Thursday 28 June 2012

Keith the Cat with the Magic Hat by Sue Hendra (Simon and Schuster Children's Books)














If we were crazy enough to have cats at ReadItDaddy Towers I would definitely ensure that at least one of them was A) A ginger tom and B) called Keith. Keith the Cat with the Magic Hat is the latest children's book from Sue (Barry, the Fish with Fingers) Hendra. As you'd expect from Sue, it's a slightly surreal but ridiculously adorable story of a young cat trying to impress his peers when an unfortunate incident with an ice cream cone makes him look a bit daft in front of them.

Keith shrugs off the incident by claiming that the ice cream cone is, in fact, a magic hat - and the chocolate flake is Keith's all-powerful magic wand. By pure luck Keith's magic fakery impresses his friends enough, but can Keith summon enough magic to defeat an angry dog?

You'll have to read the book to find out. Sue Hendra's style is to compliment her superbly sharp and cute illustrations with entertaining stories, and Keith the Cat is no exception. If you loved Barry the Fish with Fingers or Norman the Slug with a Silly Shell, then this is more charming silliness in the same mould and we love it!

Charlotte's best bit - Keith waving his magic wand and coming up with a very long string of magic words

Daddy's favourite bit - Sue Hendra's pin-sharp and beautiful illustrative style.

Rating - 4 out of 5 stars

(Please note - This book was kindly supplied by Simon and Schuster for review)