Bambino and Mr. Twain
P.I. Maltbie
Illustrated by Danile Miyares

Charlesbridge Publishing
February 1, 2012/ ISBN 9781580892728
Picture book, cats, Mark Twain (ages 4 and up)
Amazon

Reviewed by Bob Walch

Based on a real situation, this picture book tells the story of Samuel Clemens' cat named Bambino. After his wife's death, Clemens or Mark Twain, as he was known, became rather depressed and despondent.

The writer shut himself up in his New York house with his daughter's cat (Bambino) and he dropped out of society for a period of time. Only the cat seemed in tune with how Clemens felt. Then one day the cat ran away. Now the author was really distraught and he offered a reward to whoever could find Bambino and return him.

Eventually the cat returned on his own and the episode reminded Clemens that there were other things quite dear to him besides his daughters and deceased wife. After this event he returned to his former habit of going out in public and visiting with friends and family.

A lovely tale about the relationship between a famous American author and his cat, this is a book that can serve as an introduction to learning more about Mark Twain. You might even want to find some of his short stories and read them with your child.