The Cat in the Candle Factory - A Review

The Cat in the Candle Factory by Barbara L. Johns is a delightful book that will entertain children of all ages, especially children of candle makers.

"It wasn't easy being the only cat at the Clark County Candle Factory. Midnight was exhausted." So starts our story of a self-assured and inventive cat that not only helps her owner run the Candle Factory, but also helps him design a marvelous candle making machine out of roller skate wheels and bicycle chains.

Midnight's contributions help business to boom, but at the sacrifice of too many catnaps. Groggy from a hard night's work chasing mice and checking the machinery, Midnight slips and ends up heading to the vet! She heals quickly, and her owner Grady finds a way to help Midnight out with her duties at the Candle Factory. The book ends, "So the factory was fine until Christmas...but that's another story!" As a candle maker, cat lover and Father, I can't wait until the next episode in the story of Midnight, the candle maker's assistant!

The story is based on a real cat in a candle factory, too. When Barbara Johns bought the Davisburg Candle Factory in the early 1980s, a black cat named Midnight came with it. Though not quite the same savvy assistant that the Midnight in the books is, the cat was quite a fixture in the candle factory, living there for many years after Ms. Johns sold the company.

Now the soon-to-be first-time grandmother is now working full-time as a children's author and (thankfully) has plans for a Christmas sequel next year to "The Cat in the Candle Factory."

I can't wait.