Magic Charm Books

The Cat Next Door by Elizabeth Koda-Callan, 1993.

A little girl (unnamed, like the other girls in this series) really wants a kitten of her own. However, the girl’s mother won’t give her a kitten because she doesn’t think that the girl is responsible enough to care for one. In the past, the girl has had a hamster and a gerbil, and she left most of the animals’ care to her mother.

Soon, the girl gets a chance to prove that she can be more responsible. The woman next door is going away for a week, and she needs someone to look after her cat, Clover. The girl says that she would like to take care of Clover. Besides playing with Clover, the girl would have to feed her, change her water, and clean her litter box, but the girl says that she is willing to do it.

The girl loves Clover, but Clover is very shy around her at first. It takes time and patience for the girl to make friends with her and to take care of her. Once the cat gets used to the girl, the two of them have fun together.

When the neighbor returns from her trip, she is pleased that the girl took good care of her cat and gives her a silver cat charm as a memento. The girl misses Clover, now that she no longer needs to take care of her and still wishes for a cat of her own. Her wish is fulfilled when Clover has kittens, and the neighbor gives one to the girl.

All of the books in this series originally came with charms like the ones described in the stories. This book originally included a little silver cat charm for the reader to wear. The hole in the cover of the book was where the charm was displayed when the book was new. The books in the series often focus on the unnamed main character (who could represent any girl reading this story – the books were aimed at young girls) developing new self confidence, and the charms were meant to be either a sign of their new self confidence or inspiration for developing it. In this case, the charm is a reminder of the girl’s experience with the neighbor’s cat, which taught her what she needed to know to take care of a pet of her own.

The book is available to borrow for free online through Internet Archive.