Poor Fumious. He's different. He's a Rex cat, with ears too big, a tail too long, and curly hair so short that he looks almost hairless. He and his three more typical-looking sisters are lucky to be born in the lush country home of Bly Barnacle at Rowan Tree Place.

Fumious's mother, Tessa the Tea Cat, has given birth to a dozen litters, but she doesn't know how to raise such a strange-looking kitten. When Fumious gets into a spat with his sisters, Tessa decides that it's time for him to leave home and seek his fortune.

As Fumious embarks on his quest, he encounters a surprising and magical world of thunderstorms, dogs, cats, birds, snakes, and humans. He makes friends with a wise old cat who teaches him some valuable skills, and also meets up with more dangerous forest denizens who put those skills to the test. And all the while he continues to search for a new home and a new family.

In the tradition of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories and Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Fumious Rex will both enchant and delight readers of all ages.

Freya Manfred's 10th volume of poems, When I Was Young And Old (Nodin Press), celebrates the vital lifeline of nature, our fragile mortality, and the passionate arc of long-term relationships. Her poems have also appeared in over 100 reviews and magazines and over 50 anthologies. Her memoirs are Raising Twins: A True Life Adventure (Nodin Press), and Frederick Manfred: A Daughter Remembers, (Minnesota Historical Society Press), which was a finalist for a Minnesota Book Award and an Iowa Historical Society Award. She lives in Stillwater, Minnesota, with her husband, screenwriter Thomas Pope.