Selected for A Room of One’s Own’s 2023 Holiday Catalog! “A playful, singsongy, almost stream-of-consciousness-like text and bold, minimalist illustrations in a limited palette tell the story of a boy who tries to impose his will on his cat—but the cat has other ideas… This is a very effective communication of the concepts of boundaries, identity, and autonomy, presented in a child-friendly way.”
The Horn Book

A Moonbow Best Children's Book of 2023! "Originally published in 1963 and beautifully reissued this year by Enchanted Lion Books, this picture book is about boundaries and respect. When a boy tries to control his cat, he finds out that his cat has its own particular, private, and personal feelings. It’s a funny, delightful story about loving someone for who they are, not who you want them to be. But the best thing about this book is the design and illustrations by one of the very best in children’s book history: Remy Charlip."
Moonbow

A playful and poignant vintage fable about cherishing the particular... The story, illustrated with great vivacity and typographic virtuosity by artist, dancer, choreographer, and theater director Remy Charlip begins with a boy declaring ownership of his cat, in that classic 'MINE!' way that children have of feeling out the boundary between where they end and the rest of the world begins... In the end, the boy discovers that in every relationship of trust and tenderness, each is the guardian of the other’s particularity; that to love someone for exactly who they are is the greatest, the only kind of love; that it is impossible to achieve this without first learning to love yourself for exactly who you are, with all the courage and vulnerability this requires.
The Marginalian

I’m not sure if this is a story or a poem, but I absolutely love it! This is about personal space and boundaries, but it’s also about the uniqueness of being you (and of being me!) and how wonderful it is to share that with a friend (especially when that friend is a cat!).
Flyleaf Books (Chapel Hill, NC)