My name is Sebastian Doe — Doe because my humans, children's book authors Cynthia Leitich Smith and Greg Leitich Smith were worried that little me wouldn't make it.
So Doe, as in John Doe — like that could provide some emotional distance from cute, cute, cute little me.
Sebastian because my other human, children's author Greg Leitich Smith, is a great fan of Bach, as in Johann Sebastian. And there you go! Why was Cyn worried? Because I was a scrawny little foundling with earmites and all kinds of icky things.
My family not only includes my humans and the big boss cat, but also two kitties that actually listen to me! Well, sometimes.
They’re too busy playing to host their own pages, so I’ll introduce them.
Blizzard Bentley (left) is a fluffy white cat, whose name was inspired by the book SNOWFLAKE BENTLEY by Jacqueline Briggs Martin, illustrated by Mary Azarian (Houghton Mifflin, 1998). It won the Caldecott Medal, which is a big deal.
Galileo “Leo” Galilei (above) is a type of spotted brown tabby called an Egyptian Mau. Leo was named after a famous human named Galileo, whose story inspired Greg to write NINJAS, PIRANHAS, AND GALILEO (Little Brown, 2003). Both Blizzard and Leo were adopted at Town Lake Animal Center in central Austin.
These books are reviewed from Sebastain's point of view. Another cat or a human might have a different take on them.
THE CAT WHO LOVED MOZART by Patricia Austin, illustrated by Henri Sorenson (Holiday House, 2001). This picture book illustrates in words and oil paint the slow growing affection between a prickly one-time stray named Amadeus and a young girl named Jennifer as well as the a prickly relationship between Jennifer and her playing the works of Mozart. I like this book because, like me, Amadeus was named after a great composor. Also, I was a prickly one-time stray once myself. Ages 4-up.
GINGER by Charlotte Voake (Candlewick, 1997). Ginger has been deprived of the company of a kitten! She's a poor only cat. But, alas, when her human brings in a bouncy, bouncy, bouncy kitten, Ginger feels pushed out of her regular haunts and actually *leaves the house* (never leave your house, kittens!) Luckily, her human brings Ginger back. But now it looks like Ginger and the kitten will never get along. So the kitten sets in with a solution. The moral is: little kittens are the smartest. Ages 3-up.
TOP CAT by Lois Ehlert (Harcourt, 1998). Top Cat can spout quite a rhyme but doesn't appreciate the company of the new kitten. Eventually, Top Cat wears of starting up his attacks and teaches the kitten the feline ropes. The moral is: don't mess with your alpha cat. Ages 4-up.
THE GRANNYMAN by Judith Byron Schachner (Dutton, 1999). Poor old Simon's family has taken good care of him, but he's beginning to feel less useful these days. He wonders if his ninth life is up, and then here comes a... kitten! Ages 4-up.
"'Sebastian?' What is that, a cat name?"
—Matthew Perry
as Chandler Bing from "Friends".
"A typical work day involves being awakened at about 4:30 in the morning by one or more cats who either scream to be fed or simply chase each other around the house because it's FUN FUN FUN.
"Sixteen paws on seventy-five year old hardwoods (yes, we need more rugs) are remarkably resonant."