How much of an impact can an

animal have? How many lives

can one cat touch? How is it

possible for an abandoned

kitten to transform a small

library, save a classic American town, and eventually become

famous around the world? You

can't even begin to answer

those questions until you hear

the charming story of Dewey

Readmore Books, the beloved library cat of Spencer, Iowa.

Dewey's story starts in the

worst possible way. Only a few

weeks old, on the coldest night

of the year, he was stuffed into

the returned book slot at the Spencer Public Library. He was

found the next working by

library director Vicki Myron, a

single mother who had survived

the loss of her family farm, a

breast cancer scare, and an alcoholic husband. Dewey won

her heart, and the hearts of the

staff, by pulling himself up and

hobbling on frostbitten feet to

nudge each of hem in a gesture

of thanks and love. For the next nineteen years, he never

stopped charming the people of

Spencer with this enthusiasm,

warmth, humility (for a cat),

and, above all, his sixth sense

about who needed him most. As his fame grew from town to

town, then state to state, and

finally, amazingly, worldwide,

Dewey became more than just a

friend; he became a source of

pride for an extraordinary Heartland farming town pulling

its way slowly back from the

greatest crisis in its long history.