Lulu, the Library Cat

Why we love it

Every now and then a picture book arrives that is simply good company, and Lulu is one of them. A rain-soaked stray slips through the library door, hides among the shelves, and one shy child at a time discovers that stories are nicer with a warm cat on your lap. There is the smallest thread of tension — will Lulu be allowed to stay? — but mostly it is a soft, generous book about being welcomed, which is a feeling a small child can never have too much of.

We stock it because it does two quiet, lovely things at once: it celebrates books and reading, which we are obviously fond of, and it gently models kindness and belonging. The shy children who first befriend Lulu are not transformed into loud heroes; they are simply seen, which is a truer and kinder message than most. The illustrations are full of cosy detail — a perfect "find the cat" hunt on every spread keeps younger listeners leaning in.

It is a handsome sewn hardback that holds up to repeated bedtime duty, and it pairs naturally with our animal-led picture books for an "all the soft feelings" basket. It makes a thoughtful gift for a child starting at a new school or moving home — anyone learning, like Lulu, where they fit. Recommended from three, and quietly adored by the grown-ups doing the reading.