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A Lesson My Cat Taught Me
With the antics of his two cats as inspiration, author Saul Weber has written an enchanting storybook about unconditional love and compassion. This debut volume is a unique exploration of the life lessons common to us all. Written in a casual, personal way, Weber's book appeals to readers of every age. In 'A Lesson My Cat Taught Me', Jennifer and her mother find a friendly, abandoned cat. Upon bringing it home, they soon discover that it only has one eye. Jennifer calls the cat Uno, and learns that despite it's disability, Uno is capable of doing more things than her other cat, Mr. Tickles. When Hillary, who is in a wheelchair becomes a classmate, Jennifer sees her as a friend rather then a girl with a disability because of the lesson Uno has taught her.
- GenresChildrens
34 pages, Perfect Paperback
First published November 1, 2007
264 people want to read
About the author
Saul Weber
1 book7 followersA married NYC civil servant who retired after 33+ years with the same agency. We had two cats which had been the inspiration for my award winning children's book [early reader] entitled "A Lesson My Cat Taught Me," whose lesson is the acceptance of others for who they are and not what they are.
I previously had a publisher when the book had originally been released in November 2007. When my contract didn't get renewed in February 2010 I decided to self-publish it and released this edition [paperback] in October of the same year.
ON FEBRUARY 28 2014 - I finally released the KINDLE edition of my book.
http://www.amazon.com/Lesson-My-Cat-T...
I have two completed manuscripts waiting to be published which are a mini-series.
I previously had a publisher when the book had originally been released in November 2007. When my contract didn't get renewed in February 2010 I decided to self-publish it and released this edition [paperback] in October of the same year.
ON FEBRUARY 28 2014 - I finally released the KINDLE edition of my book.
http://www.amazon.com/Lesson-My-Cat-T...
I have two completed manuscripts waiting to be published which are a mini-series.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 27, 2014
this book was very cute! I have a cat myself and think they do teach us lessons! I really enjoyed Weber's lesson that many young readers can relate to. I don't want to give away the content too much, but I love how this book relates to modern issues children experience in school and everyday life. I thought it had a sweet story and would recommend it to anyone interested in a good short story about a young girl who finds some truth about animals (and people) who may be disregarded because of disabilities! Thank you Mr. Weber for choosing me as a recipient for your book. I will enjoy passing it along to my niece!
January 26, 2012
A Lesson my Cat Taught Me is a chapter book for early readers by Saul Weber. This is the author’s brief summary of the book: Jennifer and her mother find a friendly, abandoned cat. They soon discover it only has one eye. Jennifer calls the cat Uno, and learns that despite its disability, Uno is capable of doing more things than her other cat, Mr. Tickles. When Hillary, who is in a wheelchair, joins her class, Jennifer sees her as a friend rather than a girl with a disability because of what Uno has taught her.
The black and white sketches by Nancy Lepri lends the book a sweet, simple feel that harkens back to books we grew up with 30 years ago. The message the author is trying to convey—that kids with disabilities are no different than other kids, and Jennifer learns this lesson through observing her “disabled” cat—has great appeal, and it is a lesson of tolerance and friendship we hope that kids of all ages will take to heart.
This is a self-published book, and while there may be many talented self-published authors in the book world, the lack of editorial oversight is often a problem. In A Lesson My Cat Taught Me, punctuation errors, typos, missing words only serve to pull the reader out of the story and provide distractions I’m sure Mr. Weber did not intend.
While the story is a sweet one and the characters are likeable, the pacing is somewhat slow because of lengthy passages of dialogue where much of the exchange is between Jennifer and her mother about feeding the cat or changing its litter. Uno’s disability is that it only has one eye, hence the name. I had expected that Uno would somehow overcome the challenge of seeing with one eye, and that the “lesson” she teaches Jennifer is about how she adapted to the disability of her impaired vision. However, the tricks Uno performs with Jennifer’s patient coaxing has to do with selecting which hand Jennifer is hiding the treats or begging for a treat. For me, this diluted the “lesson” of Uno dealing with its handicap.
The relationship between Jennifer and Hilary, the new girl in school with a wheelchair, has the potential for encouraging kindness, tolerance, and acceptance of others different from ourselves. It’s a little too quickly glossed over, and I would have liked to see the author spend more time on developing this friendship and on how Hilary either triumphs over her disability or not let it impede her, and less time on Uno’s tricks and eating habits.
A Lesson My Cat Taught Me could have benefitted from some tight editing, but overall, the book’s message is well-needed, and it truly is a sweet story.
Reviewer for BookPleasures.com
The black and white sketches by Nancy Lepri lends the book a sweet, simple feel that harkens back to books we grew up with 30 years ago. The message the author is trying to convey—that kids with disabilities are no different than other kids, and Jennifer learns this lesson through observing her “disabled” cat—has great appeal, and it is a lesson of tolerance and friendship we hope that kids of all ages will take to heart.
This is a self-published book, and while there may be many talented self-published authors in the book world, the lack of editorial oversight is often a problem. In A Lesson My Cat Taught Me, punctuation errors, typos, missing words only serve to pull the reader out of the story and provide distractions I’m sure Mr. Weber did not intend.
While the story is a sweet one and the characters are likeable, the pacing is somewhat slow because of lengthy passages of dialogue where much of the exchange is between Jennifer and her mother about feeding the cat or changing its litter. Uno’s disability is that it only has one eye, hence the name. I had expected that Uno would somehow overcome the challenge of seeing with one eye, and that the “lesson” she teaches Jennifer is about how she adapted to the disability of her impaired vision. However, the tricks Uno performs with Jennifer’s patient coaxing has to do with selecting which hand Jennifer is hiding the treats or begging for a treat. For me, this diluted the “lesson” of Uno dealing with its handicap.
The relationship between Jennifer and Hilary, the new girl in school with a wheelchair, has the potential for encouraging kindness, tolerance, and acceptance of others different from ourselves. It’s a little too quickly glossed over, and I would have liked to see the author spend more time on developing this friendship and on how Hilary either triumphs over her disability or not let it impede her, and less time on Uno’s tricks and eating habits.
A Lesson My Cat Taught Me could have benefitted from some tight editing, but overall, the book’s message is well-needed, and it truly is a sweet story.
Reviewer for BookPleasures.com
April 21, 2015
What starts out as a sweet innocent story about a young girl, Jennifer, who goes out shopping to buy some new clothes for school, turns into a whole lot more by the time the story ends. Going to the garage with her mother to get to their car they discover a stray calico cat who she’d like to take home to keep her other cat, Mr. Tickles, company while she’s away at school. Not having anything to carry it in, her mother promises they’ll try to get it when they return from the mall.
Returning, her mother keeps her promise, they get the cat and then bring it home. When Jennifer opens the carrier door, the new cat walks out and surprisingly gets accepted by Mr. Tickles, who licks the new cat on the head. It isn’t until she picks up the new cat that she discovers it only has one eye and decides to call it Uno. From here the book takes on a whole new look as it deals with caring for her new pet, teaching it tricks, and whether anything special needs to be done because of the cat’s “disabling” condition.
Jennifer soon discovers it can manage quite well on its own, and is quicker and more eager to learn tricks than her other cat. Everything finally comes into play when Hillary who’s in a wheelchair joins her class. While the others in her class tease and makes fun of Hillary and her disability, Jennifer looks at her as possibly becoming a friend. Hillary doesn’t trust Jennifer’s at first since she thinks Jennifer is merely showing pity. In a short time, Hillary discovers Jennifer telling her how she felt about her being like everyone else is the truth, and they become friends; which is quite convenient since they live in the apartment building.
The author has done a marvelous, low-keyed approach in this illustrated early reader children’s in teaching the important life lesson regarding the acceptance of others for who they are and not what they are; a lesson which some adults still need to learn. The fact the book has won an award in the 2011 Sharp Writ Awards, a contest in which the judges were children who belong to MENSA and other Hi-IQ groups should indicate the kind of book “A Lesson My Cat Taught Me” is and is one of the reasons I’m giving this book a well-deserved 5 STARS.
Returning, her mother keeps her promise, they get the cat and then bring it home. When Jennifer opens the carrier door, the new cat walks out and surprisingly gets accepted by Mr. Tickles, who licks the new cat on the head. It isn’t until she picks up the new cat that she discovers it only has one eye and decides to call it Uno. From here the book takes on a whole new look as it deals with caring for her new pet, teaching it tricks, and whether anything special needs to be done because of the cat’s “disabling” condition.
Jennifer soon discovers it can manage quite well on its own, and is quicker and more eager to learn tricks than her other cat. Everything finally comes into play when Hillary who’s in a wheelchair joins her class. While the others in her class tease and makes fun of Hillary and her disability, Jennifer looks at her as possibly becoming a friend. Hillary doesn’t trust Jennifer’s at first since she thinks Jennifer is merely showing pity. In a short time, Hillary discovers Jennifer telling her how she felt about her being like everyone else is the truth, and they become friends; which is quite convenient since they live in the apartment building.
The author has done a marvelous, low-keyed approach in this illustrated early reader children’s in teaching the important life lesson regarding the acceptance of others for who they are and not what they are; a lesson which some adults still need to learn. The fact the book has won an award in the 2011 Sharp Writ Awards, a contest in which the judges were children who belong to MENSA and other Hi-IQ groups should indicate the kind of book “A Lesson My Cat Taught Me” is and is one of the reasons I’m giving this book a well-deserved 5 STARS.
February 25, 2015
This was a cute story that has a lot of teaching potential--unconditional love, friendship, and working with disabilities to name a few.
Jennifer loves animals and has a Maine Coon cat called Mr. Tickles. She worries that he gets lonely during the day and wants to get him a companion. She and her mother find an abandoned cat in the garage and bring it in to the apartment. It's then that Jennifer finds out the new cat only has one eye, hence the name "Uno." She is concerned that the cat may have problems getting around but finds out Uno is okay with one eye. She even teaches the cat tricks. Mr. Tickles also accepts the new cat.
The Jennifer goes to school and a new student comes to class. She is in a wheelchair and the other kids make fun of her. Jennifer knows that is wrong and befriends the new girl. It's these choices that Jennifer has learned--just because someone has a handicap, doesn't mean they are any less a person (or cat) and aren't handicapped in other ways.
I love the simplicity of this book, the characters are human and the lessons taught are valuable. The illustrations are wonderful.
I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway
Jennifer loves animals and has a Maine Coon cat called Mr. Tickles. She worries that he gets lonely during the day and wants to get him a companion. She and her mother find an abandoned cat in the garage and bring it in to the apartment. It's then that Jennifer finds out the new cat only has one eye, hence the name "Uno." She is concerned that the cat may have problems getting around but finds out Uno is okay with one eye. She even teaches the cat tricks. Mr. Tickles also accepts the new cat.
The Jennifer goes to school and a new student comes to class. She is in a wheelchair and the other kids make fun of her. Jennifer knows that is wrong and befriends the new girl. It's these choices that Jennifer has learned--just because someone has a handicap, doesn't mean they are any less a person (or cat) and aren't handicapped in other ways.
I love the simplicity of this book, the characters are human and the lessons taught are valuable. The illustrations are wonderful.
I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway
December 6, 2014
This was a cute book about how a young girl learned a valuable lesson from her cat. I loved that the characters adopted a cat from the shelter and also took in a cat from the streets instead of buying them from someone. There are so many homeless animals that need good homes. The lesson that Uno taught Jennifer helped her deal with being a great friend to a new disabled student that came to her school. It is nice to see kids that don't care about what others say and sort of go their own way and great things come out of it. This was a quick read but very cute!!
January 22, 2008
Adorable book about a one-eyed cat named "Uno" and what this little cat learns about overcoming disabilities. The book's lessons show Jennifer learning tolerance and this is shown clearly when a new girl shows up in class in a wheelchair.
The book's illustrator, Nancy Lepri, did a wonderful job with her illustrations--especially that of "Uno".
I would have loved to see the pictures in color.
The book's illustrator, Nancy Lepri, did a wonderful job with her illustrations--especially that of "Uno".
I would have loved to see the pictures in color.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews