Neighbour’s Cat
Michael Rosen and Alex Willmore
Walker Books

This hilarious picture book is narrated by a small child whose home a feline intruder frequents.

The moggy named Neighbour’s Cat is an entitled creature complaining about such things as the lack of a blanket on a chair and the loudness of the TV. He’s also demanding and insists on using the narrator’s bed for a sleep. It’s a long sleep and during his slumber time, the narrator starts imaging what the moggy might be getting up to: maybe he’s constructing a huge marble run;

maybe he’s enjoying a bath or trying on Mum’s clothes. Could he perhaps be in the attic planning a trip into space aided and abetted by a horde of robot cats. Alex Willmore’s dramatic illustrations are as imaginative as the child narrator’s notions concerning the moggy’s shenanigans.

It turns out however that the mention of food is sufficient to entice the visitor to return to his house, albeit with a parting request to the child narrator who is left with rather a lot of work to do.

A great read aloud that will delight not only moggy lovers of all ages but anyone who likes to see children giving full rein to their imagination.