Summary

Bird becomes determined to learn more about his mother and visits the public library after school. Most of the books have been removed, and those that remain are largely about the threat of China as a power against the United States.

Bird watches the librarian sorting through books, looking for something. She notices and confronts him; he tells her he is looking for a story about a boy with many cats. The librarian searches through the stacks, becoming increasingly enthusiastic as she realizes the book may be a Japanese folktale. She brings Bird to her office and mentions that the library has had its budget slashed since the Crisis. The librarian realizes the book is called The Boy Who Drew Cats, but a donor complained and had it removed from the library for encouraging pro-PAO sentiment. Bird cautiously says...