Blanche & Smitty #1

Blanche writes to Santa, hoping for a drum, or maybe skates. What arrives is Smitty, a demanding cat with definite ideas of how things should be run: he should be waited on hand and foot. When Blanche threatens banishment, he reformstemporarily. The strain of good behavior proves too much for him, though, and Blanche consolingly tells herself, ""Smitty is not that easy to live with. But, he does add a certain spice to my life.'' Bright colors within black line drawings show these two in their wary stand-off. The tongue-in-cheek telling and cartoon-like antics make this book perfectly agreeable for both cat-lovers and those who have always suspected that felines are, at best, difficult pets. All ages. (July)