Chuck’s a cat with a great life—until Katie goes away to college and his best friend moves. Left all alone, Chuck starts to venture farther and farther into the neighborhood and one fateful night finds himself face-to-face with a beast as big and black as death. His name is Rotten Willy—and he’s a dog with a heart of gold.

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### From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6?Chuck the cat has a fairly routine life. His person, Katie, treats him well, and he spends his days with his best friend, Tom the cat, taunting dogs. Chuck's life is unsettled by the death of his alleycat friend, Louie, who is hit by a car. It is further disrupted when Katie goes off to a place called "college," and again when Tom moves away. The lonely Chuck finds a new friend in a rottweiler whom Tom has maliciously named "Rotten Willy." Willy's person is also away at school, so the cat and dog discover that despite their differences, they have much in common. Told through the eyes of Chuck, the story has a chatty tone, but it gets off to a slow start, and the conclusion is predictable, particularly because of the cover artwork. Despite Chuck's amusing observations of people and other animals, the book lacks the strength of Russell Erickson's A Toad for Tuesday (Lothrop, 1974), which is better written and more aptly portrays an unlikely friendship between two dissimilar creatures.?Lucy Rafael, The Center for Early Education, West Hollywood, CA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

### From Kirkus Reviews

From Wallace (True Friends, 1994, etc.), a tale of interspecies friendship. Chuck the cat is lonely. His best friend, Tom, has moved away with his owners; another friend, Louie, was killed by a car; and Chuck's owner has gone off to college. Trapped on a tree branch for two days and nights by the poodles who moved into Tom's house, he is rescued by a kind-hearted rottweiler, Willy, who feeds and warms him before sending him back home. This tale, warmed by the patience of Willy, who perseveres in the face of feline prejudice, is told completely from the animals' perspective: They understand human language but can't read it or speak it. With the exception of Willy, it is not a particularly nice world; cats torment dogs, dogs--in turn--attempt to do cats in, cars come out of the ether to crumple the unwary, grudges hold, humans behave in inexplicable ways, and loneliness is bitter. As it should, friendship overcomes all; despite the unnecessarily pandering title, the book has a gentle message that comes through without treacle. (b&w illustrations, not seen) (Fiction. 8-12) -- *Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.*