Splat the Cat - Fishy Tales Based on the Creation of Rob Scotton (HarperCollins Children's Books)

Oh Splat! What on earth has happened to you? Splat the Cat has been a character that Charlotte has grown up with. Ever since we got our first Splat the Cat book (with a fantastic Booktrust Bookstart pack) we've been in love with Splat and Seymour, as they've worked their way through several adventures - starting school, falling in love and even playing detective.

We were worried that Rob Scotton's purrrfect feline creation was starting to slide off the boil with the previous book "Splat Says Thank You" which felt jarringly lightweight (we described it as feeling like a "greatest hits" album). In "Fishy Tales" again there's this odd feeling that Rob has pretty much had it up to here with his fabulous furry fuzzy creation, and it's time to move on.

So what's Splat up to this time? He's off on a class visit to an aquarium. Once again Splat is hopelessly head over heels in love with Kitten - But always waiting in the wings is the rather annoying know-it-all Spike, who is also vying for Kitten's attention. Splat tries to impress Kitten with his knowledge of all things piscine, but Spike always contradicts and overrules Splat (didn't we all know a kid like that at school?) so once again it's up to Kitten to decide where her heart truly lies.

With tail still wiggling wildly with worry, we wanted to love this to bits as much as we have previous Splat books but there was just something missing. In fact, it seemed odd that the cover describes the book as being "Based on the Creation of Rob Scotton", as if the author-illustrator was trying to point out that the original idea was his, but Splat has since become a hollowed out version of his former self. Eee-OW!

Poor Splat! Let's hope the wonder-kitty falls on his feet with the next book, please say there'll be one!


Charlotte's best bit: Splat the Catfish!

Daddy's Favourite bit: We did manage to squeeze out a bit of love for this but it really did feel like something had gone horribly awry during its creation. Awww! Come on Splat, you're better than this!

(Kindly sent to us for review by HarperCollins Children's Books)