Bob the Cat Books In Order

Publication Order of Bob The Cat Books

Seemingly, pet therapy and animal-assisted therapy in general, are highly effective in the context of a patient’s social-emotional rehabilitation. These are the aspects covered in Bob the Cat series and other related works whereby a cat, an eagle, lion, and dog help their rescuers and adopters recover from their psychosocial problems.

Bob the Cat refers to a trilogy written by James Bowen. Incidentally, Bowen’s birthplace is Surrey in the UK. Bowen, who is a tricenarian and doubles up as a busker, was born in March 1979. Bowen, who has co-authored books with Garry Jenkins, has had a problematic life since he was young.

His biological parents divorced, prompting the young family to relocate from London to Australia and this heralded a life of constant movement. He was bullied over and over again, something that made him fall into a mire of despair. He suffered from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, depression, and was schizophrenic. He has been homeless and depended on charities for over a decade. The lowest moment in his life was using drugs, especially heroin. The turning point in James Bowen’s life, and writing career, was when he chanced upon an injured street cat in 2007. Bowen arranged for the cat’s treatment and later on adopted it. The duo was popular during Bowen’s busking and it trended on social media.

Bob the Cat: Section on Books
For starters, the title is based on Bob, the name that Bowen gave to the stray cat. Bowen traces the origin of that name to a TV show named Twin Peaks, which first aired in the 1990s. Incidentally, Bob the Cat has three distinct versions: a novel series, two picture books, and children’s editions consisting of two books.

In the Bob the Cat novel series, there are three related books. The first book in the Bob the Cat series has 85 editions. The first edition of the first book was originally published in 2012, titled A Street Cat Named Bob; and this book is shelved under the nonfiction, animals, biography, autobiography, and memoir genres.

As aforementioned, the featured protagonists in the first book in the serialized Bob the Cat, namely James Bowen and the pet cat Bob, are real-life characters. To labor the point, Bowen is a Englishman who is up to his eyeballs in financial constraints and psycho-social problems; Bowen comes from a broken home, is a drug addict, and is living rough in London streets and depending on humanitarian aid. By the same token, Bob is a large non-pedigree homeless cat. A moggy cat, Bob is the color of marmalade. It is steadfast even in the face of adversity.

There was nothing spectacular about Bob when Bowen met it, but it resulted in a lifelong friendship between man and the feline; the cat was collarless and tag-less and one of its legs was wounded. Bowen nursed Bob and opted to keep it after he failed to locate its rightful owner. Unable to prevent the adamant cat from following, Bob started accompanying Bowen to his busking activities. Their breakthrough moment came when the duo started trending on Youtube and their story featured on a mainstream newspaper.

The book, which is set in London upon England, gives a blow-by-blow account of the circumstances in which Bowen and Bob met, the mutual encouragement during their lowest moments in life, and their grass to grace story. The rags-to-riches story won James Bowen a notable literary prize.

Bob the Cat Awards
James Bowen’s 2012 book A Street Cat Named Bob was among the nominees for the National Book Awards, specifically in the Non-Fiction section. World Book Day also listed the said book among its top seven most motivating books for teenagers.

Bob the Cat Books Made Films
Shooting Script Films secured the film rights of the book named A Street Cat Named Bob. The film, which also retained the title, was produced in November 2016. In the film adaptation, actor Luke Treadway starred, playing James Bowen’s role; however, the cat named Bob appeared as itself in most parts of the film.

Best Bob the Cat Books
These are the best three books contained in Bob the Cat series. The first is called A Street Cat Named Bob. The second is titled The World According to Bob. This is the second book in Bob the Cat series and was initially published in 2013. This expounds on the previous book in Bob the Cat series. As the title of the book proclaims, it chronicles the day-to-day life as seen from the viewpoint of the pet cat. It also narrates the duration in the run-up to Bowen making acquaintance of the literary agent who enabled him to cash in on his street life experience.

The third is named A Gift from Bob; this is the third book in the Bob the Cat series and was originally published in 2014. It revisits the tail-end street life of Bob and Bowen; the book focuses on a specific festive season and the manner in which Bob made Bowen see Christmas from a completely different perspective.

Other Books You May Like
Readers who liked James Bowen’s Bob the Cat series also checked out the following books. The first is called An Eagle Named Freedom, a standalone book authored by Jeff Guidry. It is all about a bald eagle called Freedom and its savior. The book tells how author Jeff Guidry chanced upon an injured bald eagle, rescued, and helped it recuperate. Interestingly, the eagle also helped him recover when he was suffering from cancer.

The second is titled A Lion Called Christian; also a standalone novel, it is penned by Anthony Bourke alongside John Rendall. Based on a true story, this book narrates how a lion bonded with two Australians who purchased it as a cub and helped reintroduce it to the African wild. The third is titled The Dog Who Rescues Cats; this is yet another standalone book, penned by Philip Gonzalez and Leonore Fleischer. This is a classic case of animal-assisted therapy; author Gonzalez was world weary because of a disability that resulted from a workplace accident. He found a kindred spirit in an intelligent dog that he adopted and the two have since rescued hundreds of cats.