I remember this book fondly from childhood. I grew up with alot of cats and after reading this book I always wanted to have a grey cat with white feet. Now that I'm newly married I'm remembering this book and hoping to get a new cat soon. ( )

I adored this when I was young (even though I was a bit older than the _target audience when it was released) and was delighted to find that I still do. So much wisdom, insight, adventure, and humor packed into such a very short book. Perfect for a family read-aloud for all ages. Even minor characters are full-on individuals.

And since it's a cat displaced by the baby, it's 'metaphorical' and you can apply it as bibliotherapy to your first-born without being dismissed as teachy-preachy.
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Reread for Cleary topic in Children's books. But had a little trouble with it. Not nursing, but bottle feeding. And dad telling the infant "That's the old fight!" when he burps (he wouldn't say that to a girl baby would he?).

But the story of the cat itself is as charming as I remember from reading this book as a child. ( )

Socks is one happy cat. He lives the good life with his affectionate owners, Mr. and Mrs. Bricker. Ever since the day they saved him from a life spent in a mailbox drop slot, Socks has been the center of their world. And he always has everything he needs--tasty kitty treats and all the lap room he could want!

But when a new baby arrives, suddenly the Brickers have less and less time for Socks. Little Charles William is the one getting all the attention. Socks feels left out--and to show it, he starts getting into all sorts of trouble! What will it take to make Socks realize just how much the Brickers care about him?

Such a cute read, even more fun now that I have a cat of my own ( )

This short, simple tale about a cat that is adopted by a young couple and is eventually displaced by a newborn baby was a lot of fun to read, not to mention very true to cat ownership. In life, cats certainly do often get ignored, even pushed aside, when important things are happening, and it seems perfectly all right. But the indignation from the cat's perspective felt completely justified too. I only wish cats really understood as much as Socks did in the book—it would make certain parts of life a lot simpler.

I haven't read much Cleary in my life, maybe just a Ramona book or two when I was younger, but I think I'll have to remedy that, as I just loved this story so much. The fact that I'm heavily a cat person probably affects my feelings on it, but my 10-year-old daughter, who is pretty equal on dogs and cats, also loved it. One thing's for sure, I'll never look at my cats the same way again. ( )