The Cats of Roxville Station by Jean Craighead George

The Cats of Roxville Station by Jean Craighead George is about Ratchet, a young stray cat who makes her home near the train station in Roxville. She had been mistreated by people in the past, so she is very wary of humans. In the field near the train station, Ratchet becomes aware of many different creatures - a fox, an owl, a snake, a racoon - along with several other stray cats. All of the cats find a home in the basement of an old house, needing repairs. Mike, the foster child of the woman who owns the house has seen Ratchet around and really wants to keep her as his own. The only problems are that his foster mother won't allow it, and Ratchet is terrified of him. Mike works on them both by fixing up his foster mother's deceased husband's boats to sell, thus earning money for themselves and for cat supplies.

This was a cute story. There was a lot of factual information in this book about the ways animals communicate with one another and with people. There was also a lot of information about habitats for animals. It was a nice mixture between a fictional story and factual information. I have read other books by Jean Craighead George including Julie of the Wolves and My Side of the Mountain.