Vicki Myron: DEWEY

Vicki Myron with Bret Witter
DEWEY : THE SMALL-TOWN LIBRARY CAT WHO TOUCHED THE WORLD
Hodder & Stoughton
271 pages
ISBN: 978-0-340-96077-6

With Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched The World, Vicki Myron wrote down the story of the library cat that accompanied a great part of her life. Dewey was found in the night drop box on a very cold Iowa morning, almost frozen to death he reached the heart of the library employees.

When you read the title, you expected a book full of stories about Dewey Readmore Books, but you also get a memoir of Vicki Myron and the town history of Spencer, Iowa, where Dewey was found and lived. We see that Myron's life was not always easy, with a lying and drinking husband at first and then as a single mother with a severe illness. And Spencer's history tells a great deal about life in the country in times of economic trouble. But would a reader expect this when reading the title and the back-cover blurb? Probably not.

Throughout the book, the chapter headings are accompanied by pictures of Dewey in the library, some chapters even end with notes from Dewey, like his daily schedule and his tasks, which makes it fun to flip through the book even after reading. Dewey's stories are wonderful and Myron, along with Bret Witter, wrote them down wonderfully. Not only the Japanese television visiting to film him, but also his favorite toy, a piece of red yarn. Dewey's great escape and the reaction of the library staff and how they tried to not leak it to the whole town until they found him again.

All in all, the parts about Dewey were wonderful, hilarious and good to read, but the parts about the history of Spencer and Vicki Myron's life were boring and felt like a waste of time.

Rating: 2/5