Dewey There's A Cat In The Library by Vicki Myron & Bret Witter

Dewey There's A Cat In The Library by Vicki Myron & Bret Witter, 32 pages

People leave items in the library's drop box, usually it is books people leave.  But, one very cold night in Spencer, Iowa, someone dropped a cat in the box. Vicki, the librarian, found the cat the next morning. The library named the cat Dewey Readmore Books. Dewey loved people. Dewey went to story hour. Dewey talked to Marty Mouse.  Dewey acted like a regular cat. Then, one day, he saw a sad girl in the library. After that, Dewey was a real library cat.

Dewey's Nine Lives BY: Vicki Myron with Bret Witter

Dewey's Nine Lives by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter 306 pages
I didn't give this book much hope when I first saw it, because how much more can you say about one cat. Curiosity won out and luckily I gave it a try and I thought this was a great follow-up to the original story Dewey the Library Cat. which I really enjoyed.
I thought it was a great idea for the author to tell the stories about nine other cat lives, who's owners were inspired to share with the author after reading or hearing about Dewey.  I believe it speaks well of this librarian and her co-author to bring these wonderful stories to life for all to enjoy.

Dewey's Nine Lives by Vicki Myron

Dewey's Nine Lives:  The Legacy of the Small-Town Library Cat Who Inspired Millions by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter - 306 pages

Unlike the first Dewey book, this one is a collection of nine stories inspired by Dewey Readmore Books.  Dewey himself only appears in a few, but the rest are about lives he touched either directly or indirectly.  Here are a few examples of the stories:  Dewey helps a patron who recently lost her own cat to recover from her pet's death; a tale of a "crazy cat lady" who when dementia set in thought all cats were Dewey; a Vietnam vet with PTSD recovers with the help of a kitten; the story of a cat who's beginning wasn't so different than Dewey's; and how a cat helped the author fall in love again.

When I checked this book out, I was hoping for more Dewey stories.  Alas, it was not to be and I was sorely disappointed.  The Dewey stories were expansions on ones from the first book but with additional background on the other people involved.  The stories about other cats were shared with Vicki Myron, the librarian at the library where Dewey lived, after Dewey's death.  While she stated that she thought these stories were touching, I wonder if she wanted to profit once more on Dewey's stories.  There was simply too much background information in each story to make them enjoyable.  The book could have easily been half the size or less.

Dewey's Christmas At The Library by Vicki Myron and Bret Witter

Dewey's Christmas At The Library by Vicki Myron and Brett Witter, 32 pages

This book was inspired by the real adventures of Dewey Readmore Books, the cat left in the outside book drop one very cold morning at the Spencer Iowa Public Library.  Dewey was found by Vicki Myron, the former library director.  Dewey's Christmas book is an adorable book that follows Dewey's misadventures with a ball of red yarn and the library's Christmas tree. When the tree disappears over Christmas break, Dewey becomes lonely.  Dewey is extremely happy when the Christmas tree and the librarian return to the library the following Monday.  I read this book out loud to my son and husband and now they want to hear more stories about Dewey!