"My life is a joy."
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Liesi: A Tale of One Kitty by Kathe Bryant Trafford Publishing
book review by Priscilla Estes
Cat lovers will delight in this cat's eye view of favorite feline antics. Six-year-old Liese, the predominant narrator, shares her joy in squeezing into tight spaces, exploring open drawers, licking yogurt lids and chasing fall leaves. No ordinary American short-haired shelter kitty, Liesi is a cat of many talents. Her language is creative: a leaf rake in action "mimics hundreds of mice running under the leaves." She has a sense of humor: "Humans are unpredictable!" And she's wise beyond her years: "I now realize there are no monsters; only creature or things I have not experienced before."
The human author, Bryant, is no match for the feline's delightful pen. But we humans can still appreciate Bryant's initial pages that share her love for animals, starting with the original Liese, her grandmother's beloved pet who opened Bryant's heart to cats. Our breath suspends as Bryant dramatically recounts her painstaking rescue of the tortured kitty Mitzi from some ignorant little boys. We feel delight when the widowed empty nester finds another Liese to share her home. Time-honored quotes about cats anchor each chapter, feline silhouettes roam the top margins, and homey snapshots of Liesi sprinkle the pages with smiles.
Often stories written from a pet's perspective are goofy and trite, but Bryant coaxes the best from her kitty. After forty pages from a feline perspective, Liesi returns the favor. Liesi hands the keyboard back to Bryant for an epilogue that sums up life’s lessons from cats, eleven statements to touch a cat lover's soul and ring true in the heart of every feline fan.