Ellie and the Cat; Malorie Blackman, illustrated by Matt Robertson

Ellie is not thrilled at being left with yet another relative whilst her dad heads away on another one of his business trips. This time, Grandma is the lucky recipient and Ellie is determined to make her stay very unpleasant by being as rude and as rotten as possible.

But Grandma has a few plans of her own and when Ellie’s bad behaviour becomes too much, Grandma magically swaps her into the body of pet cat Jolly. There’s only one way to break the curse but with time running out and with Jolly enjoying life in human form and willing to do anything to stop Ellie from succeeding, can Ellie complete mission impossible or will she be trapped as a cat forever…

From one of the UK’s top children’s authors comes a short, funny and fast-paced story with a gentle sprinkling of magic that is sure to get children thinking about their behavioural choices because no one wants to end being stuck as a cat.

Ellie is a right little rotter, although much of her unpleasant behaviour is a result of the situation that she finds herself in. Being passed around from pillar to post like ‘an unwanted parcel’ and with no true place to call home or a school to make permanent friends she is resentful of her dad and it is Grandma that finds herself on the receiving end of some very bad behaviour.

Unfortunately for Ellie, in Grandma she meets her match and finds a relative who is prepared to give as good as she gets, perhaps even go a few steps further. Ellie needs to learn a thing or two about manners and how to behave and Grandma is more than happy to oblige, even if her methods are somewhat unconventional. Spending some time as a cat though is just what Ellie needs and with the help of a brave mouse and a resourceful spider she learns all about friendship and kindness. There’s even a lovely ending that fixes the family problems that have resulted in Ellie’s difficult behaviour.

With its strong themes of friendship and behaviour throughout, Ellie and the Cat reinforces to children that their actions have consequences and that being selfish and naughty really isn’t worth it. True to Barrington Stoke form, this read is printed in dyslexia friendly font and on tinted paper ensuring the book can be accessed by every child.

Recommended for 7+.