The Cookie-store Cat

by Cynthia Rylant

Newbery Medalist Cynthia Rylant tells the heartwarming story of an orphaned kitten who is taken in by three cookie-store bakers. "A lovely idyll, definitely fattening." --Booklist


With simple precision, Cynthia Rylant tells the sweet tale of a forgotten kitty without a home who is found and adopted by the kind bakers of a charming town. The book includes many easy-to-follow recipes for the cookies mentioned inside.

Genres: Picture Books, Cats, Childrens, Animals, Christmas, Juvenile

32 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1999

About the author

Cynthia Rylant is an American author, poet, and librarian whose deeply felt books for children and young adults have made her one of the most beloved voices in contemporary literature. Writing across picture books, novels, short stories, nonfiction, and poetry, she has published more than one hundred works, many of them rooted in memory, family, solitude, and the emotional landscapes of ordinary life. Her fiction often draws from her upbringing in West Virginia and reflects the textures of Appalachian life with unusual tenderness and clarity.
Raised in modest circumstances, Rylant spent much of her childhood with her grandparents in a rural setting that later became central to her imagination as a writer. Those early years, marked by hardship as well as warmth, shaped the emotional honesty and quiet resilience that define her work. She later studied English and library science, and after working as a waitress, librarian, and teacher, she began publishing books inspired by the world she had known so intimately.
Among her most acclaimed works are Missing May, which received the Newbery Medal, and A Fine White Dust, a Newbery Honor Book. She also earned Caldecott Honors for When I Was Young in the Mountains and The Relatives Came. For younger readers, she became especially well known through the enduring Henry and Mudge series, as well as other popular books and series that combine gentleness, humor, and emotional depth.
Rylant's writing is distinguished by its compassion for lonely, searching, or overlooked characters, and by its reverence for animals, nature, and small human connections. Whether writing about grief, wonder, childhood, or belonging, she brings a lyrical simplicity that resonates across generations. Her books continue to offer comfort, recognition, and beauty to readers of all ages. She remains a singular literary presence in children's literature and beyond today.

Reviews

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

The word layout is strangely formless. I would say they didn't care about editing, but there aren't really spelling or punctuation errors; it's just that the words are spread out all along the page without any art to the grouping, and it throws off the rhythm. Actually, some words probably would have been trimmed with good editing.

That being said, the story is very sweet, and it reminds me of the animal clinic cat that we recently lost.

[Melle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book filled with figurative and literal sweetness -- an orange cat is rescued and adopted by a trio of bakers. The cat spends his days surrounded by sweet treats, the men who make treats, and the people who enjoy the treats. The illustrations are on par for a Cynthia Rylant picture book -- bold, colorful, folksy, charming. The book contains recipes for sweet treats, too. Very sweet. Contains some Christian religious references (priest, parish, the holiday of Christmas), but still a very universal story about doing kind things and being loving to others.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sweet story of a starving, abandoned cat that is adopted by the owners of a cookie store and is fed both by food and love. This cat has many friends and a very happy life. I couldn't help but think that if all children had such a loving home...filled with friends, loved ones and enough food...that this would be a much happier world indeed.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so sweet (literally)! I love the illustrations because they are child-like and innocent. I was able to literally smell all the sweets they were describing. The book even offers several recipes for the treats at the end.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Six stars if I could!

[Ivy Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is the best book ever created no one can beat this

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve owned this book for many, many years. Recently I had a little girl staying with me and she loved this book, keeping it in the bedtime-story rotation for several weeks.

I want to focus on one of the recipes at the end of this book, as there are many,many other reviews regarding the story and illustrations.

She, the child staying with me, wanted to make the “Gumdrop Gems” recipe.

The Gumdrop Gems recipe is identical to one you can find on many sources online except it omits the cream of tartar. The cookies came out flat. They could have used the cream of tartar. They were flavorful enough otherwise. Personally, I don’t like the taste of gumdrops but my little girl had never had them and wanted to be faithful to the recipe. The cookie around the gumdrops was sweet, tasty. The cookies went to waste though, as she learned she doesn’t like gumdrops either. :)

I love that Cynthia Rylant did the illustrations for this book, as she did for Dog Heaven and Cat Heaven. To me, these books seem more personal and therefore that much more lovely and cozy. This is just the kind of thing that makes a bedtime story golden.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is literally the purest, sweetest picture book i've ever read. ever. in fact, it's so sweet that i almost wish the cat murdered one of the bakers in the end or something just to temper the plot. but as i am not the author and this is the story rylant gave us, i will instead weep in a corner thinking about this blessed creature.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

The bakers have taken in a scrawny, stray cat and he has become a fixture in the neighborhood. He is “sweeter than any cookie they have ever baked.” Even school children come by to see the cat and every night the baker fills his bowl with cream and carries the cat to bed.

[Deanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming story...

[Alexandra]

nicest thing I’ve read?? the cat always being told how beautiful and perfect they are!! being held like a baby!! so many cookie recipes at the end!!!

[Rachel Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter's favorite

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Our oldest found this at the library and just had to check it out. She said that her teacher had read this to her class in school and she loved it, especially the recipes in the back. It truly is a "sweet" tale, and I love that it depicts a cat being rescued. I can't say that it is my favorite book by Cynthia Rylant, but we really enjoy reading all of her stories. And now we have some cookie recipes to try out! (see below for our favorites)

Father Eugene’s Scotch Chewies

½ cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts

Melt butter on low heat. Remove from heat and stir in sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to butter mixture with coconut and nuts. Spread in a greased 15”x10”X1” pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cut into bars, then cool.

Makes 36 chewies.


Cinnamon Sugarplums

2/3 cup butter, softened
¾ cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
4 tsp. milk
1 ½ cups flour
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
Cinnamon sugar

Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla. Add egg, beat until fluffy. Stir in milk. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt; add to creamed mixture. Drop from teaspoon onto cookie sheet. Flatten with fork, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool.

Makes 48 cookies.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a serendipitous discovery when my children were young. It describes a world in which no one comes to harm and everything is just as it should be. Its illustrations are bright and childlike and the words provide a trail of comfort that draws you into the cookie store cat's perfect world. The sensory details are just right and not one word could be removed from this book without spoiling the effect. Not only that, but there are cookie recipes and it's all about cookies and a cat! Who wouldn't love that?

[Tim · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author has won awards but not for this book...
It reads like an introduction - Describing the store and the cat and how much everyone loves it - But there seems to be no plot and no basic elements of the story in it!
The artwork is cute and I guess if you like cats it could be enjoyable

[Jailynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute book, I like the cookie art.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another of my favorites. The story is about a cat who comes to live with some bakers and how they nurture him. There are even recipes for all of the cookies mentioned in the text.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story probably would have gone farther with a different illustration style, but as it is, it was a fine cat story. Simple and sweet.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet story. I love the way the bakers talk to the cat. The illustrations are a little weird.

[Karen Arendt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cat lovers will appreciate this gem!

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the recipes at the back of the book.