Dion Leonard is an Australian/British ultra runner who competes around the globe in endurance ultra running events ranging from 100 miles to over 240 miles in some of the most extreme conditions known to man. He has numerous top 10 finishes in some of the toughest races on the planet. An international bestselling author with 5 books in over 21 languages; Dion’s story has been featured on CNN, NBC Today Show, Good Morning Britain, CBS, CNBC, ABC America, Associated Press, ESPN, Pickler and Ben, CCTV, BBC, and many others. Dion is an inspirational speaker, animal welfare advocate and raises money and awareness for animals in need.
Nala's adventure shows how the love of an animal can change the trajectory of a man's life. Dean set out to explore the world on his bike. Along the way he met and fell head over wheels (!) with a kitten, whom he named Nala. Something about the piercing eyes and plaintive meowing of the bedraggled little cat proved irresistible. He couldn't leave her to her fate, so he put her on his bike and then, with the help of local vets, nursed her back to health. Soon on his travels, they forged an unbreakable bond -- both curious, independent, resilient and adventurous.
'As a chronicle of an extraordinary friendship between man and animal, and its unexpected consequences, it's entirely delightful' DAILY MAIL
'This uplifting retelling of their adventures together proves a welcome tonic' THE SUN
'Heartwarming and utterly charming' GUARDIAN
'A heart-warming and captivating travelogue' THE i
'A gorgeous book about their adventures, complete with photos that will melt your heart' Lorraine Kelly, ITV
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Instagram phenomenon @1bike1world Dean Nicholson reveals the full story of his life-changing friendship with rescue cat Nala and their inspiring adventures together on a bike journey around the world.
I have written more than sixty novels, and during the writing of most of them I had a cat by my side. I have three—Mousefur, Firefur, and Peanut Butter. They are rescue cats and my daughter named them. I talk to them, but they only reply with meows. I’ve always fantasised about what it would be like to live with a talking cat, and how those conversations would go. I actually did write a science fiction story many years ago—Dreamer’s Cat—about a man whose sanity is guarded by an imaginary bobcat. I have asked my cats if I should write a sequel, but they just say ‘meow’.
Niffy is a beautiful smoky grey cat, just the right colour to hide in dim and dark places. Niffy guides a young prince through the perils of ruling and loving in this award-winning author’s enchanting and sophisticated fairy tale for adults and intelligent children alike. I first read this book twenty years ago and have reread it several times. I love it. It’s a great story to read with your children.
After the death of wise old Mangan, the Regent of Esphania, many of the
regent's skills and qualities seem to have been transferred to his beautiful and
intelligent cat, Niffy, who at once attaches herself to the new ruler, Prince
Jamas. When the king of a neighboring kingdom seems keen to forge an alliance
with Jamas by allowing the prince to marry his niece, the real danger is Yasmin,
the wicked queen wife, who poisons everyone she dislikes or suspects of
interfering with her ambitions. Now, Niffy must guide Jamas through a thicket of
difficulties to save the Prince Jamas…
I’m a former independent publisher and current writer of memoir and fiction. My degree was in zoology (animal biology), which got me my first job in educational publishing. After a solid career in textbooks, I switched over to trade publishing and finally writing. I may have left the "hard science" behind, but I continue to be fascinated by human and animal behavior, which shows up in my reading and writing.
The animal is a spunky blind cat. The human is his adoptive mother who can’t resist adding the three-week-old kitten to her household of two other cats while trying to heal from a recent breakup. A memoir with a cool twist. You never know when you adopt a pet, how its personality will unfold; it was fun to read how memoirist Cooper struck paydirt with Homer.
The last thing Gwen Cooper wanted was another cat. She already had two, not to mention a phenomenally underpaying job and a recently broken heart. But Homer was no ordinary cat. He was a three week old, abandoned, eyeless kitten and Gwen was unable to resist his charm. It was love at first sight.
Homer, tagged as an 'underachiever' from day one, quickly proved his doubters wrong revealing himself to be a tiny dare devil with a giant heart and a passion for adventure. The kitten they said would never be as independent or as playful as the other cats…
I have always loved realistic fiction that shows characters navigating tricky real-world situations and reaching inside themselves to be their best – as friends, children, siblings, etc. As a writer of stories for children, I write the kinds of books I love to read, the ones that make readers ask themselves, what would I do if I were in that situation? I think it’s important to show all our stories, past and present, from different places and viewpoints, so that we can learn from one another and become our best selves.
I was moved by this book about an eleven-year-old girl whose mother has been deported. Gaby is kind and genuine, and her friends are great too. She wants nothing more than to get her mother back and to save an abandoned cat from the shelter where she volunteers. I love how real her feelings and her actions are, and how she grows in the story. And, of course, reading about all the cute dogs and cats at the shelter made me feel warm and fuzzy!
Gaby comes to the WISH line! Wanted: One amazing forever home for one amazing sixth grader.
"My name is Gaby, and I'm looking for a home. Having the nicest clothes or cell phone isn't important, but I'd like to have a cat that I can talk to when I'm home alone." When Gaby Ramirez Howard starts volunteering at the local animal shelter, she takes special pride in writing adoption advertisements. Her flyers help the cats and dogs there find their forever homes: places where they'll be loved and cared for, no matter what. Gaby is in need of a forever…
Gwen Cooper is the New York Times bestselling author of the memoirs Homer's Odyssey: A Fearless Feline Tale, or How I Learned About Love and Life with a Blind Wonder Cat, as well as the novel Love Saves the Day (narrated from a rescue cat's perspective) and The Book of PAWSOME: Head Bonks, Raspy Tongues, and 101 Reasons Why Cats Make Us So, So Happy--among numerous other titles. The first book in her forthcoming "Homer Whodunit" Cozy Mystery Series, You Only Live Nine Times, will be released in Summer 2022. Gwen's work has been published in more than two-dozen languages, and she is a frequent speaker at shelter fundraisers across the U.S. and Europe.
Not only is the Mrs. Murphy cozy mystery series written from the point of view of a sleuthing cat, it’s actually (allegedly!) written by a cat—the feline in question being Sneaky Pie Brown, author Rita Mae Brown’s real-life tabby companion, who supposedly makes use of Ms. Brown’s typewriter on the sly. Wish You Were Here is the first in a delightfully long series of cozy mysteries set in the fictional small town of Crozet, Virginia—where murders seem to happen with startling regularity, and where postmistress Mary Minor “Harry” Haristeen’s beloved cat, Mrs. Murphy, always seems to be one step ahead of the official investigators. I fell hard for the acerbic, no-nonsense Mrs. Murphy and for this series, which was a direct inspiration for my own “Homer Whodunit” mystery series.
Curiosity just might be the death of Mrs. Murphy--and her human companion, Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen. Small towns are like families: Everyone lives very close together. . .and everyone keeps secrets. Crozet, Virginia, is a typical small town-until its secrets explode into murder. Crozet's thirty-something post-mistress, Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen, has a tiger cat (Mrs. Murphy) and a Welsh Corgi (Tucker), a pending divorce, and a bad habit of reading postcards not addressed to her. When Crozet's citizens start turning up murdered, Harry remembers that each received a card with a tombstone on the front and the message "Wish you…
Like most writers and readers, I love bookstores. And my heart goes out to cats in need of rescuing.
Littered With Trouble combines them with a well-constructed mystery and an engaging amateur sleuth. As a mystery author myself, I understand how tricky it is to create a believable story in which a nonprofessional—in this case, a new widow who opens a bookstore featuring cats available for adoption—encounters a death and confronts clues to help solve the case, while maintaining credibility (such as respecting the work of police detectives).
The author pulled me out of my ever-analyzing brain and swept me along in the story.
Before I was an author-illustrator, I was an elementary school teacher for many years. One of my favorite things about teaching was reading to students and helping them find books they love. Seeing kids connect with books motivated me to write and illustrate books; the character Reggie is very much inspired by my young students! Humorous books with lots of pictures often get kids hooked on reading, which is why I’ve selected funny graphic novels for this list. There’s no shortage of great comics for kids, so I chose books I also would have loved as a kid–silly and sweet, starring animal characters with real, kid-like feelings.
As a cat person (who also loves dogs), I was chuckling throughout this silly short story. The uncluttered panels make the book easy to read, and the simple dialogue and adorable characters make it fun to read. I was cheering for Boo, a nervous blue-colored dog, the entire time. (Don’t tell my cats!)
Charise Mericle Harper (Crafty Cat, Just Grace, Fashion Kitty) delivers another hilarious and charming early graphic novel series starring Pepper and Boo, two darling dogs, and their suspicious housemate, the cat.
Meet Pepper and Boo. They are two dogs who do not know much about cats. (Who does?) They wonder why the cat sleeps so much (in their beds!), licks itself so much, what the cat is thinking, and what makes the cat happy.
Luckily, the cat can explain. The cat knows a lot about being a cat. They know a cat will sleep anywhere (a box, a keyboard, a…
Although I’m a cat lover, I’ve spent my career studying the evolution of lizards. As my career progressed, it never occurred to me to investigate cats. They’re too hard to study (ever tried following one?), plus, I thought there was no interesting cat research being done. Then I learned I was completely wrong—cat scientists are conducting great work using cutting-edge techniques. So I decided to teach a freshman class on the science of cats, hoping to lure in cat-loving students and then teach them how scientists study nature, using cats as the vehicle. The class was a success, but something unexpected happened: I became hooked on cat science myself!
In this lively and entertaining book, Tucker brings a journalist’s perspective to explaining how scientists and conservationists conduct their work to understand cats and their impact on the natural world. I particularly liked how she traveled to places around the world to see first-hand both the scientists and the cats.
Most amusingly, while discussing the cat-transmitted disease toxoplasmosis, which causes mice to be attracted to the scent of cats, she wonders whether climbing a small, boulder-packed hill in Africa where lions may have been lurking was evidence that she herself was infected.
A New York Times bestseller about how cats conquered the world and our hearts in this "deep and illuminating perspective on our favorite household companion" (Huffington Post).
House cats rule bedrooms and back alleys, deserted Antarctic islands, even cyberspace. And unlike dogs, cats offer humans no practical benefit. The truth is they are sadly incompetent mouse-catchers and now pose a threat to many ecosystems. Yet, we love them still.
In the "eminently readable and gently funny" (Library Journal, starred review) The Lion in the Living Room, Abigail Tucker travels through world history, natural science, and pop culture to meet breeders,…
Hi, I'm Carol Van Natta, USA Today bestselling science fiction and paranormal romance author. I write the award-winning Central Galactic Concordance space opera series and the Ice Age Shifters® paranormal romance series. In addition, I edit the bestselling Pets In Space science fiction romance anthology. I share my home with several eccentric cats. If I ever get to explore the stars or visit a magical sanctuary town, I'm taking them with me. My reader candy is science fiction stories that include pets, so I have some recommendations for you. When I read them aloud to my cats (doesn't everyone do this?), these stories are the most appreciated.
Catalyst (and the sequel, Catacombs) are for anyone who cherishes cats. It’s obvious that McCaffrey and her frequent collaborator Scarborough know cats very well indeed. In this universe, a ship's cat has proven to be as essential a crew member as captain, navigator, or engineer. (I find this totally believable, as one of my cats has decided his job is to notify me when someone has left a package on my porch.) The cats in the story are evolving to be even more valuable to humans, especially when it comes to alien relations and saving a colony's livestock from destruction. Do yourself a favor and read Catacombs, too, to find out what happens when the Barque Cats meet a cat god.
Pilot, navigator, engineer, doctor, scientist—ship's cat? All are essential to the well-staffed space vessel. Since the early days of interstellar travel, when Tuxedo Thomas, a Maine coon cat, showed what a cat could do for a ship and its crew, the so-called Barque Cats have become highly prized crew members. Thomas's carefully bred progeny, ably assisted by humans—Cat Persons—with whom they share a deep and loving bond, now travel the galaxy, responsible for keeping spacecraft free of vermin, for alerting human crews to potential environmental hazards, and for acting as morale officers.
Even among Barque Cats, Chessie is something special.…
I've written more than 100 books including the counting booksDinner at the Panda Palace(HarperCollins / PBS StoryTime) andDozens of Dachshunds(Bloomsbury / Scholastic Book Clubs). I also write easy readers such asStomp! (Ready-to-Read / JLG) and early chapter books including the Our Principal series and, with Magic School Bus author Joanna Cole,The Adventures of Allie and Amyseries. As a former early childhood teacher and children's book editor, I'm a big fan of counting books and look forward to writing – and reading – many more.
From Kimberly and James Dean's bestselling Pete the Cat series, help Pete and his friends solve the mystery of the missing cupcakes!
Pete the Cat and his friends are busy as can be baking cupcakes for a party, and Pete can't wait to perform with his groovy band. But some of the cupcakes have gone missing! Who could have taken them
In this rhyming picture book by New York Times bestselling authors James and Kimberly Dean, Pete and the gang work together to find the missing cupcakes and learn about making mistakes, forgiveness, and that it's cool to be kind.…
