The Diary of a Killer Cat

Oct 10, 2024 7:34 PM

Author:Anne Fine

Everyone loves the wickedly dry sense of humour of The Diary of a Killer Cat by Anne Fine.

Okay, Okay. So hang me. I killed the bird. For pity's sake, I'm a cat.

Poor Ellie is horrified when Tuffy drags a dead bird into the house. Then a mouse. But Tuffy can't understand what all the fuss is about.

Who on earth will be the next victim to arrive through the cat-flap? Can soft-hearted Ellie manage to get her beloved pet to change his wild, wild ways before he ends up in even deeper trouble?

The hilarious antics of Tuffy and his family as told by the killer cat himself.

'Anne Fine knows how to make readers laugh' Guardian

Anne Fine has written numerous highly acclaimed and prize-winning books for children and adults. The Tulip Touch won the Whitbread Children's Book of the Year Award; Goggle-Eyes won the Guardian Children's Fiction Award and the Carnegie Medal; Flour Babies won the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Children's Book of the Year; and Bill's New Frock won a Smarties Prize. Anne Fine was named Children's Laureate in 2001 and was awarded an OBE in 2003.

Reviews

With colourful, bold-line illustrations, this is a charming story for age three and up

—— Mary Arrigan , Irish Examiner

The thickly inked illustrations surrounded by lots of white space have an uncluttered, simple look that is appropriate for young readers . . . A sweet tale

—— Martha Simpson , School Library Journal

Cleminson, selected as one of Booktrust's Best New Illustrators for her lovely, inky line, subtle sense of colour and child-friendly playfulness, has produced an ideal story for communicating the magic of reading

—— Nicolette Jones , The Sunday Times

Katie captured the judges' imagination with her dreamy illustrations

—— Guardian

There's something genially old-fashioned about it all. Otto endures hardship and adventure (including the brush-off he receives from a pair of alley cats) as he flees his old existence and finds new sources of companionship. In this case, the animal adrift ends up with fellow story characters as well as with human readers, who, as they will in real life too, want to keep Otto around

—— Pamela Paul , The New York Times

Katie's illustrations are full of space, gentle colour and apparent simplicity. She also has a real way with drawing animals - Otto is a very handsome bear, a bear that you'll want to hug and make space for on your bookshelves

—— Playing the Book

It's the Goldilocks tale from a fresh perspective, but the more you dig, the more Me and You will reveal. It's an utterly gorgeous picture book that works on so so so many levels

—— The Bookbag

This is a wonderful re-telling by Anthony Browne of the Goldilocks fairy tale, which Browne gives a modern setting and a contemporary twist . . . The story is beautifully presented with the Bear family's world drawn in bright colours while 'Goldilocks' inhabits a bleak inner city landscape. The ending turns our usual convictions on their head, however, as we are shown it is the grey city world that has the warmth of a real home

—— Reading Zone

The merging of the fairytale/streetscape ending is a masterstroke

—— Irish examiner

A thought provoking new take on the traditional story of Goldilocks . . . Anthony Browne leaves readers lots to think about

—— Julia Eccleshare , Lovereading4Kids.co.uk

Me and You is a wonderful example of the power of illustrations and how hey can play as important a role as words

—— Nursery Education

Anthony Browne offers a new perspective on an old tale

—— Jane Doonan , School Library Association

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