Ghost Cat

In a comforting story of memory, longing, and hope, a boy is convinced that his home is being occupied by a ghost. He thinks it’s a cat because he “used to have one,” he says while wistfully looking at photos of his beloved pet. The ghost cat is definitely a spectral figure, rendered in icy blue with an ethereal white outline that pops against the setting’s predominately warm browns and oranges. But the haunting doesn’t bother the boy at all: in a series of spreads, the ghost does the sorts of things that are catnip to kitty lovers: it dashes around the house, curls up on the bed at night (“I feel its weight, its warmth, its purring”), and engages in feline mischief (splashing in the fish tank, knocking over a book and then a bowl). The boy avidly pursues the ghost cat until it leads him to his front doorstep, where a living stray kitten awaits. The final image is a wonderful one: the boy in his bed again, this time with both the kitten and the ghost cat curled up beside him. The heart, it seems, has room for everyone we’ve ever loved. Ages 3–6. Agent: Erin Murphy, Erin Murphy Literary Agency. [em](June) [/em]