The Cat Who Went to Heaven

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The Cat Who Went to Heaven is a 1930 novel by Elizabeth Coatsworth that won the Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature in 1931. The story is set in ancient Japan, and is about a penniless artist and a calico cat his housekeeper brings home.
The storyline is supposedly based on an old Buddhist folk tale, and includes, as asides, a short telling of the Buddha's life, and brief accounts of some of the Buddha's previous lifetimes as animals, as in the Jataka tales.
At the end of each of the eight chapters is one of the housekeeper's songs, her insightful commentary on what is happening.