Brenda's Revenge

‘Poor Brenda is just a cat.’ So says the little girl narrator of this story. She’s actually an extremely good-natured moggy that tolerates her owner giving her new hairdos, dressing her up in all manner of fancy attire and chastising her for terrible table manners and even for not concentrating on her schoolwork. Trampolining is considered a treat but only one of the two enjoys bouncing up and down. It’s patently clear that Brenda is relieved when her owner announces that she’s been invited to play with her new neighbour – the one she’d spied during the trampolining session.

Having been the domineering one in her relationship with her pet, this approach is unsuccessful when it comes to the girl next door. Being forced to don tight itchy garments, taste a terrible green magic flying potion, being pushed down the slide while sitting in a pushchair and getting a soaking while they play firefighting are surely experiences one is justified in complaining about, even if the grumbles are ignored by miss bossy boots neighbour.

Back in her own home the narrator complains to Brenda about the ‘most dreadful time’ she’s had. Now Brenda is a pretty astute cat and grasps that some quick action on her part is required to sustain this new ‘friendship’ and thus obtain more time to pursue genuine moggy things.

A thought-provoking tale of the importance of being able to see things from another’s perspective – human and feline. The illustrations speak volumes and show the characters’ real feelings which are often completely at odds with what’s said in the text.