THE CAT WHO WALKED THE CAMINO

A cat and his friend travel the Camino de Santiago in Spencer’s illustrated children’s book.

An orange kitten and his two siblings are put up for adoption at a farmer’s market; a pilgrim named Lucía picks him and tells him that together they will travel the Camino to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia. She explains that their two-month-long trip will take them across Spain, and that it’s Lucía's last “big adventure” before attending university. Their first stop is at an inn that doesn’t allow cats, but Lucía hides him under some steps and retrieves him in the morning. Soon, she names him Don Pedro Pepito. They later continue their journey through Cruz de Hierro, a place where pilgrims say prayers and place rocks on a hill to “leave [their] troubles behind”; Lucía and Pepito become part of this 1,000-year-old tradition. While Lucía is busy talking with other travelers, Pepito runs after some sheep and falls asleep in a flower patch soon afterward; when he wakes up, he can’t find his friend Lucía. Alone, he continues down the Camino; kind people give him food, but he misses Lucía. After a scary encounter with a dog, Pepito is reunited with his friends at last; they finally make it to the Cathedral, where Lucía's family is waiting, and Pepito becomes a new part of it. A colorful map acts as an introduction to this pilgrimage story, which features appealing ink-and-watercolor illustrations that mainly focus on Pepito, who’s consistently cute throughout. The premise of the book is a promising one that could have offered young readers an exciting adventure. However, the laid-back tone of the work dampens feelings of conflict or tension, making it read more like a slice-of-life tale with disconnected events. The book features sporadic Spanish terms, and it includes an informative glossary at the end.

A well-illustrated, if somewhat sedate, tale of a kitten’s cross-country journey.