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Rigatoni the Pasta Cat

by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Tony Ross

Interest age: 6 to 8
Reading age: 7+

Published by Andersen Press, 2022

  • Chapter books
  • Funny

About this book

Rigatoni the cat adores pasta. He loves nothing more than tucking into a delicious bowl of spaghetti, fusilli, linguini or vermicelli and he’ll eat it with anything, from pesto to tomato sauce. He even has a special pasta, "miaow", which he uses if his owners, Ruth and Tina, forget to give him his daily helping.

When Ruth and Tina go away for a while, they ask their friend George to take care of Rigatoni. He pops in each day to feed and cuddle the cat, but it quickly becomes clear that George has no intention of making any pasta. Rigatoni is dismayed and realises he has no choice but to leave the comfort of his home to venture outside and get his pasta-fix elsewhere. However, despite his clear intentions and spectacular pasta miaow, he finds it harder than he anticipated to make himself understood.

This amusing chapter book by former Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen is an engaging read. It is enhanced by wonderfully expressive black-and-white pen and ink drawings by the talented Tony Ross, who creates movement and character with just a few lines. Perfect for newly-confident independent readers, this light-hearted tale will particularly appeal to cat owners.

About the author

Michael Rosen is one of Britain’s best loved writers and performance poets for children and adults. His first degree in English Literature and Language was from Wadham College, Oxford and he went on to study for an MA at the University of Reading and a PhD at the former University of North London, now London Metropolitan.

He is currently Professor of Children’s Literature at Goldsmiths, University of London where he co-devised and teaches critical approaches to reading on an MA in Children’s Literature, having done the same at Birkbeck, University of London. He has taught on MA courses in universities since 1994.

He was the Children’s Laureate from 2007 to 2009 and has published over 200 books for children and adults, including the recent bestseller Many Different Kinds of Love and On The Move.

About the illustrator

Tony Ross was born in London in 1938. He went to art school in Liverpool and has since worked as a typographer for design and advertising agencies. His cartoons have appeared in Punch, Town, Time and Tide and the News of the World. His first book Hugo and the Wicked Winter was published in 1972. Tony has since written over 100 books and illustrated over 2000! Two of his creations, Towser and The Little Princess have been turned into TV series. Tony lives in Wales.

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