Tim Capehart's Blog, page 4

Bubble's Book Recommendations and Tips for Cat Children of Human People -- "Little Spotted Cat" by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

Daddy Tim kept forgetting to bring us books. Finally I bugged him so much he brought us a couple. He says it's hard to find kitty books we haven't read! (He says we are going to read about other animals than cats for a couple weeks...so that will be interesting) This book is by a lady who usually writes about a dog named Biscuit (or so Daddy Tim says). I liked it well enough, but I have read enough books to know that this is not really about a kitty. It is about a little human, but the pictures show a kitty. You know that from the very beginning; you'll know why. Little Spotted Cat's Mama calls to tell him it's time for his nap.

Little Spotted Cat says, "No, no! Meow!" He thinks it's time for play.

...cats don't say no to naps!

Little Spotted Cat (who I will CALL Spunky from now on because cats deserve names even when they are stand ins for little humans!) knocks down a flower pot running from his nap. Mama calls again, but he plays with yarn instead and leaves it strung all over the yard.  Mama calls again. He plays in his water dish and gets wet. Mama calls again and he chases a grasshopper and gets muddy. FINALLY, Spunky's mom catches up to him. And tells him he must fix everything he messed up.

He does, and before she can finish telling him he needs to nap--he is asleep. Well, that's realistic. 

Like I said, I like this well enough, but kitties sleep 16 hours a day; naps are never very far away.

Today's Tip for Cat Children of Human People (CaCHuPs): Where to nap...in the summer if you are lucky enough to have open windows, it's probably going to be really hot and sticky some times. Find a nice cool table to stretch out on (your humans will probably think it is cute if you push their crap aside...as long as nothing falls off and shatters). In winter it's trickier. Banjo likes to nap on the holes in the floor that blow warm air. That keeps me up. I like to find a human who's not moving and pin them down. That's nice and warm. They are usually so grateful for a kitty in their lap that they will stay put for a long time. If all else fails, Banjo says crawl up under the blanket on the human sleep place. I haven't tried this yet. I am a little afraid of being shmooshed by a Daddy seeking naps...I mean reads. {Daddy Tim editorial reminder: in our house "a read" is often skin to "a nap"}

Banjo's Book Recommendations and Mousie Recon -- "The Bookstore Ghost" by Barbara Maitland

Daddy Tim and Trent are taking a few days off from that work place they are always complaining about. You'd think that would mean more kitty time, but they don't seem to be reading to us or playing with us more. Today they are going to a place called a "bookstore" which is a place both of them used to work. I guess once you stop working in a place it gets fun to visit--rather than a drag. The book Daddy Tim brought me this week is about a cat in a bookstore & I like it. It is a reader for little humans just starting to read on their own. It's the story of a very sensible human man called Mr. Brown. He loves cheese and cats (just like both my daddies!) He even has glasses and a furless head like Daddy Tim. 

He decides to buy a bookstore and only sell ghost books (that's a third thing he loves, my daddies love lots of kinds of books--you can tell that just by looking at the house). Mr.Brown opens his store and gets a cat (who unfortunately does not get a name...I will call her Spooky Tail because she is black and in a book with ghosts). She likes cheese as much as Mr Brown does--like my Sissie Bruegel did! (The Daddies called her the Cheese Monger because she always begged for cheese).

The bookshop also has mice! And the mice start scaring away the customers. Some humans are really silly in being afraid of mice!

Mr. Brown tells Spooky Tail that she is in charge of catching the mice; and if she doesn't catch them, he may have so few customers he'll have to close the shop. But Spooky Tail LIKES the mice and would rather play with them. I enjoy playing with mousies too...though it's not as much fun as playing with mice who move without a daddy's help. Spooky Tail doesn't want to eat the mice (weird, but I guess she likes cheese and kibble as much as Bubble and she's full). So she concocts a plan: the mice hide and ACT like ghosts.

Over three days, they push books off shelves and steal ladies hats...and the bookstore becomes very popular because everyone thinks it IS haunted. 

Mr. Brown tells Spooky Tail that he won't have to close the shop, and she tells him who the ghosts really are. Mr. Brown now likes books, cheese, cats AND his ghosts.

I like this book. And I think little humans will like it too. Nadine Bernard Westcott's illustrations are cute cartoons in those watercolor things Daddy Tim has talked about before. I especially like the picture of Spooky Tail playing with the mice. If mice acted like the ones in the book, I might like them more too...as friends instead of snacks.

I give this book three and a half treats. The other day, Bubble was whacking Purple Egg around the living room and it popped into two pieces! She stopped playing with it, but I began to think that maybe the mousies were hiding things inside Purple Egg...Then when we play with it we move things around the house FOR them. Tricky! I will have to make sure that there is nothing inside it next time we play. I don't want to do the mousies' work for them.

Bubble's Book Recommendations and Tips for Cat Children of Human People -- "Space Cat" by Doug Cushman

This week Daddy Tim brought home "Easy Readers," books for little humans learning to read. He has done that before with mixed results. 

I was all excited when he told me the title thinking this was a new adventure of Binky the Space Cat...it isn't. It's still an ok if very simple story. I don't think it is as funny as it could be, but it is probably hard to be funny AND teach a little human to read by using little words. So this is the story of a kitty (who as you can see is a  pretty orange puss) who lives in outer space...Daddy Tim tried to explain that, I didn't get it. I know it is made up and "in the future." Apparently above the sky there is a lot of black where everything floats and you can't breathe. Why would anyone want to go there? Even if you could solve the breathing problem, how would you use a floating litter box? 

I just ooked myself out.

Back to the book! Space Cat shares his space ship with a robot named Earl. Earl keeps trying to make noodles for Space Cat, but they always come out like glue. (I like noodles but only as toys). the space ship is hit by a space rock (apparently in space everything is called a "space" something...I guess they need a space mechanic to fix their space problem before we space out). Space Cat finds a planet; and while Earl fixes the hole in the fuel tank, Space Cat goes in search of fuel. Not Space Fuel?

He finds King Zorp's castle. The king has all the fuel on the planet. He won't let Space Cat have any; the king needs it for his machines. But while Space Cat is there, one of the machines starts to fall on the King--Earl just happens by with some noodles and Space Cat throws the noodles at the machine just in time to glue it to the wall with Earl's gluey noodles.

The saved king gives Space Cat enough fuel to get back to Earth...but Earl is still trying to make noodles this time in a toaster. Space Cat is in for a long trip.

I liked this story well enough, but it was not as much fun as the other books Daddy Tim brings home. I guess little humans just starting to read would feel good about being able to read it by themselves. The illustrations are goofy. The king looks like a big green-faced space birdy-bug. Space Cat looks more human than kitty wearing a space suit, and I wondered how he can use his space litter box. 


Today's Tip for Cat Children of Human People (CaCHuPs): One of the things Daddy Tim says is often featured in "Science Fiction" is mind control. Well if you are a cat child of a human person, you know this isn't fiction. You can control your human very easily, Even if they are intently staring at a glowey box, you can get their attention by staring at something that isn't there or chasing an imaginary fly. If they are in a room and you want them in a different room, just sit where you want them and make a funny sound. I guarantee they will come investigate. simple mind control is NOT science fiction...now if I could only figure out the signal for "leave the food cupboard open" I would be a happy puss!

Banjo's Book Recommendations and Mousie Recon -- 'Ginger and the Mystery Visitor" by Charlotte Voake

So this is Ginger week. I have to admit that I, too, really like the stories about Ginger and the kitten (though I think the kitten should have a name! how about Pusstacular...no? OK, Bitsy).

Daddy Tim read me Ginger a long time ago when I was the new kitten in the house and my sissie Brueghel was getting used to me. It's nice to revisit old friends. In this story we learn the dangers of those magical things called "cat doors". Ginger and Bitsy are really happy living with their little girl human. She takes great care of them. they both have their own dishes of food...which they share...that would never happen here because I live with a cat-food hoover. they also have good snuggle places. But one day they have a mystery visitor at the window. We have those! Ours usually get a face full of hiss. the daddies are always complaining about the outside kitties doing litterbox things in the flowers, so Buble and I have to do our part to scare them off. Ginger's visitor stares in at them while they are eating their delicious meals. And then one day, they catch him licking out their bowls!! Words almost fail me! A kitty's bowl is sacred (someone should teach Bubble that though...). Then they find the stranger asleep on the bed! And he always checks their dishes on the way out. So the little human girl comes up with a plan. She ties a note on the mystery stranger that reads "Do I belong to anyone?" And when he comes back the next time, he has a NEW note tied to his neck. It says his name is Tiddles and he has a loving family of humans who feed him well. And it asks other people to NOT feed him because he's getting fat. If we had a cat door, I would guess Bubble was taking a page from Tiddles's book--I guess she is just a pork-pie-face.

Tiddles just stares hopefully at the empty dishes. SO the little human doesn't let him in any more (I guess humans can lock cat doors!) Tiddles still comes and stares in...but Ginger and Bitsy always get to eat their own meals. So Tiddles stops coming around...but Ginger and Bitsy still see him breaking into little human's lunch boxes on the school bus stop out front. 

I think he and Bubble are related.

I like this story a lot. I give it four treats! i think little humans should read this to their cats so everyone will know that the wonders of cat doors can come with a price! Long Green Bunny is experiencing another upswing in popularity. Miss Bubble likes to lay on top of him, and he frequently moves about the livingroom...I don't think it is under his own power. I think Bubble is FINALLY helping me keep tabs on the mousie population. She's frequently batting around two at once! Maybe we can keep them under control together...or maybe she will just eat them...

Bubble's Book Recommendations and Tips for Cat Children of Human People -- "Ginger Finds a Home" by Charlotte Voake

I liked the book Ginger so much that Daddy Tim brought us BOTH Ginger books to read this week. The one I get to review is called "Ginger finds a Home" 

In the beginning Ginger is a skinny, dirty street cat. His tail is like a piece of string. He drinks from puddles and eats from trash cans. I bet humans throw away some good stuff...that might not be so bad. He sleeps in the same patch of weeds every day. Some days it is hard for him to find enough food. Poor Ginger! 

Daddy Tim picked the picture of me for the review because it was from my first day here and shows how skinny I was. (I was never dirty, though I did live on the street when I was a baby).

One day Ginger returns to his patch of weeds and finds a plate of delicious food! Yum! How nice. The next day there is more food AND a little human girl. Ginger is afraid and he runs away. she comes back again and again and calls him Ginger. I think he liked having a name and all that food because he let her pet him.

She invites him home... When she tries to shut the door, Ginger tuns out...she's sad...but then he comes back! Now he lives with the little human girl (but we know that because this is what Daddy Tim calls a "prequel" to the book I recommended a couple weeks ago. that means it was made after but happened before! Books can be confusing sometimes). I am just glad Ginger came to his senses and went back to the little girl. I liked this tale of Ginger and the little human girl. It was neat to see how they met. I also liked the pictures again. the one of Ginger peeping around the door is my favorite. I think if Ginger is a real cat...we might be related!

Even when they are small, Human laps are worth the occasional annoyance and the not being able to eat all the grass you want. Humans also have all the best food...and sunbeams that are always dry.

Banjo gets to review another Ginger book later this week. I can't wait to see what other adventure Ginger has. Today's Tip for Cat Children of Human People (CaCHuPs): There is a lot of grass on the ground outside...but most of it will make you urp. If you are lucky, your human will grow some special grass for you. Be careful how much you eat of that too...it can also make you a little urpy. Maybe your human has the big flat leaves in their cold food box...I like those a lot! Try one, you may too. They are yummiest when they are cold. {Daddy Tim editorial note: she's talking about lettuce...Bubble loves lettuce}.

Bubble's Book Recommendations and Tips for Cat Children of Human People -- "Naughty Kitty!" by Adam Stower

First, I don't know WHY Daddy Tim wanted ME to review this instead of Banjo. The Kitty looks just like Banjo. and second, I am NOT a naughty kitty. {Daddy Tim editorial note: she woke us at 3:30 am this morning because her dish was empty, need I say more?} Daddy Tim picked the cover of the British edition for the top of our review since the American edition cover ruins the whole book; it's at the bottom of the review if you want to see it. (He explained that "British" means it comes from England like those glowey box shows where people talk funny and don't have enough cats).

This is the story of a little human called Lily who wants a dog, but her mother says they are too much trouble (she forgot stinky and annoying...but maybe that was edited out of the American edition). So Lily is lucky enough to get a kitty (which she lazily just calls Kitty, sigh).

She feeds Kitty...
And leaves him alone in the kitchen...which is a catastrophe And so she hollers at him "Naughty Kitty!"  She obviously is NOT looking for evidence of who actually did the naughty bit...the tiger is RIGHT THERE! I think my Daddies do this all the time. If they just investigated further, they'd see that when they think I am naughty it is actually Banjo...or a mousie...or one of them sleepwalking...

She leaves Kitty alone in the livingroom while she cleans the kitchen...and you can guess what happens. That room is destroyed (by the tiger, whose tail is in plain sight!) By dinner time things had gotten out of hand...she thought he had shed fur everywhere, terrorized the goldfish, eaten her sausage and broken the cat door...not to mention doing something unmentionable to the rug... Of course it was ALL the tiger.

Then a little yappy dog comes through the fence and scares Lily, and Kitty saves her! Well...the tiger might have something to do with that too. You'll have to read it to find out exactly what...

I like this book quite a lot...though I think Daddy Tim gushed a bit too much about how cute the pictures were. He was especially of Kitty peeping out of a cushion..and said this looks like baby Banjo eating I think little humans would love this book. It teaches them a that kitties are better than dogs and, if they read between the lines, it teaches them that kitties are not always bad when you think they are...sometimes it's the tiger.

Today's tip for Cat Children of Human People (CaCHuPs): Blame the tiger.

Banjo's Book Recommendations and Mousie Recon -- "Francis the Scaredy Cat" by Ed Boxall

I know why Daddy Tim brought this story home for me. He and Daddy Trent have both called me a scaredy cat. They SAY I am more jumpy now than I used to be and that I run away more than I used to. I say I have just learned what to avoid. This is a pretty simple story. Francis (which sounds like the name of one of the ladies who has taken care of us when the daddies vanish...they call her Auntie Frances. I think she use to live very close to us, but now is a bit farther away) is an orange cat...see Bubble should have reviewed this one. Francis likes everything: reading, bubble baths, hunting carrots (huh?) But most of all he likes his human Ben. What Ben doesn't know is that Francis is afraid of the dark and storms and something black and hissy in the tree outside their house. So one night Ben is late coming home (tell me about it Francis! Sometimes my daddies go away for DAYS!) Francis is worried the hissy thing has gotten Ben...and he finally works up the courage to slink out of the house (why do cats in books always know how to open the door!?) Francis climbs the tree to rescue Ben, and he meets the hissy thing--which turns out to just be a big black cat. The black cat helps Francis get down out of the tree and there is Ben waiting for him.

The end.

Well, I like this book well enough. The big cartoony pictures are pretty. I think little humans who are scared of a lot of things might find this comforting...but the ending is a bit abrupt. When Daddy Tim read what turned out to be the last page, I was expecting a few more. So I give this book two and a half treats. I swear I did not get hungry and eat the others {Editorial note from Daddy Tim: Banjo has just abandoned the review in favor of his food dish, so I am not so sure...} I recently mounted a search for Paper Wad while the daddies were away wherever they go during the day. I couldn't find him ANYWHERE. He used to be upstairs and downstairs and in the basement seemingly all at the same time. I may even enlist Bubble in the search. She doesn't know how it used to be. I feel like he is just one step ahead of me. When I find him, I may drop him in my water dish like I used to...to see if I can't find out where he has been!

Bubble's Book Recommendations and Tips for Cat Children of Human People -- "Ginger" by Charlotte Voake

Daddy Tim says this is one of his favorite books. My first thought was "I can't believe he hasn't read it to me before!" It is about a beautiful orange kitty named Ginger (which is what a British human calls you if you have red hair according to Daddy Tim--I don't know what a  British human is, but my two  daddies see to like to watch them on the glowey box...I do know they talk and dress funny).

So then Daddy Tim read me the book, and I understood why he waited to read it to me. I had to be old enough to understand that he was showing me how Banjo felt when I came to live here. Ginger is a lucky boy kitty who gets to live with a little girl human who feeds him great food and gives him a basket to sleep in (I don't have one of those!) His basket looks very comfortable.

Then one day while he is sleeping, the little girl human brings him a kitten to be his friend. Ginger just tries to ignore the kitten...but it keeps leaping on his back...and eating Ginger's food. But worst of all, the kitten climbs into Ginger's basket when he's in there!

So this is how Daddy Tim says Banjo felt when I came to live here (the day that picture of me at the top of today's book review was taken)...even though neither of us have a basket.

Ginger is so upset that the little girl human isn't doing anything about the kitten that he leaves (through one of those magical "cat flaps" ...lucky cat indeed!) The kitten misses Ginger. It plays with some flowers. It scratches on some furniture. The little girl human finds it drinking milk on the kitchen table...and she wonders where Ginger is. 

She and the kitten go out into the rain and find Ginger sleeping under a bush. 

They take Ginger back inside and the little girl gives him some special food (she gives the kitten it's own plate far away from Ginger). She tucks Ginger into his basket and finds a small box for the kitten. (I love boxes!) When the little girl human goes to check on the kitties, the basket is empty...but both kitties are squished into the little box. And now the kitties get along very nicely.

Well, Banjo and I get along pretty well...but I don't know if I would share a tiny box with him. I guess this book DID help me understand how he felt last year. I will try to be nicer to him and not eat his food when the daddies aren't looking. I rarely jump on his back any more. 

I like this book quite a lot. Daddy Tim says there are two sequels, and I can't wait to find out what happens to Ginger and the kitten (who I hope gets a name). The illustrations are fantastic, I can tell that Charlotte Voake loves kitties and watches them. My favorite pictures are of the kitten climbing into the basket while Ginger looks offended...the one of the kitten playing with the flowers...and the two kitties in the box together. 

We haven't had a box in a long time! And we need a basket. 

I think little humans with the good sense to love kitties would like this book a lot. banjo would rate it a whole bag of treats if HE was recommending it. 

Today's tip for Cat Children of Human People (CaCHuPs): Both my daddies read a lot--a LOT. That means they are not playing with me, petting me or taking me outside. However, reading humans generally make laps or butt-laps (if they are laying down). Take advantage of these times. It's a good time for a nap and a snuggle. Sometimes there are pettings involved (these are more rare with the butt-laps; humans aren't as bendy as kitties are). From what Daddy Tim says his other girl kitties Buffy and Bruegel were very fond of butt-laps...I will have to try them...maybe when it gets cold and white outside. Banjo thinks of the bed as his big basket...so when the Daddies are on it with him, I generally avoid it. Reading=laps. Remember!

Banjo's Book Recommendations and Mousie Recon -- "Nicky Visits the Airport" by Harriet Ziefert

Periodically my daddies vanish for days on end, and a lady human with grey hair (who thinks I don't see here because I hide) comes to give us food. This is a long standing tradition. Daddy Tim brought this book home to tell me about where they go when they leave.

Humans are so strange. So this is  the story of a little grey kitten named Nicky. Daddy Tim says there are lots of books about Nicky. I  think I would like to see another one. This was OK, but kind of gimmicky and the story wasn't much. I bet others are more fun.

Nicky goes to the airport which is a place where cars with wings live. Humans get in those "planes" and fly. Daddy Tim says that is how they go to far away places. Why do Humans always want to go away? Every kitty knows that a home is hard to find. And one where you are safe and warm and there is food and love is all you really need. Why would you want to leave that? See? Humans are strange.

Nicky's mother drops him at the airport and he helps a Human who flies planes (called a Pilot) check out his plane. They polish it and check the engine and a lot of the parts. Then Nicky and the pilot go for a flight. 

That's the whole story.

The gimmick is that on each page, there is a flap. The pilot asks a question, and when the reader (with thumbs) lifts the flap, Nicky answers it.

I don't think this is really the kind of airport my daddies go to. Daddy Tim and Daddy Trent don't actually FLY the planes that take them away. But it was interesting to see.

I like the illustrations by Richard Brown most of all in this book. Nicky is a grey tabby kitty like me...though he is HUGE (he is up to the knee of the pilot, and his head is bigger than the human's in some pictures). 

I give this book two treats. I think I would like to see a different story of Nicky that has more story. Daddy Tim says Harriet Ziefert has written a bunch...and that she has hundreds of other books. Maybe that is why there wasn't much too this one; she is low on ideas. I think little humans interested in airplanes might like this more (but not those who really want to know what an airport is like). New Brown Mousie was at my food dish yesterday! It's bad enough that I have to keep Bubble out of there, and now I have to try to keep at least one of the mousies away from my food too. He mostly lives up in the daddies's sleeping room with me, so maybe he is hungry. I guess he can't eat  much. I will keep an eye on him--maybe he was putting sleeping potions on my food! I am really sleepy all the time! I will try to stay awake and keep an eye on him. Maybe I will lay on him again. That will keep him in one place!

Banjo's Book Recommendations and Mousie Recon -- "Mr. Pusskins and Little Whiskers" by Sam Lloyd

Back in March, Daddy Tim brought home the first Mr. Pusskins book. I liked it a lot even though Mr. Pusskins and I were very different kitties. I liked this one--though not quite as much (which is strange because this EXACT thing has happened to me twice!) Mr. Pusskins and his little human were deliriously happy after the events of the first book where he realized how lucky he was to own such a nice human. 

Then one day she said she had a "fabulous surprise" for him. And that surprise was... A kitten...First my Daddies brought home Buffy Sainte Meow. Then two years later they brought home Bubble "for me." 

Right!

Mr Pusskins doesn't want to play...but the kitten named "Little Whiskers" follows him around. I can relate to THAT. Buffy used to chase me when I wasn't in the mood for a chase. Bubble tries to do that too, but I am not afraid to give her a good whack...sometimes she deserves it!

Well, little Whiskers ruins everything: telly time, mealtime...NAP TIME?! yes a new kitten in your house will definitely eat your food (One like Bubble might eat the house...), but a kitten who ruins naptime! Unbearable!
Well the little human girl blames Mr. Pusskins for the kitten's badness! she should know better! 

She sends him outside (I wouldn't think of that as a punishment...but apparently Mr. Pusskins did).

The kitten misses him and feels bad about what happened, so she confesses (by being bad again so the little human gets the idea of who was bad the first time). Mr. Pusskins forgives Little Whiskers (what's he going to do? I know from experience that once they arrive, they stay). And the three of them get along nicely.

I know there are other Mr. Pusskins stories, and I would be interested to see what happens. I think little humans would relate to this story if they have had other little humans added to their family (I think that happens differently that adding a kitten). I give this one three treats. Mr. Pusskins can have the other two (and decide whether to share with Little Whiskers). Pink Baby, as she is known now, made a brief appearance but she's vanished again. If I knew where she went when she disappeared, I might be able to figure out what she is up to. Thankfully, Bubble seems less devoted to her than she was at first. She may be easier to track without Bubble dragging her all around the house. While the Daddies are out, I am going to put on my detective cap and see if I can find Pink Baby alias Pink Sparkly Ball...I will keep you posted.