Subtle, soulful, and beautifully real.
A city cat and a country cat forge an unlikely friendship in Coplan’s tender and deeply felt story. Ricky, an Abyssinian with a caramel coat that gleams like starlight, reigns over the Big City with the confidence of a cat who’s always had soft beds and steady meals. Orangey, a scrappy barn cat with a clipped ear and rough fur, survives among the vines and wild rosemary of the countryside, always alert, always alone. When a crashing machine destroys his old barn, Orangey’s quiet life shatters, and so begins his journey toward something he’s never known: belonging.
The book begins as a portrait of contrast but soon softens into a meditation on friendship. Orangey and Ricky’s first encounter—half boast, half curiosity—sets their dynamic in motion. The city sophisticate who “chases gophers for fun” and the wild barn cat who “eats gophers for breakfast” size each other up like rivals on unfamiliar ground until time and trust transform their distance into an easy companionship. Coplan’s prose is spare but luminous, her affection for both cats evident in every line. The knowledge that the story springs from real life (Ricky and Orangey were true companions, their bond tested and proven) adds depth to the book’s emotional core. Beneath its gentle narrative lies an appeal for empathy, particularly for feral animals whose clipped ears mark them as survivors, not strays. Nicola Robson’s art glows with warmth and texture.
Gentle yet resonant, it’s a book that speaks to anyone who’s ever stumbled upon belonging where they least expected it. A triumph!
Illustrations by Nicola Robson
Pub date October 15, 2025
ISBN 979-8218787639
Price $21.99 (USD) Hardcover
Pages 36
Reading age 5 – 12 years