Cat Takes Queen

A witty, chess-playing stray tries to elude a catnapper while helping two tournament-bound schoolkids navigate life's challenges in this clever debut.

Morphy, a witty stray cat with an attitude, steers clear of humans-except for Edgar, his human chess-playing friend. Morphy may be a stray, but he's at a loss when Edgar falls ill and leaves home. Only by teaming up with Edgar's headstrong granddaughter, and a young street-chess player, can Morphy help bring Edgar home, elude a catnapper, and create a found family.

In the process, diagrams of chess moves will inspire chess players at all levels, but readers don't have to know chess to be uplifted by this story about how humans (and stray cats) find their people and a love of the game.