Dad: I'm trying to build up momentum in my writing by not waiting so long in-between writing sessions. So here I am, the Very Next Day, sitting down to Write Blog Posts.
Papas: Dad, why are you Unnecessarily Capitalizing random words?
Dad: I was thinking about one of my favorite books, "Winnie the Pooh". That book capitalized certain words to call extra attention to them.
Bernard: I love that book! Are we going to talk about that book today?
Dad: We can if you want. This is mostly your blog. We can talk about whatever book you want.
Papas: Is there a cat in it?
Dad: Well, there's a Tigger.
Papas: Do you mean a tiger?
Bernard: No, a Tigger. Looks like a tiger, but has a double "g", and is very springy. You should read it. Dad has two copies, plus an ebook and audiobook.
Papas: Dad, I never again want to hear you say I have too many toys or too much crinkly paper.
Dad: You have my word. So are we going to talk about Winnie the Pooh today?
Papas: I don't care, as long as the book we discuss has cats in it.
Bernard: Definitely cats. Always cats. Cats cats cats.
Papas: Cats cats cats!
Dad: How about a book about cats who don't track litter all through the house and don't want to be fed in the middle of the night?
Papas: Bernard, do you know what he's talking about?
Bernard: I think he's talking about the genre known as "speculative fiction."
Papas: How about that book you read last year?
Dad: I read almost a hundred books last year. At least two were about a cat.
Papas: We should talk about both of them.
Bernard: I like cats.
Papas: All sensible creatures do. Dad, let's first talk about that one about the newspaper reporter who was in danger of losing his job because his editor liked his writing, but wanted him to write about something other than cats all the time.
Bernard: What else is there to write about?
Papas: I agree. but Tibble's editor didn't.
Bernard: Is that the reporter's name, Tibble? I like that name. It rhymes with kibble. Which reminds me, I'm hungry.
Papas: Me too. Dad?
Dad: Yes, I'm hungry too. But I see there is still food in both of your bowls.
Bernard: Yes, but it's old.
Papas: Plus, you can see the bottom of the bowl in areas, and that's essentially the same as empty.
Dad: "The Cat Who Came In off the Roof" is the current English translation of the 1970 Dutch novel "Minoes" by Annie M. G. Schmidt, translated into English in 2014 by David Colmer.
Papas: Did you just change the subject?
Dad: There was an earlier translation, in 1992, by Lance Salway. It is titled "Minnie." It is out of print now, but I found a nice used copy on eBay. There are a few differences in character names, idioms, and things like that, and it has different illustrations.
Bernard: He definitely changed the subject. Papas, tell me about the story.
Papas: Tibble, or Mr. Tibble, is a newspaper reporter, a very good one apparently, and popular with his readership. But his editor wants him to write actual news stories. He says that cat stories are nice, and in fact, Tibble's stories are very good. But the editor wants news.
Bernard: Can't the other reporters handle that?
Papas: Mr. Tibble pointed out the newspaper was full of stories about war and murders and bank robberies, and he thought people might want to read about nice things like cats and leaves. But his editor said he needed to go out and talk to people and not be so shy. And he said Mr. Tibble had to have his first real news story on the editor's desk the next morning, and then two or three a week after that. And if he couldn't, he wouldn't be working for the newspaper anymore.
Bernard: That's quite unfair. Mr. Tibble is right, people need nice stories. All those bad stories come because there are too many of them and not enough stories about cats. Besides, what's so bad about being shy? Dad is kind of shy, and he's pretty cool - as far as humans go.
Papas: I agree. But on the other paw, look how old he was when he met Mom. There might be something to this talking to people business. Well, Tibble decided maybe his editor was right, at least about that bit, so he started to walk home, and all he could notice was the rain and the trees and the cars, and every now and then, a cat. And of course, he was no longer allowed to write about cats.
Bernard: So unfair.
Papas: Well, as he was talking to one of his old school teachers, a dog started barking furiously and something ran past them and scrambled up a tree. And at first, they thought it was a cat, but they saw it was a very frightened human woman. After they chased off the dog and helped the young woman down, she ran off, and Tibble decided he needed to get home and start writing. He wrote about the woman who ran from the dog and went up the tree so fast it was almost like she was a cat herself, but it was a very short article, and he didn't think his boss would like it. So he threw it away, and let his cat outside (he rented an attic apartment, I should mention because that's important) and then he wrote and wrote and he threw away everything he wrote. And just about when he was ready to give up and tell his boss in the morning he simply wasn't cut out to be a reporter, he heard a noise in the kitchen.
Bernard: Was it his cat coming back?
Papas: He thought so, because it had been raining so, and his cat wasn't usually gone for long, but it was actually the woman the dog had chased up the tree. She had come in through the attic window. And she was eating the fish, bones and all, that he left out for his cat.
Bernard: Like you eat my food.
Papas: Like you eat my food, correct. Well, I don't want to tell the entire story, because it's a very good book and everyone should read it for themselves. But she told him her name was Miss Minoes, and that she used to be a cat. He didn't believe her, even though she had been eating fish bones and had rubbed up against him and purred when he said she could stay.
Bernard: Perfectly ordinary behavior.
Papas: For a cat, perhaps, but humans don't usually rub up against each other and purr when they say thanks.
Bernard: Maybe they should. Then they would be in a better mood and wouldn't need to rob banks and things like that and there would be more room in the newspapers for cat stories.
Papas: I agree. But they don't, and that's that. Anyway, Miss Minoes told Mr. Tibble she knows all about his impending job loss because his cat told her. And over the next few days, she gave him a whole lot of tips that led to news stories, and that made his editor quite happy. Mr. Tibble still didn't completely believe she used to be a cat, but he could not deny she knew things she might not have known if she wasn't truly talking to her feline friends.
Bernard: What else happens?
Papas: Well, I don't want to give any spoilers, but his news stories got bigger, and then Miss Minoes told him something about the mayor which no one believed because everyone liked the mayor, but Mr. Tibble had to risk his job again to prove it. But now he had some friends who believed him and helped him uncover the whole story.
Bernard: I want to read that book. Dad, will you read it to me?
Dad: I will. And for our blog readers, I highly recommend you go to the library and borrow it, or buy your own copy. Support your local independent bookstore if you can.
Papas: I give the book two paws up.
Bernard: Sounds like a two-paws-up book to me, too. Bye everyone, until next time. Dad, can we eat now?
