A cat moves into an old hotel that is past its finest days and is given a job keeping the mice at bay, and is also given a name, Tom. Published in 1969, it's a cute story, but masculo- and heteronormative. The heteronormativity I can forgive for the time period, but I don't get why Tom has to be a Tom, with all of the other characters default male and in typical gender roles. Lady, it's a book about cats, you can do what you want!
Tom is officious and not all that likable, but the other cats and humans in the book all seem to like him, so maybe I'm just a crank. (No maybe about it these days!) The illustrations are cute, and I love that one of my BFFs gave me this book as a birthday present.
reviewdate:
Feb 8 2016