Life can be hard for a kitten with no home. The woodcutter left him in the woods all alone, and he had to get his food wherever he could find it. The city, with its horses and people, held nothing but terror for the homely little cat. He hid in an alley, shaking from fright and cold.

It was there that Tell found him and took him home. Tell was an artist, and as poor and lonely as the black cat (black, that is, except for a heart-shaped snippet of white on his forehead). And the love and warmth and new interest that each gave to the other made Tell's paintings sparkle and made the Valentine Cat grow sleek and content—until the black day when Ketch, the evil chimney sweep, saw the Valentine Cat.

Clyde Bulla recounts the story of the homely little black cat and the artist who befriended him with simplicity ans suspense. A royal princess, stern palace guards, a kindly shoemaker, and the drivers of the royal coaches all play their parts in this heart-warming story of a Valentine come to life.

Leonard Weisgard's handsome pictures bring the reader to the faraway land where the Valentine Cat lived so long ago. He makes us feel as one with the artist who loved so much the cat that brought new spirit to this work.

A master storyteller and a distinguished illustrator have made The Valentine Cat a book of warmth and magic that will bring joy to the reader and will add a new dimension to Valentine's Day.

From the dust jacket