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Does ‘Vito: The Cat Who Wouldn’t Purr’ Sound Like a Children’s Book?

2009 July 8
by DiG

I’ve been pondering an email from a friend of mine who knew Vito and has enjoyed the first ten chapters on this website.

She writes, in part…

The title ‘Vito: The Cat Who Wouldn’t Purr’ sounds like a children’s book to me. I assume that you are aiming your book at a wider audience like the ‘Marley and Me’ crowd. Perhaps changing the title to something a bit ‘catchier’ … would appeal to a larger audience.

She brings up an intriguing point.

The title does sound like a children’s book.

But I’ve also received a host of compliments specifically on the title from people who knew full well that the book was never aimed at a children’s market.

So my question to you, good reader, is when you first heard the title, did you assume it was a children’s book?

And if so, what might be a better title?

So far I’ve come up with…

  • Vito: The Cat Who Wouldn’t Purr
  • Vito: His Dirty Live and Times
  • Vito
  • Purr
  • To Purr

Other options include…

  • Vito and Me
  • The Seasons of a Cat’s Life
  • Have Cat, Will Travel
  • The Cat Who Came In From the Cold
  • I, Vito
  • The World According to Vito

And, of course…

  • Of Mice and Men

Thoughts? Ideas?

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  1. Jim Starks permalink
    July 10, 2009

    My first thought was that “Vito” would be a children’s book. Books about cats and dogs generally are, and the “cat who would purr” appositive reinforces that notion. I did enjoy the first 10 chapters on an adult level, though, in spite of the fact that I don’t generically like cats. I recognize that animal companions teach us a lot about ourselves and I assume that’s where the book is heading. I’m looking forward to reading the rest.

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