Winston and the Indoor Cat by Leila Rudge

Winston is an outdoor cat and because that's all he has ever known, it suits him perfectly. Then he spies the Indoor Cat and thinks that it is trapped so he devises a plan to free it so it, too, can enjoy the outdoors as he does. But the Indoor Cat soon learns that it prefers the indoors - can the two ever be friends?

In the vein of the old story of the town mouse and the country mouse, this is a story that introduces the concept of being able to be friends even if you have differences in beliefs, values and habits. Both the simple but powerful text and the gentle illustrations in their subtle palette convey a tone of harmony even though the cats are distinctly different.

A good one for the beginning of the school year when new classes are formed and friendships forged even though everyone is a unique individual.

Barbara Braxton