FREDOU

Fredou was a handsome orange cat whose owner had died and left her hotel on Paris' Left Bank to the cat. Fredou was spoiled; the only thing he didn't get that he wanted was Thomasine, whose favors were also sought by a scrubby alley cat, nameless and unowned. And then everything was changed. The Roberts came from Long Island to the Hotel Montvert, and their homesick, lonely small son found a kindred spirit in the Nameless One. Paul hadn't wanted to come to Europe. He wanted to stay home with his dog, Aladdin. And the Nameless One was the first animal that had captured his interest and affection. And so two problems found solution. Paul decided Paris bad its points after all; and the Nameless One acquired a string of names, shortened to Bobo, and the human affection he did not know he lacked. The atmosphere is deliciously French, and Mary Stolz has once again told a tale for seven to nine year olds in a whimsical -but never saccharine, blend of fact and fancy. Tomi Ungerer pictures are in the very spirit of the tale.