Philippa Leathers KNOWS cats. It's so obvious from the moment you open the cover of "How to Catch a Mouse" and see her depiction of Clemmie, a brave and utterly adorable little ginger kitten. Clemmie rules the roost at home, and is absolutely fearless when it comes to one particular pest - mice.
Clemmie's keen senses, her stalking ability and her bravery are shown off as the story unfolds and Clemmie goes on patrol, keeping the house mouse-free.
But there's a rather mischievous visitor afoot, who creeps around unnoticed and dons disguises to outwit stalking moggies. Can Clemmie keep a keen eye open and beat that sneaky mouse at his own game?
Book bloggers and picture book lovers will know that delicious moment when they fall in love with a book. It's like falling in love with anything else, there are moments when you can almost feel your heart fluttering with delight as each page unfolds. Both of us sat cooing at how gorgeous and cute Clemmie is and we both giggled at her various attempts to spot and catch mice but laughed out loud as she dons the ultimate mouse-catching disguise.
Philippa's storytelling skill from Clemmie's perspective is underpinned by the way she makes every single page spread come alive with feline movement and grace.
Though this book was released way, way back in May we've only just met it and have fallen hopelessly in love with it, so how could we not make this gorgeous spot-on observation of kitty behaviour one of our book of the week winners!
Charlotte's favourite bit: Clemmie's glorious (and hilarious) mouse-catching disguise
Daddy's favourite bit: Entertainingly told, gorgeously illustrated, a pitch-perfect observation of feline behaviour told from Clemmie's perspective. Delightful!
(Kindly sent to us for review by Walker Books)
"How to Catch a Mouse"
Written and Illustrated by Philippa Leathers
Published by Walker Books
Release Date (Hardback): 7th May 2015