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Blanksy the Street Cat

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Book Synopsis

Seascapes and landscapes, snowy-capped hills.
Colourful tulips and gold daffodils.
His art was incredible, vibrant and loud.
Enough to make Pablo Picasso feel proud!

When Blanksy the cat discovers a talent for painting murals he uses it to draw bigger and bigger crowds to help his friend Pete the busker become rich. But will money really make Pete happy?

An entertaining story with fabulous illustrations by award-winning illustrator Allen Fatimaharan.

Our Review Panel says...

This is a fabulous short chapter book for all ages. It has superb black and white drawings and has been longlisted for the Alligator’s Mouth Award for highly-illustrated young chapter books. It is written in rhyme and has a lovely sing-song rhythm – perfect for reading aloud to children, plus the well-spaced lines and clear front make this dyslexia-friendly.

It tells us the story of Pete, a busker, singing songs on the street for the sheer joy of the music and making people smile. Whilst busking, he is soon joined by a cat and the two become inseparable, except when Pete goes for ‘a poo or a wee’ – children will love that bit! Pete doesn’t seem to be bothered that crowds pass by with scarcely a glance, always glued to their phones, but the cat is disheartened and devises a plan to encourage people to stop. Blanksy is created (with an obvious nod to Banksy) and life changes forever.

This has some thoughtful messages about the power of the internet and how things can ‘go viral’. There are mentions of TikTok, Instagram and Twitter (now X), so the book feels very current. It could inspire some interesting conversations as to whether fame is worth it too.

There is some lovely humour: I loved to see Marks & Spencer rhymed with money dispenser, and a passer-by giving the two buskers some raw broccoli – the drawing of the cat’s face is brilliant!