August 8th is International Cat Day! Besides thousands of years as beloved pets and a couple decades starring in great internet memes, cats are also featured in plenty of books in our teen collection. These books include Starter Villains which is a 2026 Lincoln Award Finalist (a state-wide teen choice book award) and will be featured in this year’s High School Book Club (first meeting September 6th).
This year’s International Cat Day happens to fall on the last day of the Summer Reading Program. So if you’re looking to get those last hours of reading in, why not read something related to one of our favorite animals?
The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett. Maurice is an alley cat working with rats to con townspeople out of money. When the rats invade a town, Maurice shows up to lead to lead them out of that town with his magical rat pipe. Afterwards, they split the money the townspeople have given him. The town of Bad Blintz is aptly named as there’s an evil there that will make the hardest job yet for Maurice and his rats.
Catfishing on CatNet by Naomi Kritzer. In the AI-dominated near future, Steph struggles to fit in since she and her mom move a lot, so she spends most of her time online. She especially spends a lot of time on CatNet, which of full of cat pictures thanks to the cat-obsessed AI admin ChesireCat. Worlds collide when both Steph and ChesireCat start facing both online and off-line threats.
The Cat I Never Named: A True Story of Love, War, and survival by Amra Sabic-El-Rayess with Laura L. Sullivan. In this memoir set in the early ‘90s in war-torn Bosnia & Herzegovina, Amra is a Bosnian Muslim teenager struggling to survive. The cat distribution system works in mysterious ways as a stray calico wanders into her life. At first her family worries about affording another mouth to feed, but the cat gradually wins them over providing some comfort in a dark time.
Starter Villain by John Scalzi. Charlie is a struggling substitute teacher living alone with his cat, when he suddenly inherits his long-lost uncle’s supervillain business complete with a volcano lair and talking spy cats.
Unlikely friendships: 47 Remarkable Stories from the Animal Kingdom by Jennifer S. Holland. This non-fiction book features 47 stories of unusual friendships between animals, including more than a dozen featuring different varieties of cats large and small (ranging from lions to tigers to domestic kittens).
You can find physical copies of these books and more in our Teen Lounge area. Some of them are also available as e-books which are downloadable right from your phone or tablet using your free DKPL library card. Your friendly Teen Services Staff is always happy to help you find your next book. If you’re interested in more information feel free to contact Teen Services Staff in the Teen Room at 815-756-9568 (ext. 2450) or by e-mail at [email protected].