With her every need attended to by her human companion, Minou's life was one of ease and contentment. Her only job was to be "cute, cuddly and attentive." But then one terrible day, Madame Violette died, and the little Siamese cat found herself on the streets of Paris, fending for herself for the first time. With no survival skills to speak of - no notion of how to find food or shelter - things soon went from bad to worse for Minou, until a chance encounter with sophisticated street-cat Celeste set her paws on a better path...

Written by Mindy Bingham while she was the executive director of the Girls Club of Santa Barbara, Minou is an engaging and well-illustrated animal-story allegory that teaches an important lesson about self-sufficiency. Created and aimed specifically at young girls, in an effort to counteract social pressures which encourage the continued inequality of women, it includes a page of suggestions, and questions to promote discussion, at the rear. Despite this explicitly didactic purpose, Bingham's book manages to promote good feminist values without being preachy, and although aimed at girls, will also appeal to boys. All children, after all, must grow up some day, and they will instinctively identify with a character who must learn to take care of herself.

Itoko Maeno's lovely watercolor illustrations enhance the emotional impact of the tale, from Minou's initial contentment, through her distressing experiences with homelessness and hunger, and into her time as an "independent cat of means." All in all, a delightful picture-book - I thank my friend Manny for recommending it! ( )