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The Taming of the Cat

Book Synopsis

From twice-Kate Greenaway WINNER comes an exquisite story within a story, featuring a mouse who is forced to tell stories to save his life, a cat who plans to eat said mouse as soon as the story is finished, and our protagonist’s protagonist, a princess in trouble.

Gorgonzola watched Brie with her tail twitching . . . then she pounced.

Brie the mouse is caught between the claws of Gorgonzola the cat. Desperate to survive, Brie starts telling Gorgonzola a story . . . It’s a showstopping tale – about a runaway princess, a cat that can grow to the size of a panther, an enchanted feast, a vanishing cavern and a quest to find a magical herb . . .

But Gorgonzola is getting hungry . . . If Brie wants his life to be spared, this must be the best story he has ever told.

A dazzling story within a story that you won’t be able to put down and accompanied with stunning interior art..

Our Review Panel says...

A new gentle chapter book adventure from much-loved author Helen Cooper, whose many BooksForTopics readers will recognise from our booklists (like Saving the Butterfly, Ratty Tatty and the inimitable Pumpkin Soup).

Brie is a small mouse who loves to tell tall tales. He and his fellow mice live (and eat) in a cheese shop . . . except Brie is the only mouse who doesn’t like cheese. Unfortunately, his fellow mice just don’t appreciate his stories. Fortunately, Brie soon finds someone who does. One freezing cold night, Brie finds himself shunned by the rest of the mice and curls up, cold and defenceless, in the shop, where he’s soon discovered by the shop’s cat, Gorgonzola.

In order to distract the cat from eating him, Brie starts telling him a fantastical tale of a princess and her cat on a quest to find the princess’s missing family. Fortunately, Gorgonzola loves stories and lets Brie live . . . for now. The other mice soon realize that the shop’s cat is totally engrossed in Brie’s stories and use this to their advantage to steal as much cheese as possible from the shop. Will the mice be discovered? Will Gorgonzola finally eat Brie? And will the princess be able to solve the mystery of her missing family?

This is a beautifully told, modern-day fairytale. Full of magic, cheese and dragons and with beautiful, author-drawn illustrations throughout. A fantastic book for anyone who loves fairytales, adventure and cats.