Memoir Monday... a Special Vet and his Companion

 

Keira & Me by Noel Fitzpatrick... 
'With you by my side, just doing my best was the best thing to do.'

Keira is an extraordinary dog. She held the key to Noel's heart from the moment he first met her.

That's because Keira doesn't judge. When Noel struggles, Keira is there to remind him he need only do his best. When he sees only darkness, Keira is ready to lift him back into the light.

Keira & Me is the real-life story of Supervet Noel Fitzpatrick, his companion Keira and their life together. It captures the incredible bond of unconditional love between us and our canine friends. Inspiring and healing in equal measure, this beautifully illustrated and deeply heartfelt story of Noel and Keira's journey together teaches us all how to embrace the ups with the downs, the joy and the sorrow, the darkness and the light, that make up a life.

Noel Fitzpatrick is known as the Supervet from his TV program in the UK called Supervet. Originally from Ireland and moving to the UK in 1993, his veterinary practice includes 2 hospitals specializing in orthopedics, neurology and oncology. He's won numerous awards, done amazing surgical procedures and has written numerous books. This book is a special story about a pup that stole his heart and took the journey beside his side for many many years. It is suppose to be a beautifully looking as well as a very heartfelt story. For anyone who has a special animal in their lives or was fortunate to have had a special furbaby in their lives. I look forward to owning a copy of this special story. 

Beautifully illustrated by Laura McKendry, who illustrated the book The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, and actually done in the same style as that book, Keira & Me will be Published by Orion Publishing Group, October 26, 2023. I had a difficult time finding it anywhere in the US, so look to bookstores such as Waterstones or Blackwells to purchase. And Waterstones has signed copies available right now. 

Hey, Did Ya Hear About the NEW Beatrix Potter book?!

Hey, did ya hear? Beatrix Potter is coming out with a NEW children's book! Editor Jo Hanks discovered references to the unfinished manuscript while doing some research and a trip to the Warne Archives at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London "revealed three manuscripts, two handwritten in childrens’ school notebooks and one typeset and laid out in a dummy book; one rough colour sketch of Kitty-in-Boots and a pencil rough of our favourite arch-villain, Mr Tod."

Beatrix Potter, who we all love for her creation of Peter Rabbit and the stories of Peter and his friends, will celebrate her 150th birthday with the publication of The Tale of Kitty in Boots this fall, which in 1914 in a letter to her publisher is described as, "a well-behaved prime black Kitty cat, who leads rather a double life".

She only made one drawing of Kitty in Boots, so the task of illustrating the book will go to well known children's book illustrator, Quentin Blake. How exciting to have a new book by Ms. Potter! Who is still one of the all time best selling children's book authors.

Want to read an excerpt of The Tale of Kitty in Boots?! Here's link to the Penguin Books site where they have a small excerpt!

Want to learn more about Beatrix Potter, but can't get to the Victoria & Albert Museum?! Here's a link to The V & A, where Beatrix Potter is treated like royalty, and there is so much wonderful information on her and her books!

Memoir Monday presents… The Birds of Pandemonium by Michele Raffin

There are plenty of books about animals out there, but tucked in between them you can find some special gems. That's what I thought when I heard about The Birds of Pandemonium: Life Among the Exotic and the Endangered by Michele Raffin. As I read the preface, I was immediately drawn in. Michele's writing is wonderful, lively and engaging and you can tell she genuinely loves her birds. And it's about these birds, their personalities, that make this a heartwarming read. Here's what the publisher has to say about this book…

Each morning at first light, Michele Raffin steps outside into the bewitching bird music that heralds another day at Pandemonium Aviaries. A full symphony that swells from the most vocal of more than 350 avian throats representing more than 40 species. “It knocks me out, every day,” she says.

Pandemonium, the home and bird sanctuary that Raffin shares with some of  the world’s most remarkable birds, is a conservation organization dedicated to saving and breeding birds at the edge of extinction, with the goal of eventually releasing them into the wild. In The Birds of Pandemonium, she lets us into her world—and theirs. Birds fall in love, mourn, rejoice, and sacrifice; they have a sense of humor, invent, plot, and cope. They can teach us volumes about the interrelationships of humans and animals.

Their amazing stories make up the heart of this book. There’s Sweetie, a tiny quail with an outsize personality; the inspiring Oscar, a disabled Lady Gouldian finch who can’t fly but finds a brilliant way to climb to the highest perches of his aviary to roost. The ecstatic reunion of a disabled Victoria crowned pigeon, Wing, and her brother, Coffee, is as wondrous as the silent kinship that develops between Amadeus, a one-legged turaco, and an autistic young visitor.

As we come to know the individual birds, we also come to understand how much is at stake for many of these species. One of the aviary’s greatest success stories is breeding the gorgeous green-naped pheasant pigeon, whose home in the New Guinea rainforest is being decimated. Thanks to efforts at Pandemonium, these birds may not share the same fate as the now-extinct dodo.

The Birds of Pandemonium is about one woman’s crusade to save precious lives, and it offers rare insights into how following a passion can transform not only oneself but also the world.

Courtesy of Algonquin Books, I received an eGalley of The Birds of Pandemonium (published Oct. 7, 2014), in exchange for an honest review.

Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World... A Review

Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World

A small kitten is thrown away in a book deposit on one of the coldest nights of the year in a mid western town in Iowa and is found the next morning by the library director Vicky Myron. With a great will to live that small kitten hobbled on frostbitten paws to thank Vicki for his rescue and in doing so won her heart and all the hearts of that small town called Spencer. Dewey, as he would be officially named later on by the town, wasn't just any cat- he was truly special. And in this charming book we come to find out what it's like to live in a small farming community as well as how Dewey captured the hearts of not just Spencer, but people all over the world.

In telling the story of Dewey, Vicki also tells us her story and how she was saved in part by the love she shared with him. It's a story of hope and courage. And quoting Vicki from her book:

"The most important thing is having someone there to scoop you up, to hold you tight, and to tell you everything is all right." (and this is exactly what Dewey did for everyone who met him).

In the day where there are so many "animal" stories out there, this story is sure to win the affection of many. My only warning before reading this book is that is interspersed with Vicki's story, which is interesting, but if someone is expecting the book to be wholly about Dewey they may get impatient with the story in between. I think Vicki's story is important as it shows us that even though Dewey is a charming guy, his real job was to bring people like Vicki at least a small amount of happiness in what otherwise would be trying times.

*The Publisher, Hachette Books, are gearing up for the Holidays with a special release of Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat! Check back to see how Chick with Books is celebrating!

*Hey, I'm sharing this with Cym Lowell's Book Review Party!

The Blessing of the Animals by Katrina Kittle... A TLC Tour and Book Review

"A Moving Story of Forgiveness, Flexibility, Happiness and

the Art of Moving On."

The first thing I want to say about The Blessings of the Animals by Katrina Kittle, is that it is such a wonderful read. There is so much depth to the story and it is so well written that I found myself not being able to put it down. Not in a desperate need to finish it, but more like a delicious meal that fills your senses and that you want to savor every bite.

In the opening pages, we are introduced to Cami Anderson, who announces to us that her husband has left her, and on that morning...

"hours before I knew he would, I looked at the bruised March sky and recognized tornado green."

That tornado foreshadows what Cami is about to go through and how she got there. As a child she was fascinated by the violence of the storms so common in Ohio, and the hot headed stallion her father road in his olympic competitions. The need for thrills filled her life with "rock climbing, flying lessons, hitchhiking and drugs", but all this was nothing compared to the intoxicating sensation she got when she starved herself. All this came to a head when Bobby Binardi walked into her life. He was a bit of a bad boy, with problems of his own, but he saved her- literally by filling her life and feeding her starving body. Bobby was her best friend & roommates brother and a chef.

It's been 18 years since Bobby & Cami had gotten married. He runs his own restaurant, Tanti Baci, and Cami is a veterinarian. They have a teenage daughter, Gabby, and a whole family of misfit animals. They all live happily on the family farm... until Bobby decides he's "not happy". The day he walks out, is the day Cami must find herself again. But just as life seems to be falling apart for her, happiness seems to be filling the lives of everyone around her. Her best friend, Olive, who just happens to be her soon-to-be ex-husband's sister just got engaged and is planning her wedding, her parents are going to be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, and her gay brother and his partner are celebrating the adoption of their little girl. Cami tries desperately to not be jaded when it comes to the happiness of everyone around her, and slowly she begins to heal. Part of this healing is through the love of the animals that fill her life, one of which is an abused horse she rescued who has to learn to trust again just like Cami. Divorce, relationships, falling in love, the healing power of animals, Katrina Kittle touches on all these things and more in her wonderful novel, The Blessings of the Animals. There are twists and a few turns as Katrina weaves the story, just like life itself. She paints such a true picture of the sadness when a relationship ends, and the complications it creates with the family & friends left behind. The characters are so well rounded, and the situations so realistic. And the relationships Cami has with the animals is beautiful, it's especially wonderful to read about how lovingly she nurses Moonshot, the abused horse in her care, back to health, mentally and physically. As if the storytelling isn't enough, Katrina paints wonderful images with her writing as well, with "bruised March skies" and "pear tree petals sprinkling down".

Animal lovers will enjoy this book! But it's also a story of personal healing, and will resonate with readers who can relate to a woman's struggle to become whole again.

A Little About Katrina... Katrina Kittle was born in Illinois but has lived in the Dayton area since first grade. She attended Ohio University and was Outstanding Graduating Senior for both the English and Education departments. She taught high school English and theatre at Centerville High School for five years, and she taught middle school English and theatre at the Miami Valley School for six. She has also worked as a house cleaner, a veterinary assistant, a children’s theatre director, a costumer, and as case management support for the AIDS Resource

Center (formerly AIDS Foundation Miami Valley). Katrina is the author of Traveling Light, Two Truths and a Lie, and The Kindness of Strangers. The Kindness of Strangers was a BookSense pick and the winner of the 2006 Great Lakes Book Award for Fiction. When not writing, Katrina enjoys gardening, cooking, traveling, acting, and time spent in the presence of animals (especially horses). She is the proud aunt of Amy and Nathan, and lives in the Dayton area with her cat and a kickass garden. You can learn more about Katrina at her website, KatrinaKittle.com .

Katrina Kittle is making a stop here at Chick with Books as part of her Virtual Book Tour for The Blessings of the Animals! You can find her tour schedule at TLC Book Tours . AND, The Blessings of the Animals was officially released this past tuesday and is available from your local bookstore! I want to thank Trish of TLC Tours for inviting me to review Katrina's book! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it! And I'll be checking out the Katrina's other books now!