Nikki McClure
Ab ra m s A p p l e s e e d N ew Yo r k
STRETCH
CLEAN
To m en tors, es p eci a lly G eorgi a M ung er.
How to Be a Cat was inspired by Bud, the cat who cam e with the house I ,, , bought in 2001. Don t worry, the neighbors feed him. He just sleeps in ,, the garage, I was told. But Bud, blind and old, took to m e. He would climb on my back while I gardened. Eventually, it was I who fed him and he becam e fam ily. I m ade a calendar featurin g Bud in 2001. It chronicled my adventures as I m ade my new house a hom e. For this book, I revisited the calendar artwork and m ade all new im ages, addin g a kitten. Bud rem ains old and blind, and endlessly patient . . . alm ost.
The artwork was cut from black paper. Color was added digitall.
Catalo gin g-in-Publication Data has been applied for and m ay be obtained from the Library of Con gress.
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ISBN 978-1-4197-0528-1
Text and illustrations copyright
Š 2013 N ikki McClure
Book design by Chad W. Beckerm an Published in 2013 by Abrams Appleseed, an im print of ABRAMS. All rights reserved. N o portion of this book m ay be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transm itted in any form or by any m eans, m echanical, electronic, photocopyin g, recordin g, or otherwise, without written perm ission from the publisher. Abrams Appleseed is a tradem ark of Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Printed and bound in U. S. A. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 For bulk discount inquiries, contact specialsales@ abramsbooks. com.
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