In its September issue, Atlanta Magazine goes deep into the success story of Pete the Cat and considers the franchise and authors’ future. Here’s the first paragraph to get you started…
It’s the first day of daycare and my two-year-old daughter, Lola, is getting nervous in the backseat. “Why you’ll have to leave, Daddy?” she asks. At an intersection, we stop behind a Honda minivan. On its rear window, Lola spots a reassuring sticker. “Look—it’s Pete the Cat!” In Lola’s pantheon of children’s book characters, Pete is second only to Disney princesses. She sleeps near a stack of Pete books and a worn Pete doll. From my perspective, the unflappable feline is a positive influence—and compared to those formulaictales about Disney royalty, Pete books might as well be Rolling Stone.
As many of you know, Pete grew up in Decatur has long been a topic of conversation around here. From being featured on countless local posters to being mourned after disappearing from a transformer next to Yogurt Tap, Pete has a proud following here.
Book cover courtesy of HarperCollins
Pete’s been on the Times bestseller list almost as long as John Berendt.