Little red scarf

Some years ago my mother (a teacher) came home with a stack of discarded library books. At the top of the heap: a tattered old copy of Jenny's Birthday Book.
First published in the 1940s, Esther Averill's lovely little story of the shy cat named Jenny Linsky won me over in an instant. Jenny's a city cat (Greenwich Village) with loads of fashion sense: she never ventures forth without her red scarf, a gift from her kindly owner Captain Tinker.

I started collecting other books in the series Averill wrote about Jenny and her friends, Romulus and Remus, Checkers, Edward, Macaroni and the fancy Madam Butterfly. And remember Pickles? Yes, he makes a cameo, too!

The books had been out of print for years so I had to scour eBay and used book stores until the New York Review of Books wisely brought them back. They look handsome in the yellow covers and red binding, though I'm partial to my well-loved little copies. I'm just glad the books are back for a whole new generation to adore!