A cat looks on as her master, a poor Japanese artist, works on a painting commissioned by a high priest. The artist must paint all the animals blessed by Buddha except cats, which have been excluded from paradise. Despite the risk, the compassionate artist decides to include a cat in his painting and is rewarded. Text copyright 2004 Lectorum Publications, Inc.

This joyous celebration of a cat’s journey after a happy life on Earth by the Newbery Medalist “will kindle sighs even from the feline-indifferent” (Kirkus Reviews). “The way to Cat Heaven is a field of sweet grass, where crickets and butterflies play!” With a gentle, playful rhyme, Newbery Medalist Cynthia Rylant explores all the ways our beloved cats enjoy Cat Heaven, as she did for dogs in the–bestselling companion book, Dog Heaven. Her shining artwork illustrates a world of peace for cats in Heaven, where no tree is too tall for exploring, where there is no lack of angels’ laps for sleeping. If your child wonders where his or her kitty goes after a happy life on Earth, they can rest assured that all cats “know where the angel cats fly. They’ll run past the stars and the moon and the sun . . . to curl up with God in the sky.” “The visual impact of the book is stunning . . . Whether read as a story to younger children or used in a discussion of the nature of heaven with older ones, this deceptively simple, sweet book is rewarding.” —School Library Journal

Story, told in beautiful poetic prose, of the training of a present-day Navajo Indian boy who feels a vocation to become a medicine man.

A comforting and playful exploration of a beloved dog's journey after a happy life on Earth. In Newbery Medalist Cynthia Rylant's classic bestseller, the author comforts readers young and old who have lost a dog. Recommended highly by pet lovers around the world, Dog Heaven not only comforts but also brings a tear to anyone who is devoted to a pet. From expansive fields where dogs can run and run to delicious biscuits no dog can resist, Rylant paints a warm and affectionate picture of the ideal place God would, of course, create for man's best friend. The first picture book illustrated by the author, Dog Heaven is enhanced by Rylant's bright, bold paintings that perfectly capture an afterlife sure to bring solace to anyone who is grieving.

Newbery Awards.

In this charming Cat Who mystery, a misused mansion sets the stage for a strange caper for Jim Qwilleran and his cats Koko and Yum Yum. Qwill’s moved into the old Gage mansion—and the cats are on a treasure hunt. The house’s fifty closets are crammed with several generations of junk, and while Qwill investigates two recent deaths—those of the mansion’s former occupant and a local potato farmer—Koko investigates the contents of the closets. Qwill and the cats wind up unearthing some surprising skeletons—and bringing long-buried secrets to light...

In late eighteenth-century Massachusetts, Sally, an orphan living on a farm with her three aunts and two uncles, is excited when, after deciding to relocate in Maine, the family sets out on the long and adventurous winter journey taking with them a little house on runners so that her oldest aunt may never have to leave her own fireside behind.