THE FOUR UGLY CATS IN APARTMENT 3D

Lily, a ten-year-old latchkey kid, depends upon the kindness of her neighbors on the third floor of her apartment building whenever she forgets her key. She usually avoids Apartment 3D because Mr. Freeman is mean, nasty, and argumentative. In addition, his four ugly cats yowl ceaselessly. But one day she discovers that underneath the grouchy exterior is a kind man who takes in stray cats and shares his meager existence with them. When Mr. Freeman dies, Lily negotiates an agreement with the landlord to give her time to find homes for the animals before he calls the ASPCA. In doing so, she discovers that beauty really is in the eye of the beholder, as she finds just the right homes for three of them. The fourth is allowed to maintain his independence, with a little help from Lily, in the form of an occasional bowl of food on the fire escape. Sachs constructs a slight plot, without side issues. Whatever deeper meanings might be discovered are left undeveloped. And that’s all right. A more mature reader might see that Mr. Freeman’s nearly empty refrigerator is indicative of poverty, and that the “witchy woman” seems to want one particular cat only because it might be valuable. But the work also appeals as a straightforward story, told in the first person by an engaging child who recognizes and responds to kindness. The text does not crowd the page and is liberally illustrated with simple, child-like black line drawings by Litzinger, who is given credit only in the copyright information. A sweet read. (Fiction. 7-10)