I recently re-read this precious book–after 58 years! In a testament to the quality of the stories, I was surprised at how many of the plots I still remembered. And almost as much as the stories, I also remembered the unique drawings.
Unlike some contemporary children’s books, these stories aren’t written “down” to children. They are enjoyable to adults as well. I agree with what the cover says…
This is a book for the whole family to enjoy together–many, many times and for many, many years…beautifully and sensitively illustrated…funny stories, serious stories, sensitive and beautiful stories, and stories of magic and wonder.
My mother, a book lover and writer, gave me this book when I was 8 years old. I wasn’t quite up to reading all of the stories myself at that age, but have wonderful memories of reading it with Mom.
Stories by some well-known authors are included in this collection of excellent stories about cats: Rudyard Kipling, Lewis Carroll, Marguerite Henry, Aesop, Charles Perrault, and Natalie Savage Carlson.
Carlson is best known for The Talking Cat and Other Stories of French Canada (1952); The Happy Orpheline (1956), a wonderful book; and–one of her best-loved books–The Family Under the Bridge (1958), which was a Newbery Honor book in 1959.
The drawings by Leonard Shortall fit well with the stories: they are detailed, high quality and intelligent. These are not caricatures or stories to be read quickly before bedtime. They are gentle stories, to be savored and remembered.
My favorites
My absolute favorite story is “The Talking Cat“. It is such an original concept, very thoughtfully written. My other favorites are “Calico, The Cat who Earned her Keep”, “The Boy Who Drew Cats“, “Cats for Kansas“, and “Benjamin West and his Cat Grimalken” (which is also on YouTube, here).
Finding the book and stories online
The Wonderful World of Cats book anthology is surprisingly hard to find online. (There is another book by the same title, so be sure you look for this one, published in 1961 and edited by Beth Brown.) I found it on Amazon, here. Abe Books also has it, here.
Editor Beth Brown compiled several other animal anthologies, which you can freely borrow and read online at Archive.org. The best known of these is All Horses go to Heaven (1963), at Archive.org, here.
In addition to the links above, the story of “The Boy Who Drew Cats” is included in the book The Boy Who Drew Cats and Other Japanese Tales, found at Archive.org, here.
My Love of Cats
The Wonderful World of Cats really did help me get over the disappointment of not being able to have a cat of my own. We couldn’t have pets in our small apartment. But my family did what it could to provide cats in my life.
My grandmother, who lived on a farm in another state, comforted me by “giving” me a cat, Mittens. This long-haired calico cat lived with her, but was considered “my” cat. How sweet! I even wrote a story about Mittens.
Of course, the time came when our family had cats. And, as an adult I had cats, and our children had cats. My most recent cat, Ginger, a gregarious leash-walking kitty, lived to be 18 years old. Here he is, sharing my enjoyment of books!
To all the book lovers and cat lovers out there, here’s hoping you can get some enjoyment from cat stories, perhaps even The Wonderful World of Cats!
Please DO SHARE your own cat stories, and your own favorite cat books, below in the comments!
Happily Writing 
What a beautiful book! How wonderful that you’ve had it all these years (and with your mom’s special note in it!) and that you remembered the stories even before reading them. Love the illustrations, too. I still have most of my childhood books. Even though they’re worn, they bring back so many warm memories. I can’t think of any cat books, but I enjoyed hearing about yours!
Thanks so much, Marcia, so good to connect again. I so enjoy sharing the excitement of children’s books with you. Here’s wishing you joy in your writing and publishing, and in sharing your book knowledge with your young library patrons!