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 Life with one's pets can be rich with love and comfort Jun 15, 2008
Life with one's pets can be rich with love and comfort. "Taro & Tomi: My Feline Son & Daughter" shows that the bond with one's pets can grow some deep and loving that it can easily be compared for the love of one's family and children. Heartwarmingly crafted, author and former UN agent Shizue Tomoda explains how her two beloved kittens changed her entire world. "Taro & Tomi: My Feline Son & Daughter" is enthusiastically recommended for any pet lover and anyone who is on the fence about embracing the idea of a pet of their own.
 Nicole Harris reviewer says--- Feb 16, 2008
Taro & Tomi: My Feline Son and Daughter is an honest novel full of love and affection. It shows the kind of relationship that many pet owners wish they had with their animals. As the storyline continues, you learn that even cats have emotions and different personalities that we as humans, may not be aware of. In many cases throughout the novel, you may even find yourself relating to their problems or situations.
Shizue Tomoda's writing style tends to be very simple. She doesn't spend a lot of time writing about unwanted detail, she really only sticks to the facts. At first, I saw it as somewhat plain but as I continued to read on, I found a deeper meaning behind her writing style. Somehow, she was able to catch my attention without delivering her message in overwhelming detail. In this particular memoir, there aren't many characters. There are Taro and Tomi as well as the narrator whom we never know the name of. It's tiny unneeded details, like the narrators name, that bring this delightful novel together because even though we may never learn her name, we learn about her personality and her reaction to life itself.
Shizue Tomoda was born in Fukui-ken, Japan and was educated in both Japan as well as the United States. She spent twenty-five years working in the international civil service and served as an official of the Geneva based UN-specialized agency, promoting international labour standards. She currently lives in a small French town on the outskirts of Geneva with her cats.
This book is simple and I found it to be an easy read. The message however, was everlasting. It showed a remarkable bond between a woman and her pets and would be an average read for cat-lovers across the globe.
Nicole Harris, Allbooks Reviews.
for the love of cats... Jan 21, 2008
Raising a pet can be a rewarding yet demanding experience. Especially if you are a first time cat owner, Japanese, and living in France. No one knows this better than Shizue Tomoda, proud mother of her "feline son and daughter," whose lives are colorfully described in her book, Taro & Tomi.
Tomoda spares few details in her simple but straightforward prose. Most of the book is about Taro, her first kitten, where he is described in every aspect as he adjusts from adoption to life in an apartment. Charming illustrations supply the reader with images that give further life to a young kitty's antics and also to the patience of a proud mother. Later on we learn of another addition to the fold, Tomi, and how a second child can alter the family dynamics of a newly created household.
Tomoda literally treats her cats as children. True cat lovers will identify with and applaud this behavior. When friends come to stay for a short time and form a particularly affectionate bond with Taro, the author experiences motherly concerns for her son after they leave. "When I woke up in the middle of the night, he was still lying on one of the guestroom beds. I wondered if he had fallen in love with one of the girls."
Taro and Tomi benefit from the counseling and guidance Tomoda gives them as they grow together as a family. Her parental concern is one of the books most endearing qualities. The love and compassion the author displays for her children will surely touch the reader whether or not they ever owned a pet. This short, but warm-hearted and expressive book is certainly a refreshing and worthwhile read.
From J. Kaye's Book Blog Jan 04, 2008
Taro & Tomi is a delightful, easy to read, little book by Shizue Tomoda. She is a civil servant for the U.N. and has worked in both Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Shizue was last stationed in Geneva, Switzerland and bought an apartment nearby. This is the story of adopting two kittens begins, first with Taro, a boy, and later, Tomi, a girl. Both become her family.
Each of the forty chapters depicts an event in their lives from picking up Taro as a kitten from his mother, to the first vet trip, to getting stuck in the toilet bowl, to the first time being left behind during business trip, to getting Tomi as a kitten. One of my favorites is her showing Taro how to use a cat door. Ms. Tomoda writes each chapter with emotion and openness showing how she and her cats bonded as a family.
This book has plenty of illustrations, at least one per chapter. Each of the artistic illustrations by Edwin Batawala has the cat or cats in the situation of the chapter. So the reader also has a visual image along with the text.
Taro & Tomi would be great for those first-timers who want to share their life with a cat. For cat lovers, they will see themselves and their felines in the stories. And for the rest of us, we can enjoy a sweet, true-life story.
Reviewed by Steve
Taro and Tomi Dec 09, 2007
I don't presently have any pets, but this insightfully written book reminded me of the delights that feline companions can offer, and how they surprise, comfort and amaze us. A great gift for any pet-lover.
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