Inside my father's bowler hat/ Once lived a most peculiar cat . So begins The Thinking Cat , a long poem, composed in rhyming couplets, about a young boy and the mysterious talking cat living in the attic of his family's home. The family uses the attic as a place to store unwanted items, including the less-than-desirable trinkets bestowed upon them by a great aunt. When the aunt comes to call, the boy volunteers to go up to the top of the house to fetch down all the unwanted gifts so that they can be on display during her visit. However, the boy opens the trapdoor to the attic to find a large pair of green eyes staring back at him-eyes belonging to a cat who not only speaks, but claims to be a great thinker. The boy fetches the cat some milk, sits down to listen to his tale, and a very special relationship is born. Exploring the differences between real life and imagination, growing up, and the role animals play in our lives, The Thinking Cat will delight anyone who has ever wished their pet could talk-and makes an excellent bedtime story for adults and children alike.