Bill Bailey, Please Come Home (Paperback or Softback)

In the heart of New Orleans, the power of music brings a special secret to a group of spirited cats.

Down in New Orleans near the river and railroad tracks, a young girl named Eartha took in many kitties to live with her in her shotgun shack. They loved this marvelous place with natural beauty and animals outside, and love, music, and flowers inside.

One of the shotgun shack kitties, Bill Bailey, was a cat who loved to wander and meow hello to the people he passed, wishing they could understand him. When he encountered some elder cats, they shared the secret to speaking with humans-the power and language of music. It wasn't long before Bill Bailey and his shotgun shack kitty crew were bounding with their brass band instruments in a makeshift parade, singing his namesake song all the way.

Families and educators of young children will delight in this story that showcases New Orleans, music, and the importance of community and interconnectedness.

Children's author A.N. Stewart has been a storyteller since childhood. She grew up in Southeast Louisiana where music, stories, and folklore were what helped foster her imagination. The story, Bill Bailey, Please Come Home is the first installation in The Shotgun Shack Kitties, a series of books following a group of spirited kitties that live in a shotgun house in New Orleans with a girl named Eartha.A.N. Stewart combines playful storytelling with the vibrancy of New Orleans, with each book highlighting a feature of the lively region-jazz and other music, food, community. A.N. is her own inspiration for her stories, as she indeed lives in a shotgun house in New Orleans with too many cats.She believes a great book is one that evokes compassion and joy and reminds readers of the beauty around us, in a world that has enough sadness or stress. She hopes her own young readers come away from her stories excited about music, nature, and reading, and that it stays with them long after the book is closed.A.N. Stewart currently lives in New Orleans with ten cats including, of course, the one and only Bill Bailey.

Virginia de Mahy is an illustrator that is currently living in the French Quarter and grew up in New Orleans with a love of the culture, art, and music. She is also a cat enthusiast and this is her debut book.