PIGEON & CAT

An interspecies lovefest starring two urban strays.

Depicting his anthropomorphic animals (except Pigeon) in ragged clothes, Hemingway pairs an anti-social stray cat who lives in an abandoned lot with a small gray bird who hatches in his lap from a fallen egg. Once Pigeon learns to fly, she begins bringing him paint, crayons, and other gifts…but then one day fails to come back. Cat leaves the lot to search for her—chalking messages on walls, sharing fish heads with other strays, and, in time, finding the city a more welcoming place than he had imagined. And, when at last he comes back, he discovers that not only has Pigeon returned, but she has brought with her a host of animal friends who have turned the entire lot into a verdant, brightly decorated public art space with a round table at the center where all can celebrate together. As if the storyline isn’t cozy enough on its own, Hemingway sets it in a city as shiny and squeaky clean as can be, festooned with hearts, rainbows, and smiley faces. Even more adorably, Pigeon speaks entirely in emoticons and rebuses. These are fairly easy to follow, but, perhaps in a concession to less versatile readers (parents, for instance), Pigeon’s longest speech—in which she explains to Cat that she was injured in a thunderstorm and what she has been up to since—comes with a translation. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A sweet tale celebrating the joys of both personal and communal togetherness.