Somewhere on the east coast of the United States, a little girl named Betsy Delaney finds a stray cat on the grounds of her housing project. Since no pets are allowed in the apartments, she tries to care for it outside, but the weather is starting to turn, and she is concerned about how the cat will get through winter, not to mention the approaching hurricane. And what is she going to do about the rift the cat has caused between her and her best friend?

It's a tidy if boring little introduction to community activism dressed up with a kitty and some friendship angst, notable perhaps as a 1966 children's book with a BIPOC cast in the illustrations though no mention of race is made in the text. ( )

A multiracial group of little girls find and feed stray cat, but pet animals are forbidden in the public housing "project" where they live. In spite of their gender, race, and poverty -- and their youth -- the children find the courage to challenge this injustice and take their concerns all the way to City Hall. ( )