It’s not yet a bedtime staple, but the author counts it a success.
The tale of a cat who honks instead of meows was written by Virginia White, a retired schoolteacher who taught for 40 years, much of the time at Eaglecrest and Cherry Creek high schools.
The book, “Warren the Honking Cat Saves the Day,” was published in November by Tate Publishing, a family-owned, Christian-based firm in Oklahoma.
White says she started working on the book after, while de-cluttering her house, she found a story written 30 years ago by her then-8-year-old daughter Kari.
“It just goes to show that it pays to keep your house clean,” White said with a laugh.
She took the character that her daughter had created long ago, and made him the star of his own new story.
Since that tale was published, White has made the rounds locally, trying to find an audience.
One group of second-graders seemed to think being an author was a piece of cake.
“One of them asked me if I went around to all the schools in my private jet,” White said.
But the reality of what it takes to put a finished book on shelves was far less glamorous.
First, White took a rough draft “out for a test drive,” getting feedback from friends, librarians — even her three grandchildren.
While she polished her story, White began the search for a publisher.
“But every time I’d get on the Internet to look them up, their websites basically said ‘Don’t bother,’ ” she said. “No one was going to take on a new author who hadn’t been published before.”
Eventually a friend suggested Tate, so she called and left a message; within hours a representative called her back. After an initial hiccup — a tale by White about a child’s blanket with a life of its own was rejected — White submitted Warren.
The honking cat hasn’t rocketed to the top of the best-sellers lists. But that’s not to say that progress isn’t being made.
Warren will be included in the Aurora Public Library’s celebration of superheroes, including, officials say, “those who go beyond the everyday, or whose daily deeds go unnoticed.”
“It’s a very cute story with a really good message,” said Laura Nicodemus, a library assistant at the Mission Viejo branch of the Aurora Public Library.
Nicodemus said another plus is that White is local. She was at Eaglecrest when it opened in 1990 and she still lives in Aurora with her husband, (spoiler alert!) Warren.
White retired from Cherry Creek in 2008, although she still occasionally works there as a substitute teacher.
“I never lost my love of the kids — I just lost the love of grading essay papers every weekend,” she said.
In the classroom, White tried to foster a lifetime love of the written word.
“Every student has a story to tell; it’s just a matter of how it gets out there,” White said.
“You can see what stories can do for young readers, and you want that feeling to stay with them for as long as possible.”
Perhaps a tale about a honking cat will do trick for one of those second-graders.
“It would just be lovely if that happened,” White said.
Anthony Cotton: 303-954-1292, acotton@denverpost.com.
