Jenny and the Cat Club

A cat's guide to social club navigation

Hey Snarfs,

Welcome to this week’s edition, particularly to our new subscribers. There’s plenty to peruse in the archives, once you’ve had a look at this one.

If you know any parents looking for something new to read or any lists/message boards that could use a little more Snarf in their lives, please pass this along.

Now onto…

The Series: Jenny and the Cat Club
The Author and Illustrator: Esther Averill
Length/Picture Density: 120-160 pages, illustrations every few pages

These stories are about every kid's favorite topic: social acceptance among a self-important group of mannered elites. What does it take to join the club? Is it worth it? Does one accept the norms of such an institution or challenge them to loosen up and modernize? Is joining something one should aspire to?

Yes, these issues form much of the tension in these books. And they're awesome. They are the best example I know of a book series that gets incredible mileage from the main characters being animals that act like people.

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The stories, as you have probably surmised, revolve around a cat club -- a group of house cats that meet regularly to go through a lot of pomp and circumstance and occasionally put on an event. I know this doesn't sound like it would be appealing to kids or grownups, but in my experience it worked for both.

One reason is that it's easier to enjoy the pompousness and manners of the characters because they are cats and not oppressive upper class people trying to make people with less money conform to them. Another is that it's not ALL pomp and circumstance. There are dogs, nights on the town in the big city, and in one book, a trip around the world on an ocean cruise.

Then there's the main character, Jenny. She's sweet and lovable, someone you wish good things for. I found myself really hoping things would work out well for her, and very relieved when they did. At first she’s pretty skittish, but through her own maturity and the kindness of those around her, she finds surprising courage.

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In keeping with the social drama, there aren’t real bad guys in these — some scary dogs are the closest we get, but they don’t ever feel truly menacing. Instead there are haughty cats whose ego-fueled behavior can be intimidating and challenging for Jenny.

These books are from the 70s, and that makes sense to me in a way that I’m not sure I can accurately articulate. Part of it is the prominence of the social club as an institution, and part is the relaxed artiness of the books. The bemusing but relatable interpersonal (intercatonal?) tension accented with occasional ink drawings feels like something that could more easily make it through a publishing house in a previous generation. They have a different feel and tone from most chapter books you’ll come across.

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You can start anywhere with these, but the most logical place is with the first one, Jenny and the Cat Club, which is a collection of short stories that lead to Jenny becoming ingratiated into the club. We happened to start with a story that focused on two side characters, and I didn’t feel like we were missing anything. Once you’re part of the club, it’s like you’ve been there the whole time.