My Life as a Cat
by Carlie Sorosiak
Interest age: 9 to 11
Reading age: 8+
Published by Nosy Crow, 2020
About this book
A girl, Olive, rescues a cat stuck in a tree during a storm and calls him Leonard. But Leonard isn’t what he seems to be. He is not a cat but an alien who plummeted to earth and ended up in the wrong body. Even worse, he is miles from where he needs to be, if he ever wants to get home again. Leonard is in South Carolina and needs to be in Yellowstone National Park. How is he going to get there and will Olive be able to help? Or does she need help herself?
In this heart-warming, funny and thoughtful novel, Carlie Sorosiak immerses herself once again in the mind of an animal. Neither Olive nor Leonard fit in to the world well; both are masking, pretending to be ‘normal’ so others don’t harm them. Olive’s anxiety about being ‘weird’ and her fear of being seen and judged by others are powerfully conveyed. Leonard’s emotional journey from alien to part of the family is moving. The story carries warm messages about making your own family, the wonder of being weird, and the importance of friends.
More books like this
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I, Cosmo
by Carlie Sorosiak
9 to 14 years
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A World of Dogs
by Carlie Sorosiak, illustrated by Luisa Uribe
5 to 9 years
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The Zombie Project
by Alice Nuttall
9 to 14 years
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Stellar
by Chris Bradford, illustrated by Charlotte Grange
9 to 14 years
Lists of recommended reads
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Books about cats
We all love Mog the cat. But she isn’t the only kitty to get up to mischief in a children’s book. Here are a few other cat stories to lay your paws on and enjoy with the little ones.