Farfel and Bob - Two Reviews

Sometimes you just have to read something light and fun, and if that something is told by two absolutely charming "talking" cats, well – all the better.  This was my first introduction to Bob and his best buddy Farfel and it was cat-love at first read.

FARFEL AND BOB’S SUMMER BROMANCE by Kendra Carmichael

Bob lives with Marcia who adopted him when she decided a cat was a better relationship than some of the boyfriends she had had.  Needless to even say, she spoiled him thoroughly.  One day Marcia came home and told Bob that she would have to be away every Wednesday evening for several weeks because of a new project at work.  Hmmm – this was going to be a bit disruptive to his life because Bob like to spend his evenings on the fence with his best friend Farfel.  Farfel’s life was a little more stressful than Bob’s because he lived with Mr. and Mrs. Gregson, Teenager, Bird and his nephew kitty, Rooster.  Farfel liked to “unwind” during their time on the fence so he was quite shocked when

Bob announced the change in plans.

"Having a busy family to care for, Farfel relied on his evening with Bob for much needed

down-to-earth cat companionship."

Now, Farfel was an awesome hunter so he decided that on his, now unoccupied, Wednesday evenings he would patrol the perimeter of Bob’s house.  When he caught a mouse he would deposit it on Bob’s doorstep as a gift.

“Bob, who didn't even like mice that much, especially not dead ones, purred as he looked on. Because, as much as Marcia loved him, Bob liked knowing Farfel loved him too.”

Nice kitty idea but, unfortunately Marcia didn’t agree – and – she thought it must be Bob hunting since the mouse was on her doorstep.  But how was he getting out of the house while she was away?  Marcia had to get to the bottom of this mystery!

FARFEL AND BOB’S SUPER STRESSFUL WEEKEND by Kendra Carmichael

Teenager has gotten his hands on some firecrackers and when he sets one off in the house Farfel runs out to join Bob on the backyard fence, his fur standing on end and definitely looking spooked.  “That’s the last claw” proclaims Farfel … being scared out of his own home.  Bob wasn’t too sure what firecrackers were and could only imagine something as horrible as the “tail devouring vacuum monster” or the “heat emitting hair-dryer monster”.  Teenager, now relegated to the outdoors by Mrs. Gregson, continued on with the fireworks in the driveway.  The two cats ran to Bob’s house and quickly scooted into the basement for safety.  It wasn’t long before Farfel detected mice. Bob either lacked the hunting gene or was a conscientious objector because he just let them be.  Before Bob could explain Farfel had caught and killed one of the mice. 

Marcia was devastated to know rodents were in her house and had to come up with a cat-friendly way to rid her home of these pests.  Farfel just shakes his head in disbelief at her plan and Bob makes an interesting discovery about himself.

When Ms. Carmichael reached out to me through of my “Stay at HomeKitty” twitter page to ask if I would like to read a couple of her books I agreed.  I was a little apprehensive because one never knows what one is going to get but in this case I was more than pleasantly surprised.  These books are beyond cute and the stories are accompanied by her amusing artwork.   I fell in love with Bob and Farfel and their little adventures. 

These stories will appeal to and be a fun, quick read for adults (especially those who love their feline fur babies) but the stories are definitely G-rated and would make a great introduction to short chapter books for young readers.  The illustrations will help bring the stories to life and the “cat dialogue” will be something to chuckle over as your youngster reads along.

Make sure to check out her website and her blog … there’s all kind of awesome freebies available to give you a little sample of “Farfel and Bob”.

I would like to thank Ms. Carmichael for providing me with these books to review at no charge.  

This is not way influenced my opinions.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from her web page)

A former interactive media developer, Kendra turned her creative skills toward storytelling in order to find more meaning in life. It turns out the same skills that can write JavaScript can craft stories about feline hijinks.

An expert in cat ownership, she’s had eight cats in the course of her life, plus many others that have been temporary residents (mostly due to lack of timely feline birth control).

She currently lives with The One Cat to Rule Them All in New England, where she does all the shopping, cooking, and snow shoveling herself. Occasionally, the cat supervises, when she’s not busy napping.

THE MUSES

Farfel is partly based on my cat Jack, who passed a few years back. Both are fat and orange, with super soft fur. While Farfel is happy-go-lucky, however, Jack was angsty and, well, he’d bite you.

Though they would sometimes play together, Jack and Awesometown engaged in a massive power struggle for house dominance the entire time they lived together! Stressful for the human (me).

Now that she is queen of her own house, Awesometown refuses to even contemplate adding another feline to the household. Though, when my mother visits, she does tolerate the dreaded dog.