Holly: The True Story of a Cat

Brown (Copycat), whose love of cats is well known, tells how an abandoned black kitten makes the holiday seasonDand the many years afterwardDextra bright for its adoptive family. The family's matriarch, presumably Brown herself (on one page, the woman is painting an illustration that appears in the book), serves as narrator, explaining how the tiny fur ball got her name and eventually made the household her own. (""Because it was nearly Christmas, we called her Holly. She was timid at first, but as she grew she became more relaxed."") The deceptively simple text proves engaging and affectionate, and the artist's careful attention to the cuddly, wily and sometimes standoffish ways of felines will surely strike a chord with pet owners. Scenes of Holly swinging Tarzan-like from lace curtains and curling up in bed with her sleeping owners are particularly memorable. Ages 3-6. (Nov.)