A feline feast...
Blake loves cats. He loves dogs too, though he’s in the kind of scared, but fascinated period when it comes to dogs. Cats though, he loves. His Grandad and Nana have two cats, which very sensibly hide upstairs whenever he comes round, but every time they venture down, Blake is straight over, ready to try and make friends.
He loves reading about cats too and we’ve got a fair few cat books on our bulging sheves. This week, I’m recommending my three favourites.
Mog the Forgetful Cat
The same genius behind The Tiger Who Came To Tea, Mog is a long-running series of books, all about Mog, the rather dimwitted, but very sweet cat, who always finds herself having adventures.
They’re all written in the 1960s, so they are rather mannered, and there are hilarious period touches, including the burglar who enjoys a cup of tea while the family await for the police to come round and arrest him, but still hold up. Every adventure will leave you with a big smile on your face.
100 Cats
Not much of a story to this one, just rhyme after rhyme, but it’s compelling, playfully illustrated and very good for getting kids to learn new words. Blake loved the rhythm, and, at one time, it was getting three or four reads a day.
Fred
This could have easily featured in last week’s email about favourites from my childhood, but I thought I’d save the most famous in the world until this week.
The story follows a sister and brother, Sophie and Nick, who are convinced that their cat Fred is the laziest cat in the world, but after he dies, they discovers he has been leading a really exciting double life . . .
My mum gave Blake a copy for his 2nd birthday and I remember explaining to Blake’s mum about the plot, about how it was a funeral for the most famous cat in the world, and she looked at me with a mixture of bemusement and horror. I think if I read this to him in a couple of years time he might have a few more questions, but, for now, it’s just a lovely read about a cat and a late night concert. Highly, highly recommended.
Thank you very much for reading. Next week, we’re diving deep, for the best books you can find set deep in the ocean.
If you like this, please tell your friends, even the ones without kids…
And, if you want catch up on all the books I’ve recommended in previous weeks, here they are: