We let Mama write the review of this great book. For some reason, people seem to trust book reviews written by humans more than those written by cats. Go figure! And we decided we’d let her get away with saying “she” writes this column. We supposed that technically it’s true, since she does all the typing.

Dear Sparkle: Advice From One Cat to Another

As the editor (or rather, personal assistant) of the world-famous Paws and Effect Gang, I’m always curious to check out books written by other cat advice authorities, so when I got a chance to get a copy of Dear Sparkle, I took it.

I’d read Sparkle’s online advice column, so I expected that her book would be as entertaining as her blog–and I wasn’t disappointed. Not only does this hugely entertaining 155-page book contain some great advice for Sparkle’s fellow cats (and for the people who may read it covertly when their cats aren’t looking), but the chapters are punctuated with lots of beautiful photos of Sparkle in all her regal majesty.

Since I write a cat advice column myself, I tend to read other advice books with a critical eye. Sparkle never takes a wrong step as she guides cats through some of the challenges of living with people and other animals. From unfortunate habits like scratching in undesirable locations to strange quirks like wool sucking, from aggression problems to ways of entertaining bored cats, and from feast to famine (and other dietary issues), Sparkle dishes it all–and sometimes with a dose of “tough love” for cats that need it.

I recommend this book highly, not just for its entertainment value but for the solid advice it offers to the people who dare to sneak it away from their cats. Dear Sparkle is very much a G-rated book, appropriate for all ages. I suspect that most kids under the age of 9 or 10 might not have quite enough reading skills to understand everything Sparkle says–but they’ll get a kick out of it anyway, and I’m sure it could inspire a cat-loving kid to be a book-loving kid, too.

And on a purely personal note, I’m delighted to report that I found no typographical errors in this book (and I’m quite a stickler about that, too).

I’m glad my feline overlords let me read Sparkle’s book. I’m sure it was because after they read it, they realized just how well trained their person is.

~JaneA Kelley