To Be A Cat

Book Description

Barney Willow’s life couldn’t get any worse. He’s weedy, with sticky-out ears. Horrible Gavin Needle loves tormenting him – Barney has no idea why. And headteacher-from-hell Miss Whipmire seems determined to make every second of Barney’s existence a complete misery! Worst of all, Dad has been missing for almost a year, and there’s no sign of him ever coming home.

Barney just wants to escape. To find another life. To be a cat, for example. A quiet, lazy cat. Things would be so much easier – right?

Review
“This is a clawed masterpiece . . . A book about being comfortable in your own skin rather than someone else’s fur” (Philip Ardagh Guardian )

“A darkly comic and richly rewarding story . . . Haig’s book shines with originality – in the clever plot and the wit – and has a strong moral core” (Martin Chilton Telegraph )

“I loved To Be A Cat. It’s very funny and surprising and somehow the basic concept, which is certainly an unusual one, works brilliantly. I believed every moment . . . Miss Whipmire is a villain from hell but the sense of frustration that Barney has in his dealings with her are quite moving actually; it reminds me of many of the frustrations of childhood. And I absolutely love child protagonists who READ!” (John Boyne )

“Here is the black comedy that made Matt Haig’s Shadow Forest so irresistible” (Amanda Craig The Times )

“A terrific yarn with just the right mix of humour, surprise and page-turning peril” (Independent on Sunday )

Book Description
From the winner of the Blue Peter Award, this is a funny, dark and exciting story about what it’s like to wake up as a cat!