He lives with a nice young couple called Brickers who play with him, pet him, feed him treats, and always have a warm lap for him to sit in. Then a new baby joins the family Suddenly, the Brickers are sharing their laps and love with Charles William, and Socks is getting into trouble. He runs from a phantom dog, wrestles with Nana's best wig, and fights Old Taylor the tomcat for his territory. But as Charles William grows, Socks discovers that he has a new friend and a new way to be a part of the family.

A purr-fectly hilarious portrait of life with a baby from a cat's point of view.

ANNOTATION

The happy home life of Socks, the cat, is disrupted by the addition of a new baby to the household.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Socks is the name of the newest character to be created by Beverly Cleary. He is a young tabby cat with four white paws, and he lives happily with a young married couple, Marilyn and Bill Bricker. The center of the Bricker household, Socks rules it affectionately but firmly.

Into this loving home, however, comes another pet. This creature has a small, wrinkled, furless face, and Mr. and Mrs. Bricker spend an inordinate amount of time trying to burp it. Its arrival fills Socks with jealousy and a terrible anxiety. How the rivalry between Socks and Charles William, the Bricker baby, turns into an alliance makes a domestic drama both touching and funny.

Although her story is about a cat and faithful to his point of view in every detail, Mrs. Cleary demonstrates with it the emotional upheaval experienced by a child who must learn to share his parents. As young readers come to understand Socks and his problems, they will gain a new understanding of themselves. But, most of all, they will laugh.

FROM THE CRITICS

School Library Journal

Gr 1-4-After a rough start, and a brief internment in a mail box, Socks the cat has landed on his feet. He belongs to the Brickers-a young couple who dote on him. Then a baby arrives in the household and Socks discovers that the people he'd trained so well no longer consider him the center of their universe. This is devastating, but eventually he finds a new place that everyone can be happy with. This is an hilarious book by Beverly Cleary (Morrow, 1973), told from the cat's point of view, and Neil Patrick Harris does a slam-bang job of presenting it. He provides voices for each character but, more importantly, he reads the story with humor and expression, bringing it to life. Listeners feel a kinship with Socks and root for his success, even while acknowledging his foibles. Both children and adults with roar with laughter at Sock's antics and cringe at his misdeeds. This is a great production that deserves to be enjoyed by a wide audience.-Teresa Bateman, Brigadoon Elementary School, Federal Way, WA Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.