Book Review: Cindy Wume’s The Bookshop Cat.

Bookshops are magical places.

Inside a single bookshop are thousands of doors into worlds of knowledge, creativity, and exploration. A bookstore with a cat however, is ten times more magical.

The sight of a cat curled up among the rows of paperbacks will often set one at ease – the warm purr of our favourite felines compliments the comforting smell of books. A kitten’s supreme confidence in their place in the world fills any space that they inhabit. This confidence creates a warm and welcoming atmosphere that tells a person that, yes, they too belong here.

Evidently Cindy Wume agrees. In her book, The Bookshop Cat, she tells a tale of children’s bookstore and how by employing one of our tailed friends it became the busiest spot in town. Young readers are introduced to the Black Cat, who comes from a distinguished family and whose grandparents, parents and even siblings, all hold respectable jobs where they are the top of their fields. Going against the grain, the Black Cat just wants to read.

Admittedly, reading isn’t really a job now, is it? However, there are plenty of jobs that go quite well with a love of books. This is how the Black Cat comes to find himself the newest employee of the children’s bookstore run by Violet and her grandpa.

With beautiful illustrations and lettering, Wume weaves the story of the Black Cat, who not only finds a job that allows him to share his passion with others, but also creates a space for children to explore. A space where he can teach them the most important philosophy of all:

“With a book, you can go anywhere and be anything!”

Cindy Wume, The Bookshop Cat

Cindy Wume is a freelance illustrator from Tainan, Taiwan. She moved to the UK in 2014 to study Children’s Book Illustration at Cambridge School of Art, having always had a passion for drawing and illustration. Her artwork was selected for the 2016 Bologna Children’s Book Fair Exhibition and Cindy’s debut picture book, The Best Sound in the World, was longlisted for the Klaus Flugge Prize.

You can find this book, along with our own bookshop cats Ollie and Cosmo, at the David Krut Bookshop at 151 Jan Smuts Avenue in Parkwood.