The Cats on Ben Yehuda Street

PreS-Gr 2—Mr. Modiano, owner of the Tel Aviv Fish Palace, is not a fan of the cats living up and down Ben Yehuda Street. He finds them "messy, meowing, and useless." He also has no use for the felines on the cushion outside the apartment of his neighbor, Mrs. Spiegel, even though they are the recipients of his nightly gift of leftover fish. Mrs. Spiegel, however, loves little gray Ketzie with a pink collar and big white Gatito with no collar at all. But only Ketzie is allowed to sleep indoors due to a "Just One Cat" rule in their building. All this background leads to a quickly dealt with plot in which Ketzie disappears only to be found by Mr. Modiano, who then invites Gatito inside to be his very own cat, new blue collar and all. The mixed-media illustrations give more personality to the cats than the humans, though the Hebrew lettering on signs and labels is a nice touch. While the story is slight, it has a pleasing message about opening one's heart (and door) to friendship. An additional purchase for large collections.—Martha Link Yesowitch, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, NC