The Five Lives of Our Cat Zook

Review for my indie bookstore boss from reading the Advance Reader Copy: How can one children's book contain so many of The Big Difficult Conversations between adults and kids? And how does it manage it with such hope, humor and delight? From the death of a parent, the prospect of a step-parent, the......more

Ella and I are searching through the library's Overdrive collection for a new audiobook to listen to. She loves cats, so this one's an obvious choice, but... "I dunno, Ella. It looks like it might have a dead cat in it." "That's ok. Besides," she reasons, "If it's too sad, we can always listen to so......more

How would you feel if your pet became very ill? Ten-year-old Oona Armstrong lives in an Oakland, CA, apartment with her mother Terri, five-year-old brother Fred, and their cat named Zook, which is short for Zucchini. Oona and Fred’s dad Max had died two years before from cancer. Nearby is O’Leary’s......more

Oona and Fred have a cat named Zook. Zook is a sick kitty who has to get fluids to help his kidney's function. Oona is teaching Fred to read using rebuses and stories about the past lives of Zook. She is upset that her mom is dating Dylan (the villain) who she thinks is the past owner of Zook. There......more