attain a strong foundation for early literacy skills as well as a lifelong love of reading. See this book listed in our catalog 

Cat Knit

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Submitted by Ms. Carol!

Cat Knit by Jacob Grant. Cat and Girl are great friends. One day Girl brings home a guest. His name is Yarn. Cat and Yarn become the best of friends. They do everything together. They have so much fun. They are inseparable until Girl takes Yarn away. When Yarn returns he is no longer a fun cuddly ball, he has changed. Yarn is now a nice warm sweater for Cat. Cat is mad. He tries hard to lose the sweater. Cat does not like the sweater. It is itchy and stuffy. When he finally does get rid of it he realizes it wasn’t so bad after all. It did keep him nice and warm. Cat puts the sweater back on. He now knows that sometimes change is good. Even though Yarn has changed they can still be friends. See this book listed in our catalog

Not your average “Look and Find” books…

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Submitted by special guest blogger Ms. Melissa!
Children love Look and Find books. Typically these books have few words or are completely wordless, but there are many ways you can make them about literacy. Check out the list below for some ideas on how to use such books.

Spot, the Cat by Henry Cole is a beautifully illustrated story about a cat named Spot and his boy living in a city. There’s so much you can talk about while following their adventure. Have your child search for Spot and encourage them to tell you the story in their own words. There are also opportunities to tell a story within a story. For example, have your child tell you about what’s happening in each of the row houses, or about the people running in the park. See this book listed in our catalog.

Are We There Yet? by Nina Laden and Adam McCauley features many objects on the first few pages which can be found throughout the book. Not only will you have a chance to talk about the words on the page, but you can also talk about the sequence of events each of the objects is going through during the story. See this book listed in our catalog.

Starfish, Where Are you? by Barroux challenges the reader to find the starfish, jellyfish, and clownfish in each scene. That sounds simple enough, but there’s something much deeper occurring in this tale. The fish will draw your attention to what’s happening and will give the reader an opportunity to discuss the environment in which the fish live. See this book listed in our catalog.

Here Comes the Tooth Fairy Cat

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This summer we’ll feature some blogs written by the library’s summer interns. Here’s one from last summer’s intern, Ms. Elisa!

Here Comes the Tooth Fairy Cat by Deborah Underwood is the story of a tricky cat who wants to meet the Tooth Fairy. He plants the tooth of a comb under his pillow but is sorely disappointed when the Tooth Fairy is not fooled. The Tooth Fairy, however, has left Cat a job: If he can help her with her duties, she will gladly meet him! There’s a catch though: Cat has to dress up as the Tooth Fairy and be partners with Mouse. Cat and Mouse are not pleased to be working together, but soon they are grateful for their differences. Mouse can climb in Gopher’s hole to get his tooth, and Cat can climb up the tree to give Squirrel his coin! They discover the importance of teamwork when the last tooth belongs to a bear. Mouse bravely takes up the task but (oh no!) his dress is stuck under the bear! Cat heroically tickles the bear and frees Mouse! The deliveries are done and it’s time to take off their costumes but Mouse has a surprise… He’s actually the Tooth Fairy! Cats aren’t the only ones who can play tricks! This silly story of looking past differences and helping one another is sure to make any child or adult laugh, but the lesson of the story remains: don’t try to trick a fairy! See this book listed in our catalog

Santa’s Stuck

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Submitted by Ms. Carol!

Santa’s Stuck by Rhonda Gowler Greene is a funny Christmas story about Santa Claus. Santa is almost done but before he heads up the chimney he decides it can’t hurt to have just one more cookie. Santa takes a break and sits back and has a feast. He eats so much his buttons pop. When Santa finishes he heads back up the chimney to the waiting reindeer. The reindeer suddenly hear Santa yell “Help!” Oh no. Santa is stuck. Dog hears Santa and runs downstairs to see what is going on and he sees Santa’s boots dangling from the chimney. Dog tries to push Santa while the reindeer try to pull, but no luck, Santa is stuck. Soon Mama cat and all her kittens join in and try to help Dog push, but no luck, Santa is stuck. Next little mouse tries to help but Santa just isn’t budging. Mouse has a bright idea. Will Mouse’s idea work? Will Christmas be saved? Read this humorous story to find out. See this book listed in our catalog