SUSAN LOESCH

For our last field trip of the summer, Shadow and I planned something which was sure to get us in the mood for school. We went to WordsWorth Books in Pulaski Heights to pick out a book for our first story hours of the year.

WordsWorth is Little Rock’s largest independent bookstore. In addition to the latest bestsellers, they carry many first editions and local-interest books. We also found calendars, candles, soaps, note cards, games and puzzles. I have always loved going in this store because it has such a cozy, almost old-fashioned feel.

We were welcomed by owner Jean Cazort.

Shadow was on his leash, and Ms. Hannah came with us to help keep him out of trouble!

Three seconds into the visit and he was comfortable, roaming the store like he was a regular shopper there.

He checked out the bestsellers and then picked out a book by my favorite author, Janet Evanovich.

All of a sudden, he got down from the shelf and began to walk faster toward the back of the store.

We followed him and found what had caught his interest: a cage full of beautiful finches. He definitely wanted to stay and watch them a while!

We worked our way to the children’s books and found many cat books that were new to us.

Shadow’s favorite seemed to be Ursula LeGuin’s Cat Dreams.

“Oh, how nice, it’s raining mice. Oh, happy day, all the dogs have run away.” I liked it, too, but we found another one better for reading in a story hour: Minifred Goes to School, by Mordicai Gerstein. Minifred, of course, is a cat!

As customers came in, Shadow was the center of attention, just like he is at school. He got lots of pets and then, much to his pleasure, in came a little girl named Grace. Shadow was in his element! Books and kids; this is his kind of store.

Grace wanted to feed him some treats, and she offered each one to him, held between her tiny fingers. Shadow ever so gently took them from her, never once letting his teeth catch her fingers.

Every time he took one and ate it, Grace told him, “Thank you.”

We looked at all the great black cat Halloween items that had come in, and we picked out a black cat ornament to remind us of our fun visit.

Shadow had to try out every chair and bench in the store, stretching out for a while to test its comfort level. He liked every single one, and I think if we had had enough time he would have nap-tested them.

After Grace fed Shadow treats and we moved to another part of the store, we put his package of treats up on a shelf. They proved irresistible, and, when we looked up, there he was with his head buried in the treat bag! Guess he thought that after being so good he deserved more treats; I agreed with him on that.

We headed back to the counter to pay for our treasures, and Shadow made one last selection. He found a great night shirt with the caption “She Who Sleeps With Cats.” That was something both of us could enjoy; I will sleep in it, and he will sleep on it.

This was a great way to end our summer field trips, and we both are looking forward to seeing our kids again and reading to them.

I think they will really like Minifred Goes to School. It sneaks in the lesson that everyone who goes to school has to obey the rules, even cats. But just like at our school, the kitty rules are a little bit different. At the end of the list of rules, way down at the bottom of the page, in small but still very clear print is this: “* Except kittens, who must do exactly as they like.” Definitely like the rules at our school.

Be sure to check out WordsWorth’s web site, www.wordsworthbooks.org, or even better, stop by the store at 5920 R St. in the Heights. You won’t want to leave.