When young Nick wants to read a book, his cats, Verne and Stevenson, have other ideas. Verne lays on the pages while Stevenson camps out on a stack of nearby books. Frustrated, Nick decides to teach his feline friends to read. Verne loves reading books about mice and fish, but Stevenson hates reading. Then Nick finds some things Stevenson is interested in--illustrating and pirates--and Stevenson is drawn into the trio's imaginary and literary adventures.