Taro, the Pensive Puss is not your “ordinary” cat story. Eschewing fawning praise over feline ingenuity and charm and sidestepping well-trodden stories of their prideful and mysterious ways, this engaging tale centers on the life and times of Taro, the old and world-weary watch-cat of Heng Chang General Store. As the sixth in a long-line of Taros to stand watch over the comings and goings at his master’s general store, he naturally sees himself to be the sole embodiment of the “prestigious“ Taro franchise. Our Taro is not just intimately familiar with his neighborhood and its myriad details; he is a discerning observer and critic of all that transpires around him and a frequent companion of the cats living up and down his street. Taro, the Pensive Puss was inspired by and pays homage to the turn-of-the-twentieth-century Japanese work I Am a Cat.