All Black Cats are Not Alike Hardcover – Illustrated, September 20, 2016

This might be the smartest book of the year. What seems at first glance to be merely a charming gift for cat-lovers turns out to be an amazing and insightful bit of art, as meaningful to the heart as it is delicious to the eye. The book is 100+ pages of cat biographies, each only a few sentences yet stuffed with loads of personality and humor. Most made me laugh, some made me cry. And the accompanying illustrations of each cat are both endearing and evocative: dolorous Hampton, duplicitous Cassie, wise Salem... This is a perfect housewarming or wedding present, a perfect treat for yourself, and (obviously) a perfect gift for anyone who loves cats.

I admit to being a little biased as the human companion of Darkness (pages 28-29), but even I was amazed by the quality of the book, the accuracy of the drawings, and the cleverness of the descriptions of each of the black cats in this book. I always knew Darkness was special but it has been fun to read about the quirky qualities of the other cats and see how different they all really are in their own special ways. Cat lovers really enjoy the book, and I've shared the book with people who are not as enamored with cats and they thought it was pretty cool too. A great gift for anyone, really.

I bought three extra copies of All Black Cats Are Not Alike. And the operative word here is "extra" — because they make for excellent gifts. It's interesting to note that all the cats in the book are real. They're not imaginary or fictional in any way. And they all live perfectly splendid lives with their human housemates. The illustrations by Peter Arkle are certainly arresting — but I could spend all day reading about these cats:Ringo is a Taurus.Kim is not a Kardashian fan.Mimi is incapable of gaining weight.Koa will attack any person wearing black socks.Princess howls and needs to be told she's a good girl.

We are a black cat family. It is a very cute read highlighting just how different every cat's personality can be. The stories are fun to relate to, and any animal lover would enjoy... but it is even more special to those that have the little black cat in the lap helping to turn the pages while you are sitting in front of the fire one night!

Fun read if you have a black cat or like them!My family only had dogs. But when I moved to an apartment building 16 months ago, I took in a stray black cat with lime eyes who started jumping up onto my lap as I sat on the back porch. I thought a neighbor was calling this cat "Jenna", but he wasn't. He was calling his own cat. So I call the cat "Jenna", though it's male. Which brings me to a cat mentioned in the book:"Despite the Japanese boy name, Yoshi is a 13-year-old girl." (P.88)Also:"Lucky ... poops in the bathtub. (20) ... When they brought him ("Master") home a few years ago, he fired out of the box, puked, put his tail in the air and decided that this would do. (18) ... Jewel Slippers ... eats jewelry and sleeps on slippers" (102)The morning of the day the University of Kentucky men's basketball team lost to North Carolina in the Elite Eight this past Spring, Jenna pooped on my UK slippers. Maybe I could take him to a casino card table and he could poop near hands I could beat or on mine if it is a loser."Rachel and Bret shave him (AC/DC, aka A. C.) down to a lion look every summer." (80)This is the cat I think Jenna looks the most like in the book, only his eyes are lime, not yellow, and his face is slightly thinner."Bat Cat ... likes Cheetos. (22) ... Blackness/BatWing ... likes donuts ... (and) is responsible for the missing hamburger patty." (26)Aside from only dry cat food, Jenna is only willing to eat bits of cornbread I've bought from Kroger and Whole Foods."Darkness is a licker." (28)Oh my goodness, Jenna is a licker!"Koa ... hides when he hears the doorbell" (52)Jenna has done this."Church is a goth ... and goes into a rigid trance while listening to doom metal on an old record player in a little seaside suburb of St. Petersburg, Florida" (30)Jenna doesn't seem to like it when my radio is on. As a UK Wildcats football game was starting on the radio last season and I told Jenna "The Cats are on!" He didn't raise his head."Toet ... in the Netherlands ... (likes) to lie around one's shoulders like a stole." (56)Jenna sometimes sleeps on my shoulders when I'm in bed."Rashid/Dr. Startlepants ... in Seattle ... (likes) talking smack at his archnemesis, a crow who sits on the roof across the street." (114)In describing Jenna and the cats in this book, the back cover sums it up well: "every one is a character."I'll end with some of my favorite profile in the book:"Fester first came in contact with the Cullen Sheehan Household by accident: He was the outline of a cat, quite flat on the road with the exception of a long black tail, straight up. This was 11:30 on an intensely hot night in Derry, Northern Ireland, after Tracy hit him with her car. When she, weeping, went to lift what appeared to be a poor dead creature to the side of the road, suddenly the head twirled around Exorcist-style, opened its large blue-green eyes and spat and hissed repeatedly. Tracy took him home to Donegal. For the next six weeks of cage care, the cat clearly held a grudge - hence the name Fester. People would stop by to watch him spit and snarl and jump the cage across the room like a wild beast." (102)Jenna has unsuccessfully tried to murder a wild bunny rabbit, a wounded bird, and a baby squirrel. His hunting technique is almost exactly like Caesar's, the black Lab our family had for 11 years. Jenna sneaks up on the prey, slowly raising and putting down one paw at a time, before making a wild dash for the intended prey after being discovered.

Through portraits of real black cats, this book shows how black cats are so different from one another. Black cats have unfortunately been considered as a group rather than as individuals -- but of course they have just as wide a range of personalities as humans. Which leads us to the idea that of course no beings, whether cats, or people -- from a particular place or whatever -- are alike. It is our differences that make us interesting and beautiful.

Wonderful little book about the mysterious and powerful wee panthers, aka black cats. No home ought to be without a black cat, they are so not alike. And a white cat, and a calico, and a ginger, and a few more based on personal preference. A lovely gift and wonderful to have on your bookshelf, black cat guardian or not.

Stories are from cat families but not funny or cute. Wish it was more simple and focused on the quirky cat personalities not the owners.

Funny and cute book - great gift idea for (black) cat lovers

様々な黒猫の絵と紹介があり、とても楽しいです。

The cutest book for all black cat lovers. A must buy.

Awesome and funny book, I adored it esp with recently having a rescue black cat, perfect gift!

Beautiful illustrations .