"Mr. Twiddles is a big, plump, and rather grouchy cat. He had a good life, sitting around in his favorite chair, soaking up the sun. That was until Clara the cleaning lady stepped into Mr. Twiddles' house, vacuum in hand, ready to clean. Mr. Twiddles did not like to be bothered by anybody. The opinionated cat glared at Clara, and asked her, "Who are you and what do you want?" "My name is Clara, and who are you?" came the reply. Mr. Twiddles was astounded to hear Clara talk back to him!

"So begins the sweet tale of one grumpy cat and a very lovable (and patient!) cleaning lady. Mr. Twiddles does everything in his power to make a mess of the house, hoping his owners will ask Clara to leave. But the talented cleaning woman just smiles and cleans up mess after mess. The last cleaning task is to vacuum up the dust balls and dirt on the cat's favorite chair and Mr. Twiddles tries to stop Clara. Unable to keep the cleaning woman from her job, the cat finally leaves in disgust. When the noise of the vacuum stops, Mr. Twiddles reluctantly returns and is thrilled to see his chair, clean, and smelling fresh. After a rough start, Mr. Twiddles and Clara are now great friends.

"Clara Meets Mr. Twiddles offers children a delightful tale that educates as it entertains. Mr. Twiddles learns an important lesson from his experience; not to judge people by their outward appearance. The ornery cat initially sees Clara as "…wearing a purple sweat suit and a purple scarf tied around her head… the strangest creature he'd ever seen." But he learns that Clara is a wonderful, caring individual and by book's end, adores her.

"The illustrations in Clara Meets Mr. Twiddles are bright and eye-catching. Lots of purple and vivid yellow drawings (including purple paw prints on every text page) are sure to delight children.

"A special note that the author is donating a portion of the sales of Clara Meets Mr. Twiddles to support her foundation which funds literacy and educational services in her native Liberia.

"Quill says: A sweet tale about a grumpy cat and a kindhearted cleaning woman."

Holly Connors for Feather Quill Book Reviews
August 2009

"This book is dedicated to Jazz Purr, the real Mr. Twiddles, who is now taking catnaps in Cat Heaven. The book is also dedicated to all the children of Liberia, West Africa. The proceeds from the sale of this book will be used to build schools and clinics in rural areas of Liberia so children impoverished by an eighteen-year war can obtain a free education."

-Excerpted from the Dedication (page 5)

"Clara is a housekeeper who is a cat-whisperer of sorts, because she has been capable of communicating with felines ever since the day she was rewarded with VSP, aka Very Special Powers, for rescuing seven kittens that were drowning. So, you can imagine the surprise of Mr. Twiddles the day Clara shows up to clean the home of his owners, Mr. Bill and Miss Mary.

"For when Twiddles starts to complain about all the racket the new maid is making with her vacuum cleaner and brooms and buckets, he gets the surprise of his life when she suddenly responds to him, and senses that she understands his every meow. Being very protective of his turf, Twiddles still decides to disrupt Clara as she goes about her work.

"The battle of wills which ensues animates the balance of Clara Meets Mr. Twiddles, a charming children's tale designed with kids 4-8 years of age in mind. The story was written by Lynnette A. Murray-Gibson, a long-time resident of Minnesota who drew on her own experiences as a housekeeper for inspiration. Born in Monrovia, Liberia, Ms. Gibson embarked on this project in part as a philanthropic effort to benefit orphans of the civil war back in her homeland in need of education.

"When read aloud, Clara Meets Mr. Twiddles sounds a lot like Dr. Seuss, as the dialogue frequently adopts a similar sing-song staccato, such as when Clara announces: "I've brought brooms and buckets and mops and brushes. I've got vacuums and rags and sprays and polish. I sweep and dust and mop and scrub." As for the illustrations, the colorful airbrushed artwork is pleasant and ubiquitous, with cute cat paw prints appearing even on the pages with just words."

"Overall, a delightful book made all the more fun when you know that the author plans to donate the proceeds to a very good cause."

Kam Williams
August 12, 2009

About Kam Williams

THE SLY FOX FILM REVIEWS

The Sly Fox Film Reviews publishes the content of film critic Kam Williams. Voted Best Male Entertainment Journalist of the Decade by the Disilgold Soul Literary Review in 2006, Mr. Williams is a syndicated film and book critic who writes for 100+ publications around the U.S. and Canada. He is a member of the New York Film Critics Online, Rotten Tomatoes, the African-American Film Critics Association, and the NAACP Image Awards Nominating Committee. In addition to a BA in Black Studies from Cornell, he has an MA in English from Brown, an MBA from The Wharton School, and a JD from Boston University.

Clara Meets Mr. Twiddles: The Magical Adventures of Clara the Cleaning Lady is a wonderfully imaginative book about a very territorial cat named Mr. Twiddles and a determined, empowered cleaning lady named Clara, who has Very Special Powers that enable her to understand and speak to cats. As cat owners and lovers everywhere will recognize, Mr. Twiddles resents Clara cleaning his home and most especially, his personal napping chair. He orders her to leave his chair alone but she makes no such promises, because she is no ordinary cleaning lady, as Mr. Twiddles discovers. Well of course, Mr. Twiddles is no ordinary cat. (Has anyone ever known an ordinary cat?)

The ensuing exchange is polite, gentle, strong, and heart warming to all. Beautiful full color illustrations enhance and complement this children's book perfectly. Quite a significant amount of assumptions about space, identity, prejudice, powers, and integrity are skillfully challenged and explored in Clara Meets Mr. Twiddles. The author is devoted to charitable causes and will donate a portion of the sales of the book to support her foundation which funds literacy and educational services in Liberia, the author's birthplace. Clara Meets Mr. Twiddles is just the right combination of fun, fact, fable, and fine education. It will appeal to children ages 4-8.

Midwest Book Review


Five Stars
A great new cat book, with a supernatural twist.

Mr. Twiddles is a rather self-centered cat who thinks his entire home is his to rule. Then he runs into Clara the Cleaning Lady. She has the magical ability to carry on a conversation with Mr. T. and she ignores his demands for her to leave and quit disturbing him. He tries several times to sabotage her cleaning, but she cheerfully goes about her work in cleaning, dusting and other duties as if he wasn't there. She finally decides to run a hand vacuum over "his chair" and he is won over. Maybe she isn't so bad after all and they make their peace. The illustrations are well done and the story itself keeps you interested. This is the first of what might be a series of Clara and Mr. Twiddles adventures and should delight any child or adult who reads the book.

By J T Cooper
Marietta, GA USA
June 9, 2009

ISBN: 978-1-58985-123-8
Price: $ 15.95
Publisher: Little Five Star, a division of Five Star Publications
Date Published: Summer 2009
Binding: Softbound

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