Quincy, the Cat of La Mancha sets off with his sidekick Sancho the Squirrel on a quest to locate his owner Nia. This colorful and humorous re-imaging of Don Quixote is designed to introduce children to this classic literary story.

Along the way, Quincy overcomes several challenges before finding and helping Nea. Similar to his literary namesake, Quincy's imagination allows him to see windmill lawn ornaments as giants and crows as rival knights. The book teaches the values of honor, loyalty and bravery.

Quincy, the Cat of La Mancha is Book 1 of the Literary Animals series of children's books. This early reader series This unique series exposes children to classic literary stories during the earlier reading stages. Each book utilizes animals, drawings and humor to create kid-friendly versions of these classic stories while still maintaining key elements of the plot and themes. The Literary Animals series provides young children with a head start by allowing them to experience these timeless books in a fun way. This allows them to be more familiar with the elements of these important literary works when they encounter them later in life.

Author and illustrator Dominic Villari's books feature well-developed stories with heart and humor that appeal to kids and parents alike. These timeless tales will grow with you and your children through pre-reading, beginning reading and novice reading.

• Honor and bravery
• Friendship and loyalty

• 4 to 7 years
• Pre-K to Second Grade

• Two Bugs on a Raft - Huck Finn for Early Readers

Quincy was a brave cat who lived in La Mancha. He liked to wear a purple blanket knitted by his owner Nia.

Quincy was very loyal to Nia. He protected her yard from intruders. Quincy scared away the birds that pecked at the windows. Quincy caught the mice that dug holes in the yard.

One day Quincy could not find his owner. Quincy decided he would go on a quest to find Nia and rescue her. He saw his friend Sancho the squirrel in the yard.

"Sancho," called out Quincy. "We are going on a quest."

"A quest?" asked Sancho. "I was just about to take a nap."

"There will be time for sleeping later," said Quincy. "My lady Nia is missing and we must find her."

Sancho sighed. "I will go with you Quincy. There are many bees in the yard today. The buzzing would keep me awake anyway."

"Sancho," said Quincy. "Fetch me my armor."

"Where is your armor?" asked Sancho.

"My armor is right there," answered Quincy. He pointed to a pile of objects. "Hand me my breast plate."

"But this is a pie plate," said Sancho.

"No, that is my breast plate," said Quincy. He tied the pie plate around his chest. "Now hand me my helmet."

"This is a pasta bowl," said Sancho.

"No, that is my helmet," said Quincy. He put the bowl on his head. The bowl had two holes in it just big enough to fit Quincy's ears. "Now hand me my lance."

"This is a fishing pole," said Sancho.

"No, that is my lance," said Quincy. He took the fishing pole from Sancho and thrust it forward several times. "Now we are ready for our quest."

Dominic Villari is well versed in the art and science of making stuff up and is often caught talking to things, especially when they don't work right or are difficult to put together. These pursuits occasionally spill out onto paper in illustrated children's books such as Sun and Moon, Bear is Hangry and The Yelling Monsters and fiction books such as The Wandering Princess and Talks to Things. He lives in New Jersey with his wife and daughter, both of whom have gotten better about knowing when he's making stuff up.