Today’s book is a sweet little gem from the 1980s that just so happened to be one of my all-time favorites when I was little. It generally seems to be true that most little girls go through a love of cats phase. I certainly did, despite my severe allergies, and this hilarious, short, and clever book about a spunky little cat was just the treat for me. Here is Cookie’s Week by Cindy Ward, illustrated by Tomie dePaola, 1988.
Although my childhood copy was a regular hardback, my current copy of this book is in board form which I think is just fine as it is a story that works with all ages and little hands will not hurt it. The story is very short about a little black cat with white accents that teaches the days of the week through its antics.
Beginning with Monday, Cookie’s week doesn’t start off very well as there is an unfortunate encounter with a toilet. What a way to start a story!
The results of the day’s adventure can be found on the following spread.
And the rest of the book follows this pattern stating the day of the week, what Cookie did and then what went everywhere because of it. This curious little cat is constantly into everything and causing all sorts of havoc. His poor owners!
This is such a fun little book to read, easily again and again. Because of its length, it works well for any age and the humor can certainly be appreciated by all. I have no doubts that it helped me know my days of the week faster as a kid, although I find it interesting that it begins with Monday and ends with Sunday rather than the commonly held order of the first day of the week being Sunday. I always liked it ending on Sunday and found the end of the book to be very intriguing, but I won’t give it away.
The illustrations are perfect in their balance of detail and simplicity. Tomie dePaola’s characters are always so sweet and adorable. His lovely color palette and watercolor textures are a fun element throughout, giving the chaos some softer edges. I actually hadn’t realized for a long time that this book was illustrated by dePaola. I remembered it fondly from childhood and kept my eye out for a copy; but was very surprised to discover it was him as I had grown quite fond of a lot of his many other works. I guess I was destined to be a fan since I was little!
I actually couldn’t find any information about the author, Cindy Ward, but it appears that this may have been her only book. I’ll update if I do find something on her.
I hope you are having a lovely, adventurous week; but without the ensuing messes that followed in Cookie’s wake. What’s happening on your Wednesday?
Three Books a Night 
Thank you so very much for the many wonderful words you have written about “Cookie’s Week.” I found this site by accident. I never realized there were so many things out there about Cookie. I feel so lucky that Mr. dePaola illustrated this book (I have been a fan of his for so long), and I am also thankful it is still in print. It is a true story, based on the adventures of one of the many, many, many cats we have rescued and loved over the last 30 years. I keep writing little stories and poems, hoping someday to have another book published. Anyway, thanks again. Hope everybody out there keeps reading (and writing).
Your Friends, Cindy Ward And All The Cats
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How wonderful to hear from you! Thank you for visiting. It warms my heart to know a bit more about a story that I grew with and loved so much. I’ve been trying to transfer my affection for the book to my daughter, but she is still in an obsessive dog phase and cats are not exciting yet. 🙂 I wish you luck on writing and hope to see more from you!
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