I Don’t Know What to Call My Cat

What a purrrrrfect story to share with young readers! The author’s dedication sets the scene for all that follows; “For CAT owners who think they’re in charge, and the CATS that know otherwise.”  We quickly get the idea that choosing just the right name for a kitten joining a family is no easy matter. The front cover suggests a few names… Ziggy, William, Turtle, Ralph, Einstein, Peanut… and 14 more are named and illustrated, along with a further 25 feline friends on the back cover. The child telling us of the dilemma of name-choosing tries out a dozen lovely names, all great until the vet informs her that Kitty is in fact a boy cat! Butch, Rambo, Arnie, Rocky? When the new cat in question disappears, (for adventures galore,) the owner creates LOST posters but has to confess the cat has… no name. TRICKY situation. Then comes an unexpected twist, resulting in the B.N.A. van claiming a new visitor/intruder to the family. Off goes the gorilla with the Bureau for Naughty Animals. There’s a wonderful resolution which will capture the imagination of many readers, making a book which should be read again and again. The super talented young illustrator, Ella Bailey, will surely be sort after for various commissions in the future. Her cats here are full of fun and deserve repeated exploration, adding much to the quite sparse text, eg Mr Maestro cat, playing Pur Elise, has lively musical notation where each crochet and quaver is a cat’s face. This purrrrfect book deserves to be in every KS1 classroom and cat lovers’ library.