Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic

Home > Books > Land of the Last Wildcat

Land of the Last Wildcat

Please login to bookmark

Book Synopsis

Adventure and magic collide in Land of the Last Wildcat, Lui Sit’s fast-paced debut children’s novel about family, friendship and the beauty of our natural world. Illustrated throughout in black and white by David Dean.

Puffin Lau has two problems: her beloved scientist mum barely speaks to her . . . and a mythical wildcat called the Kuri is depending on her for its survival.

Luckily, Puffin grew up on stories of the Kuri and its magical powers, and she will stop at nothing to return it to its rightful home.

But standing in her way is the ominous Professor Smoult, a money-hungry scientist who wants to capture the Kuri and steal its magic. Faced with a mammoth journey to the faraway Linger Island, Puffin and her best friend Lance must evade the professor and save the last wildcat before it’s too late…

Our Review Panel says...

A debut middle grade novel from Lui Sit, Land of the Wildcat rests beautifully as an adventure novel with an environmental undertone.

Puffin Lau, the 10 year old protagonist of the story, has lost both of her parents and lives with her best friend Lance and his grandad Moe. Thankfully, Lance shares Puffin’s love of adventure, but when her mother fails to keep her promise to deliver a talk to her class on the Kuri, long, lost wildcat of Linger Island, Puffin takes it upon herself to act as museum guide, a role she feels well qualified for.

Before she has time to complete her talk, her Mum’s boss Professor Smoult takes over and Puffin, smarting with anger, decides to investigate for herself just what her Mum felt was so important that she couldn’t be there for her daughter.

While at times fantastical, Sit masterfully weaves the emotions and relationships of each of the characters in an animal tale that explores folklore and conservation work, while keeping up the pace of the adventure and painting a picture of each scene in the story, taking the reader on a real journey of exploration.