Reviewed by Jeanne
Back in 1982—a half a dozen years before a cat named Dewey
was put in a bookdrop-- a small town in Nevada had a new library with a little
problem. Actually, a lot of little problems: the new
site was on an alfalfa field which meant that the library was flooded with
mice. Jan Louch, a library assistant and
cat lover, made the pitch that what the library needed was a cat and she knew
just the breed to get: a Scottish Fold because the breed tends to be placid and
shouldn’t cause problems with patron or staff interactions. Jan and co-worker Yvonne saved their money to
buy one of the pure-bred cats for the then princely sum of $75.
Choosing a name wasn’t much of a problem once
Jan looked around at all the boxes with “Baker & Taylor” written on them. For
those not in the book biz, Baker and
Taylor is the name of one of the major book distributors and libraries are, of
course, one of their target audiences. So the cat was dubbed Baker and Jan started
saving to buy a “Taylor” to keep Baker company while the library was closed.
That’s when Baker & Taylor the company stepped in and
offered to buy a second cat with the stipulation that they could use the two in
advertising. Louch agreed, and soon a
second Scottish Fold joined the staff.
Then came the photo shoot.
The cats were not enthusiastic: they were downright terrified of the lights
and attempts to pose them. The whole thing seemed to be a disaster. Louch
thought that would be the end of the publicity but as it turned out, there were
some useable shots of Baker & Taylor (the cats) which Baker & Taylor
(the company) put on some posters and shopping bags to hand out as freebies at
library and bookseller convention.
To say the items were a hit is an understatement. Everybody loved the cats! The library started getting letters and calls
from all over the country. A second
grade class formed a Baker & Taylor Fan Club. An ingenious librarian from another state
sent in an Inter-Library Loan request to borrow the cats. Tour buses even
stopped to see the famous cats.
But the real difference the cats made was with the staff and
the patrons. There’s just something
about the way cats and books go together that made the library seem more welcoming.
I’ll admit I started The True Tales of Baker and Taylor
with some trepidation. Here was another
story of library cats trying to follow in the pawprints of Vicki Myron’s Dewey,
and while that book certainly made literary waves, why would I want to read
another? Sure, I love libraries and I
love cats; and I had actually followed the stories of these kitties while they
were still alive, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to read another book. Also—spoiler alert-- I am not big on reading
books where the animal dies at the end because I tear up. Still the book was here, so I gave it a shot.
I loved it. Loved it
even more than Dewey. Louch and
co-author Lisa Rogak know how to tell a story.
Part of the story is, of necessity, Louch’s own though she concentrates
on the cats and community; but to tell the truth, I enjoyed her story as much
as I did the cats. Not only is she an
old- school librarian with whom I could identify, but she has a tart sense of
humor which I enjoyed. This book goes on
my list of books to buy to give as gifts this Christmas, which says a lot about
how I feel about the book. Of course,
one of the “gift” books will somehow end up on my shelves.
And no, I didn’t tear up at the book. I bawled.
Twice. And it was totally worth
it.
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| "Baker and Taylor are my heroes!" ~ Tessa |
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