the diary of a working cat
Mobu is a three-year-old calico, and she loves chicken. This is her story.
Mobu is not a cuddly cat. She doesn’t like to be touched but she likes things that are blue. She sleeps in the sink and keeps a close eye on her human, making sure he is well supervised.
Jackie is a four-year-old snowshoe cat who lives nearby. When his human goes out of town, he stays with Mobu and her human for a few days. He’s happy to be there because there are lots of comfy places to sleep and fish treats.
Mobu sees Jackie relaxing and decides she wants more for herself. She wants to be self-reliant. She wants to earn her own food. She explains this to her human, and he supports her, even giving her a booklet that lists jobs for cats. There is the cat yoga teacher, who can earn two cans of food per session. Or there is a job as cat cafe staff, where she can earn a can for two hours of work keeping guests company. Or there is the job in pest extermination that also pays a can for two hours of work.
Mobu decides to go for the job at the cat cafe, and Jackie tags along. Mobu had put in work beforehand on her resume and was ready for the interview, but Jackie just showed up, and they both got the job. Mobu was nervous about working around the humans, but with some good advice from a coworker and her affinity for blue toys, she figures out how to be around the humans and keep her own boundaries. And just by being herself, she learns how to heal others just by being herself.
Mobu’s Diary: Earning Your Pate is a heartwarming comic about a self-reliant cat who wants to earn her way in the world and figures out how to use her unique gifts to help others. It’s a beautifully illustrated book filled with the art of international sensation Kathy Lam. After Mobu’s story are more of Lam’s illustrations and an interview about how she creates her art.
I loved this story. Mobu is sweet and hard-working, not willing to change her ways but wanting to do what she can to make the world better. And the art is whimsical but powerful. Lam has clearly studied art for many years, and her work has an energy to it that brings Mobu and all her friends to life. While younger humans could be attracted to the cat story, it was the sophistication of the art that drew me in. Mobu’s Diary has something for readers of all ages.
Egalleys for Mobu’s Diary: Earning Your Pate were provided by Andrews McMeel Publishing through Edelweiss, with many thanks, but the opinions are mine.
