A sort of 'Book Free' Sunday selfie!

 Mrs H has pretty much recovered from her sore heads. So this week we return to a hastily (one hour ago) visit to Upper Much-Mousing, to see what has been going on . . . .

 

"Do you have to make that noise, dear?" The intermittent bursts of scratching and groans of disappointment from the chair on the other side of the fireplace finally made Mrs H look up from her knitting and crossword. She glowered at Erin over the top of her glasses.

"Umm, well, I was just trying to win big on this lottery scratch card we got from Mrs Singh. Buy any three SSS - Singh's Super Sassy curry from her takeaway menu and get a free scratch card."

"You got. I didn't buy any. A complete waste of time no doubt." Mrs H frowned. "Well, if nothing else, it explains the silver residue blocking the vacuum cleaner. I was begining to think the woodworm had changed their diet!"

Erin eyed the large pile of cards on the table and the stack of silver shavings on the cushion, and groaned inwardly. Maybe she had gotten carried away. But then again, as she saw it, Mrs H wouldn't have to cook supper until at least the summer.

"And what, may I ask, are the prizes? If it's more curry, I'll have to ban you from using the credit card this month. You can't move in the freezer for frozen takeaways."

Erin sighed deeply. "I've been trying to get the three cream pot symbols in a row. That's the top prize! But I've only found one cram pot."

Mrs H's right eyebrow raised in half surprised half enquiring manner. "And what do you win for three pots? No, let me guess, a large pot of Mrs Singh's spicey cat nip cheese topping?"

"No, what made you say that?" Erin looked quizically at her housekeeper.

"Well, it's just a large jar that arrived this morning. I wasn't sure if it was wrongly ordered when that Percy pigeon went astray last week."
 
"Ahh, no. That was my prize when I got three spiders in a row."

"Well, that's something you don't see too often, especially around here," Mrs H muttered to herself, knowing how keen Erin had been to make new friends.

"No, the top prize is a year's worth of cream! And the second, for three mice in a row, is a year's worth of Nice Mice Vegan Treats. The third you'll like, Mrs H – six bottles of Mrs Singh's home brew XXX Catnip Sherry!"

"Hmm." Mrs H's eyes widened slightly. "I think I can see a certain merit in this after all. Encourages careful meal planning."

"Exactly" Erin nodded her head vigorously.

"Saves on use of electricty and washing up time and materials."

"Absolutely!" Erin said, "We can spend more time relaxing."

"Not to mention bicycle wear and tear, and the fuel and servicing the Brough Superior." Mrs H was clearly getting into the swing of things.

"Dont forget fiscal restraint. You always tell me to do that. Save the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves, is what you always say." Erin had leaned forwards, sending a shower of dust to the floor along with three spent scratch cards to add to the collection on the hearth rug.

"Couldnt have put it better myself, dear. Yes, I think this could be a wise move indeed. Do you have any of those cards spare? . . . . "

                                                                            ***
 
Well, folks, that is where we leave Erin and Mrs H for another week. Will the Manor House's petty cash and housekeeping money be drained by next week? Will Erin ever get the supply of cream? Will Mrs H get to finish knitting the scarves for the orphan kittens?

To find out, or possibly not, tune in next time!

Now before the selfie of the week, we are pleased to announce, somewhat late, the winners of a copy of the fabulous 'The Lighthouse Bookshop' written by Newt's mum, Sharon Gosling.

It was reviewed by Mrs H last year – see the review via this link. The winners are our USA pal Meowmeowman from the blog Animal Shelter Volunteer Life, and The J Cats, in Israel.

Congratulations to you both!

Please send me your addresses in a separate comment, which we will then delete/not publish. And we will post your prizes as soon as possible!

And now for the selfie!

We are joining the Sunday Selfies hosted by the excellent Janet Blue over at the Cat on my Head blog.

 

Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This....©

 

The EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES of Alice Tonks

by EMILY KENNY;  

                                 

                                                       

An Adventure Book Review by Erin the Literary Cat©, International Book Reviewer.

Hello, and welcome to my weekend Book Review featuring Adventures in Middle-Grade Fiction.

We dive straight in to this week's review, as Mrs H has been suffering from not one but TWO bouts of mild concussion. Sadly it hasn't stopped her keeping tabs on how much food and the number of treats she's given me. I wonder if it will be a case of third time lucky . . . .

Anyways, as she's had a sore head, theres no news from Upper Much-Mousing, save to say, if theres no news, likely as not the villagers are up to no good. So watch this space!

Let the show commence!

 

AUTHOR: Emily Kenny

Cover art by: Flavia Sorrentino

Published by: One World Publications

Publication date for Paperback: Out NOW!

Paperback ISBN: 978-0-86154-205-5

Cover price for Paperback: £7.99

Pages:335

Target age range: 8 to 11

Any furry companions? Yes; a cat, dogs, and many others, too.



SPOILER ALERT

Some as to plot direction and characters.

Thank you to... 

I am exceedingly grateful to Mrs H for getting this book for me to Read & Review. It has been on my PERSONAL MUST READ list since I heard about it.

As ever, our views are our own, and we only share reviews of books we have bought, been given as gifts, or received in exchange for an impartial review. 

First and foremost, the books we review are those we like and feel our global readers deserve to know about and that we hope they and their children and friends and students will enjoy.

The plot

11-year-old Alice is having the worst day EVER. She's tried to be 'Nice Alice'. To smile. To be nice to her Gran, who packed her trunk so full of uniforms that there was no room for her favourite animal encyclopedias. To be nice Alice on the packed train, her head squished against a window that was home to at least 3 dead flies. Even when she'd to shake the sweaty hand of the teacher at the train station. 

 

It was her Gran's idea to go to Pebblewood boarding school (Pebbles to the students) in the seaside town of Pebblehampton. It would be a nice new start for Alice, Gran had said. She didn't want to let her down, but things were stacking up, and Alice was struggling to stay calm. School and beaches are NOT Alice's thing, especially together. Arriving at the Welcome Day in a tight old, bobbly swimsuit to find the other kids and families poshly dressed was terrible enough. New people to sit amidst and hot sand was really too much. The last straw was the seaweed, its horribly stinky, gloopy green and length clinging to her foot. Alice's throat tickled, her fingers twitched, and the octopus that had been squirming in her tummy was rearing up angrily, tentacles waving. Alice's genuine anxiety POPPED, and she screamed at Gran. All went silent on the beach, and everyone stared at Alice, doing nothing to help her stress.

 

Alice had to get away. Gran's apologies and Alice's realisation of what she had said came to her, and she had to find somewhere to calm down, relax, and destress. She wished she hadn't come. Nobody would be her friend, especially not now. They'd all think she was weird, even the teachers. Sometimes being Alice Tonks really sucked!

 

Finding a spot to calm down, a friendly face in the guise of Timothy Crossley-Herbert the Third, Tim for short, comes with the gift of an ice cream to cheer her up. Dressed in a very smart and wholly inappropriate for the hot beach school uniform, he is as uncomfortable at being there as she is and as friendless.

 

Anyway, whilst Alice is alone in her spot, a gull lands. Having finished her ice but knowing how gulls love hot chips, she apologises and says she has none. Having furtively looked each way. "It's not your chips I'm after, Alice Tonks," the seagull said sternly. "We've got a job for you."

The next day finds Alice actually starting school. Having made amends with Gran, she is determined to give Pebbles a go. The speaking gull was very real, or so it seemed. But she decides not to tell anyone just the same. 

 

As she gets the first-day tour of the school, Alice, out of the corner of one eye, spots an image of a gull in the school's stained glass window waving at her! As Tim, who was with her, didn't, and not wishing to seem weirder, Alice let it slip.

Alice gets to share her room with Ottie, a confident, pleasant scholastic girl who is at her third boarding school. She soon helps Alice settle in. And despite Ottie wanting to put fairy lights around her bed and play music, all seems good. Alice is certainly not going to tell Ottie she's autistic. When a few minutes later, a gull starts tapping at the dorm window, Alice knows there is something she needs to do. Find the gull and see what it wants!

 

Sneaking out of school and back along a path to the beach, Alice soon meets the gull. To Alice's surprise, it does speak. It says in a somewhat put-out fashion that, of course it can! Humans aren't the only ones that can talk! More importantly, it came to tell her something. But these are perilous times, it says, and it is not safe to talk on the beach. The peril is that wild animals and pets in the area are being taken. Vanishing without a trace! And the animals want to know why and have formed the LSPDA (the Loyal Society for the Prevention of Danger to Animals), and Alice can help them. And most importantly, to trust nobody! But before Alice can glean more, Agent T – the gull, departs and tells Alice to await his messenger.

 

The following day, Ottie persuades Alice to go to a secret den beneath an old oak tree on the cliff top, somewhere they can call their own special place. Tim comes along too. The threesome makes a good group, though given Agent T's warning, she will not tell Tim or Ottie about the missing animals or talking gulls. While heading back to school in the dying light, they see and hear some men doing something in the cove and then heading out to sea. Could they be smugglers?

Now, of all the teachers, only one seems chilled out and warm to Alice. And that is Miss Jessops, the librarian. It certainly isn't Mr Marlowe, the Head Master who has different meals and wears an air of self-importance, a disdain for children who don't excel in his biology class, the other staff and animals. And certainly not the severe, high-heeled Mrs Salter, the housemistress, who finds sugar disagrees with her. 

 

But suddenly, shortly after being summoned out of class by Mr Marlowe, Ottie turns her back on Alice and becomes friends with two rather nasty girls. When her now sole friend, Tim, has to go to band practice, Alice ends up alone in the library. That is when she meets Constance, an educated, silver-grey tabby cat with an aloof manner. She is also a member of the LSPDA, and eventually takes Alice to a secret meeting with the animals.

 

With the stage set, the book really takes off. From here on in, Alice's course leads her to discover that she is a 'switcher', someone who can talk to animals. 

 

She and Tim start to gather evidence. While ostensively on the smugglers in the cove, Alice thinks they are the animal snatchers. But something is up with Tim, and Alice soon realises there is something he is not sharing.

 

With multiple possible prime suspects among the school staff, and more members of the LSPDA vanishing, Alice's attempt to find the villain and stop the thefts takes a dramatic turn when she loses a close friend to the snatchers. Their motives are unclear, but when Tim is turned against Alice, and she has a near-death experience, it seems time has run out. 

It is hard to draw a definitive line reviewing a story as readable as this. But I think you'll find there is so much here to enjoy that this will just tickle your tastebuds.

So, what did we think?

Truthfully, bedtime couldn't come quick enough so I could catch up with Alice's adventure, and Mrs H only put this down when she fell asleep.

 

I genuinely rooted for Alice, given the situations, pressures and choices she has to make, some of which we, too, have felt. 

I also loved – a strong word, I know, but true – the way the creatures in this adventure had as important a place as Alice. They weren't just the cause of her investigation but the surprising essence of the resolution. Intrigued? You'll just have to read the book to find out about that!

Alice gets to become part of their world whilst still in her own. A hard trick to pull off well, I feel, but Emily did this with aplomb! Their characters were delightful and demonstrated a range of feelings people forget that all sentient creatures have. I think it actually touched on Richard Adams' way of writing animals, which many younger readers won't have come across, but I happen to love. 

There are some really skilful twists in this, central and ancillary, especially towards the end. That said, the plot builds evenly throughout and is as busy as a bee with a route plan, gathering facts and setting the scene, all done in a warming, engaging fashion.

Make no mistake, this book is all about the adventure. Yes, Alice's autism is part of who she is, as it is me, yet it is incidental; as in real life, it is one wonderful flavour amidst the many that go to make not only Alice and this extraordinary tale so compelling, but each and every one of you out there.

The story has a lot of heart. It ably bridges different worlds and has themes of discovering friendships, trust, compassion and understanding for all sentient beings around us. 

So . . . . 

Crunch time. 

Buy this for your kids, for you. You never need an excuse to read good literature. It is an adventure that made me hark back to the thrill of discovering Watership Down. We have Alice's book on Audible and paperback, and we recommend both. 

I am careful about using the word magical for fear of suggesting something else. And whilst Alice and Co have what I'd prefer to call 'a special gift' or 'talent', I draw no comparison to books of magic and wizards. But like most of the books we get to review for you, dear reader, this book DOES have a pinch of something special, a flavour of its own and as such deserves a place in your hearts.

 

It takes books like this to make the world a warmer, more compassionate and better place. And teaching this to kids is where it all starts. 

I messaged Emily last night, and she kindly confirmed for us there will be a sequel, and she is working on it at the moment! So DO watch this space as we will review it. I am hoping we can get a copy before publication so you can get an order placed in advance.

Want to buy a copy?

To get a copy, missing stinky sticky congealing seaweed, and gulls who may or may not be after your chips, please head to your local independent bookshop (bobbly swimsuit optional). Like gulls and not the swimsuit (though I could be wrong), there are lots of book shops out there. Each is just waiting to serve up whatever kind of mystery, fun and adventure you desire.

Emily Kenny's web page can be found by clicking HERE or type this: https://emilykenny.co.uk/

One World Publications' web page can be found by clicking HERE or type this:
https://oneworld-publications.com/

Flavia Sorentino's web page can be found by clicking HERE or type this: https://flaviasorr.com/



We are joining the Sunday Selfies, hosted by Janet Blue of the Cat on My Head blog. 

So I shall leave you with a suitable laid back on side selfie to match what I hope will be your day! 🙂 🙂

Till laters!

ERin

MARSHMALLOW PIE, the Cat Superstar; the four book series

 

 Written and fully illustrated by Clara Vulliamy;  

                                                                                   

An Adventure Book Review by Erin the Literary Cat©, International Book Reviewer.

Hello, and welcome to my weekend Book Review featuring Adventures in Middle-Grade Fiction.

 

If you're here for a selfie, please scroll on down!

 

This week we head straight into our review, with a FAB set of four books, featuring a feisty feline called Marshmallow Pie!

AUTHOR:  Clara Vulliamy

 

Cover art by:  Clara Vulliamy

 

All interior art by:   Clara Vulliamy

 

Published by: Harper Collins Books

Publication date: Book 1  6/8/20.  ISBN:  978- 000 8355 852

 

Publication date: Book 2  6/8/20.  ISBN: 978- 000 8355 890

 

Publication date: Book 3  7/1/21.  ISBN:  978- 000 8355 913  

Publication date: Book 4  5/8/21.  ISBN:  978- 000 8355 944

 

 

Cover price for Paperback £5.99 approx

 

Pages: 128 approx

 

Age range:  6-9 (and all cat loving readers everywhere!)

 

 

SPOILER ALERT

Just a few as to plot direction and characters.

 

A Huge Thank You to... 

 

Clara Vulliamy for offering insights and letting us reproduce the images from within the stories. There are so many fun pictures that we have had to limit ourselves to one from each book. I do hope they will give a flavour of the action.

 

Also, thanks to Mrs H for buying this series as a set of four books for me. They made my week!

 

As ever, our views are our own, and we only ever share reviews of books we like and feel our readers deserve to know about and that we hope they will enjoy. 

 

 

The plots

Book 1. Marshmallow Pie, the Cat Superstar.

 

Book 1 cover. Image Copyright©

 

Amelia and her father live in a small top-floor flat in the middle of a busy city. When rich Aunt Julia has to go away travelling, her white and fluffy cat named Marshmallow Marmaduke Vanilla-Bean Sugar-Pie Fluffington-Fitz-Noodle is sent away from his country house to Amelie Lime to look after. It's quite a change for Marshmallow Pie, or Pie as Amelia calls him. But Pie doesn't mind and has a balcony to lounge on. Better yet, Pie loves to tease Buster, the big burly dog on the balcony below. He does this by staring at him or dangling his tail over the balcony edge and just out of reach.

 

Life is good, and Pie pretty much rules the small apartment, taking central place on the sofa and doing everything a home-loving feline could want to do.

 

Then, one day Amelia finds out an audition for a local animal acting agency is taking place locally. Knowing, as all cat carers do, that Pie is super special, she enters the audition. It means that shy Amelia can get to do exciting things, whilst Pie is the one in the spotlight. So, in preparation for the audition, Amelia tries to get Pie to do tricks. Well, you can guess how that turned out.

 

Come the big day, whilst Amelia is very nervous, Pie knows he is a star and what to do to shine. 

 

Pie is presented for audition. Image ©

 

 

Amelia meets a lad from her school who has brought his kitten along, aptly named, Gingernut. Obviously, Pie is unimpressed by the youngster. When Buster turns up with his owner, things turn for the worst, a disaster. The rest I shall leave to the imagination and for you to discover!

 

Book 2. Marshmallow Pie, the Cat Superstar on TV.

 

Book 2 cover. Image Copyright©

 

 

After the antics of book 1, the woes and disasters and tears, we find Marshmallow Pie has the chance to star in a TV advert. It happens to be for Pie's favourite treat, 'Shrimp Crunchies'! But, the downside is he has to star alongside Gingernut, the somewhat annoying kitten belonging to Amelia's new pal, Zack. 

Come the day, Pie, Gingernutt, Amelia, and Zack arrive on set but are brushed aside by the rather obnoxious, fake-tanned director, Brad Carter.

 

On set, Pie gets carried away. He wants to outshine the kitten and hog the limelight. 

 

Pie knocks over a bowl! Image Copyright©

Even when the kitten wants to help, he gives him the brush off. As is the way with cats, especially when it comes to following directions, things go wrong, and the kitten seems to get the brunt of the blame from Brad, even though Pie was mainly the cause. 

 

Day two starts well, but disaster strikes, and the set descends into cat-driven chaos. The ending is definitely not what you may be thinking! I shall leave the what, why and how for you to discover. 

 

Book 3. Marshmallow Pie, the Cat Superstar in Hollywood.

 

Book 3 cover. Image Copyright©

 

 

For reasons I won't go into for fear of spoiling book 2, Pie and Amelia find they have an offer they can't refuse! Yes, Pie is destined for Hollywood stardom! Pie has come to the attention of big Hollywood producer Rocky Milan, who thought Pie was HUGELY talented and FEISTY! That is precisely what he was after in cat to play...... the villain's feline companion in his new movie.

 

So, Pie, Amelia and her dad arrive in tinsel town. They have a beautiful hotel room and beds more immense and more sumptuous than they have ever seen! Of course, Pie takes all the glitz, the glamour and the luxury in his stride. 

 

Like most kids her age would be, Amelia is very nervous the next day as she visits the set and gets to meet stars, cast and crew. The villainess's daughter, Madison, an internet star in her own right and a tad older than Amelia, is there too. She has her own brand and instantly falls for Pie, saying he'll be the perfect accessory for her. Her brash character, the opposite of Amelia's, takes charge. She takes them all shopping between acting sessions, driven and escorted by her very own security guard, Big Barbara.

 

Madison and Pie look seem so much alike. Or are they? Image©

 

 

They get to meet the press and go shopping in all the best boutiques. Why, Pie is really enjoying this glamorous life. But what of Amelia, who is being increasingly pushed aside? 

As filming goes on, Madison starts taking over, manipulating things and ..... OK, to say much more, I fear will take away from the second half of this adventure and a rather fun and very feline ending. 

 

Book 4. Marshmallow Pie, the Cat Superstar on Stage.

 

Book 4 Cover. Image Copyright©

 

 

We find Pie and Amelia are back home on the rebound from fame, fortune, and the red carpet treatment in Hollywood and global recognition. Life is good if a tad less dramatic, but stretching out on fresh laundry is just what a cat loves. 

We just know this can't last, and my, the peace and calm are shattered when Pie's Nemesis from Book 1 gets dumped on Amelia to look after when his owner goes away. Talk about putting a cat's nose out of joint. Well, Pie is not amused, and old rivalries ensue. 

 

Amelia sits between Pie & Buster. Image ©

 

Now, as a timely relief from this, Pie's agent, Dexter, from the Animal Acting Agency, calls with the chance to audition for a new role. It is a chance to appear in a new performance in the BEST theatre in town! What cat could say no to such an important role? Certainly not our Pie, especially when it means leaving Buster behind.

 

But when Amelia's dad has to go out to a meeting, Buster has to accompany Pie to the audition as he can't stay home alone. Pie is NOT amused. 

Of course, Pie is a shoo-in for the part in a play called The Everett Emeralds, about a cat burglar and a jewel robbery. Pie plays a companion cat who helps solve the case. It is a role he excels at. But to Pie's dismay, Buster gets hired when the producer says she is also in need of a dog. 

 

Come the day of rehearsals, Buster seems determined to upstage Pie. Have old rivalries suddenly come home to roost and spoil the day? And what has been going on in the wings that is distracting Buster? All is most definitely NOT what it seems, and great peril awaits come the opening night. Did I mention another villain? Well, to find out how it all goes down in this, the final book, you'll just have to wait until the books arrive from your local bookshop 🙂.

So, what did we think? 

 

I absolutely adored the stories. Each has a moral, a lesson for Pie to learn. The interaction between Amelia and Pie is heartwarming. The interaction between Buster and Pie is very much tongue-in-cheek fun and, dare I say it, how we often think of cats v dogs. 

 

There is a sense that Amelia is growing as much from her experiences with Pie as she does from teaming up with Zack. It is, I think, a timely reminder that not everyone is bold and brash or able to make friends just like that. It also demonstrates how much our canine and feline pals mean and what they bring to kids and families (and housekeepers).

 

The scrapes Pie not so much creates as wanders into and then gets out off, and how he reacts are pure feline. Clara's observations of cats are, she tells me, from growing up with cats, six in total over the years. Alas, these days, she has no companions, only her fictional animal pals. 

 

Clara has quite a few YouTube videos. One is about how to draw cats, and it features Marshmallow Pie. If you want to have a go, or just want to be enthralled as to how easy Clara makes this not-so-easy task seem, please follow this LINK or type https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76vVky2kyAw 

 

It is just over seven minutes long, but time very well spent, and I think the kids will love it.

 

Now, if you don't already recognise Clara's work from her numerous other children's stories, you may well be familiar with that of her mother, famed illustrator and author Shirley Hughes. Mrs H says her formative years were filled with images from children's books illustrated by Shirley. 

 

Sadly, Shirley passed away in 2022, leaving a fantastic legacy. To learn more about Shirley's work, the illustrations, which to us are utterly captivating and timeless, please head on to Twitter, where there is a Twitter feed of her books and characters on her behalf. Use this LINK to visit https://twitter.com/ShirleyHughes_

So . . . . 

Crunch time. 

An absolute must-buy series of four short stories for the younger readers in your life. The artwork, which appears on nearly every page, is bold, fun, and full of life. Mrs H said she could see so many feline traits in Marshmallow Pie that she couldn't help but wonder if, given the same situations, I'd act the same way? My answer is yes, of course!

 

We love to review books that have companion creatures in them, and every now and then, they feature companions as protagonists. This is one of those times, and it delivers a cracking read for ages 6 and upwards. 

 

For dog lovers, Clara told me that the new series, starting this August, will feature canines. This is definitely one to look out for.

Want to buy a copy?

 

To get a copy, please head down to your local independent bookshop; auditions and accompanying pets are not necessary. There are plenty out there, and each shop just waits to serve up whatever kind of mystery, fun and adventure you desire.

 

Clara Vulliamy's web page can be found HERE or type this: https://claras.me/

 

I shall leave you with a Selfie. We are joining the Cat on My Head Blog Sunday Selfies! Hosted by Janet Blue and all her fine felines.🙂 🙂

 

 

Till laters!

ERin