Books to read to foster kittens (and other small beings)

#1 The Underneath by Kathi Appelt

No kitten blogging for a while as this was a difficult litter with 2 doing pretty well and 2 not so well even with a foster mom. While we were in California for Liz's wedding, the smallest one died, despite getting great care with fluids given and hand feeding. My poor pet sitter. The other little one, who is now named Mouse, is still way behind size-wise but is doing much better and eating on her own. At this point, bigger siblings Fox and Wolf are ready for spay and neuter surgery and we are just waiting for Mouse to gain a few more ounces.

My new favorite, geeky animal thing is to read out loud to the kittens while laying on my back on the rug in Alan's office. The kittens start out running around and attacking and playing with each other and me and then by the end of the three chapters we are reading each night, lay purring on my lap and knees. I am only 12 chapters into the book and love it so far--it's wonderfully scary and heart-warming at the same time. I am expecting the scariness to increase. Here's the first paragraph for an idea of why this is such a good book:

"There is nothing lonelier than a cat who has been loved, at least for a while, and then abandoned on the side of the road. A small calico cat. Her family, the one she lived with, has left her in this old and forgotten forest, this forest where the rain is soaking into her soft fur."

Nominations for other books to read out loud to these and future fosters would be very welcome.