It's a well-documented fact that St Petersburg's Hermitage in Russia, one of the most famous art museums in the world, is home to a huge collection of pieces of art and ... an army of cats! These professional felines have been guarding the Hermitage's treasures against rodent predators since 1745. Empress Elizaveta, daughter of Peter the Great, signed a decree ordering that cats were to be found and brought to her court in Moscow - "better cats, the largest ones, able to catch mice, and accompanied by a person who will look after their health." According to the Hermitage's site, there are officially 50 cats residing in the museum today. Each cat has a 'passport' with its photograph. Those cats that retire and are rehomed receive a special Hermitage certificate, which gives them a certain distinction! The feline colony receives no official income, but the human employees contribute each month towards upkeep and health expenses. Many doors in the six Hermitage buildings have small cat doors in them, so the residents can come and go as they please between the gardens - where in summer they are to found strolling or lounging among the priceless exhibits - and the basement, where there are the cat headquarters. This is where food is prepared and their health is looked after, with a room devoted to looking after sick animals. This is the official bit from the museum's site ... But we here at Clever Fox Press never let a good story go to waste so we made a book about the clever felines guarding Hermitage art pieces. The first signed copy of The Cats of the Hermitage was presented to the museum in February 2018 as a gift from our charitable publishing house. Brrr ... Hope those wonderful guards of artistic treasures have good heating down in the basement during those famously cold Russian winters ...
About the Author: Julie G. Fox is an author and the founder of Clever Fox Press. Julie's first book 'Goodbye, Emma' told the story of a boy. This book (which is still Julie's bestseller!) Was based on a true story as Julie and her brothers were refugees themselves. The proceeds from the sale of 'Goodbye, Emma' as well as all other books Julie has been donated to charities. The first hundred copies of the 'Goodbye, Emma' book were shipped to refugee camps in Greece, Canada, and Germany. After 'Goodbye, Emma' came out Julie felt that she had too many stories locked up in her head, and these stories had to somehow reach more children. She decided to connect with artists, illustrators, and writers in the countries, troubled by wars and economic problems, to encourage those talented and creative individuals who lacked a platform for their difficult homelands. Clever Fox Press which was founded by Julie in early 2016 has been written and produced 20 more books with more projects along the way. We now have a terrific team of freelance writers from Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, Spain, Italy, Syria, Greece, South Korea, United States, Latvia, and India. Our motto is to write up for children. Thus, we do not break down our books. Our books are written for children of all ages including parents and grandparents. We have also noticed a drastic decline in poetry for children. An odd rhyme is there but real poetry has disappeared from the bookshelves altogether. So our other goal is to re-introduce poetry in the world of rhyme and non-rhyme which has the business of children's books has become. We at Clever Fox Press are also great fans of folklore and fairytales. These holdings of the world of wisdom passed down from one to the next generation and should never be forgotten. So once upon a time, there was ... #thatladywithfoxears who loves to tell stories and her terrific team of artists and writers from all over the world!