Dewey the Small-town Library Cat Who Touched the World - Book Review

One of the most popular books at the moment is Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron. It reached number three on the Amazon.com bestseller list. As of October 10, 2008 it was number 4 on Publishers Weekly nonfiction bestsellers list. In September of 2008, it was the most requested book of all time in the Early Reviewer program at Library Thing.

Dewey was an abandoned kitten; he was dumped into the book return at the library in Spencer, Iowa. The librarian who found the half-frozen kitten the next morning wanted to name him Dewey after Melville Dewey, inventor of the Dewey Decimal System. However, they decided to let the public decide and held a contest. Dewey ended up being the overwhelming favorite. The kitten's full name became Dewey Readmore Books. Dewey became a member of the staff at the Spencer Library and a member of the fraternity of library cats.

Dewey quickly settled into living in the library and, according to staff, knew just when people needed him to be there for them. He loved to get rides on the library cart and, like most cats, he would try to squeeze himself into any available box. Every morning, the library staff would find Dewey waiting for them at the door where he became the official greeter.

The staff of the library, as well as people from as far away as New York, donated money for Dewey's food. He became a world-wide sensation and a Japanese crew showed up to film a documentary about him. Dewey also brought more people than ever into the library building. Every year they held a birthday party in the library for Dewey.

Dewey passed away at the age of 19 in 2006. He died in the arms of the library director Vicki Myron who had found him in the book return box those many years ago.

After many weeks of waiting, I finally received my copy of Dewey last week. I ended up reading it in one day.

This book not only gives you Dewey's life story, it tells the life story of Vicki Myron and gives you a good idea of what it was like growing up and living in the small towns of middle America. Of course, it always comes back to Dewey.

Dewey certainly was a very special and intelligent cat. He seemed to improve the life of everyone he met, even if just for the second that he made that person smile. The fact Dewey was in the library increased usership in the library and made it a hub of the community.

Overall, it is a well written book. It drags slightly at points, but then Dewey shows up again and everything is fresh and interesting again.

If you like cats, this book will make you cry in parts and in other parts it will make you say "see, I told you cats are smart!" I would definitely recommend this book to anyone. 

I think every library should have a library cat.