Musical Cat Stars in New Book by “Heather” Author

Ketzel, a real-life cat who gained brief fame in 1997 for winning a piano competition, is the charming subject of an absolutely adorable new picture book by Lesléa Newman, author of Heather Has Two Mommies.

Ketzel, the Cat Who Composed, tells the story of musician Moshe Kotel and a kitten he finds on the street. He takes her home, telling her they will “make beautiful music together.” One day, the clever kitty strolls down the piano keyboard. Kotel duly sets down the notes, and enters the piece into a contest for a one-minute composition, which it wins. You’ll have to read it to find out what they do with the royalty check!

Newman’s words, coupled with the warm colors of Amy June Bates’ watercolor, gouache, and pencil illustrations, bring the story to delightful life, but give dignity and depth to what could have been merely a cutesy tale. When Kotel begins to compose every morning, Newman writes, “he listened outside himself, and he listened inside himself,” after which “he turned all the wonderful sounds he heard into beautiful music.” That’s as good a description of the artistic process as I’ve ever read.

The real Kotel graduated from the Julliard School of Music in New York City and taught composition at the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University. He later became a rabbi, but not before his encounter with the talented feline. No less a publication than the New York Times ran Ketzel’s obituary when she died at age 19; it’s a good read for more of Ketzel’s (and Kotel’s) story.

No, there’s nothing LGBTQ-specific about this book—but I think it’s important to support LGBTQ-inclusive authors, even in their other work. And with starred reviews in Publishers Weekly and Booklist, not to mention an adorable kitten and a broad view of what makes art, it’s a book to celebrate in any case.