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To Be A Cat [Hardcover]

Matt Haig (Author)

4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)

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Kindle Edition	�4.74		--	--
Hardcover	�10.09		--	--
Hardcover, 2 Feb 2012	--		--	--
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Paperback	�5.59		--	--
Audio Download, Unabridged	�6.52	or Free with Audible.co.uk 30-day free trial

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Book Description

Publication Date: 2 Feb 2012

Barney Willow thinks life couldn't get any worse. He's weedy, with sticky-out ears. Horrible Gavin Needle loves tormenting him - Barney has no idea why. And headteacher-from-hell Miss Whipmire seems determined to make every second of Barney's existence a complete misery! Worst of all, Dad has been missing for almost a year, and there's no sign of him ever coming home.

Barney just wants to escape. To find another life... Being a cat, for example. A quiet, lazy cat. Things would be so much easier - right?

Barney's about to discover just how wrong he is. Because he's about to wake up as a cat - and not just any cat. Gavin Needle's cat...

A fast, exciting story from the winner of the Gold Smarties Award, with illustrations from the brilliantly dark and mischievous Pete Williamson.

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Barney just wants to escape. To find another life... Being a cat, for example. A quiet, lazy cat. Things would be so much easier - right?

Barney's about to discover just how wrong he is. Because he's about to wake up as a cat - and not just any cat. Gavin Needle's cat...

A fast, exciting story from the winner of the Gold Smarties Award, with illustrations from the brilliantly dark and mischievous Pete Williamson.

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Product details

Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Bodley Head (2 Feb 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0370332067
ISBN-13: 978-0370332062
Product Dimensions: 16.1 x 2.8 x 22.2 cm

Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)

Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 336,200 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Review

To Be a Cat will certainly appeal to readers of his earlier book, Shadow Forest, which won the Smarties Gold Award, and the book will be publicised by way of a national tour by the author (Caroline Horn The Bookseller 20111209)

I loved To Be A Cat. It's very funny and surprising and somehow the basic concept, which is certainly an unusual one, works brilliantly . . . And I absolutely love child protagonists who READ! (John Boyne )

Paul Gallico wrote a plangent novel along similar lines in Jeannie, but here instead is the black comedy that made Matt Haig's Shadow Forest so irresistable (Amanda Craig The Times 20120121)

Magic and grim realism meet in this sharply comic tale of wish fulfilment and the inherent untrustowrthiness of felines . . . there are definite echoes of Roald Dahl throughout (Helen Mulley Teach Primary 20120401)

A great read, exciting with many unexpected twists and turns . . . It is a clever, funny and scary story and will appeal to Roald Dahl fans ready for a more sophisticated read (The School Librarian )

Book Description

From the winner of the Gold Smarties Award, this is a fast-paced, exciting story about how twelve-year-old Barney copes when he wakes up as a cat - and not just any old cat. His worst enemy's cat!

See all Product Description

Inside This Book (Learn More)

Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover

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Customer Reviews

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12 reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars To be or not to be.....a cat that is.... 31 Jan 2012

By RebeccaReads

Format:Hardcover

If you believe that dogs and cats do actually talk and have desires and personalities that extend above their cat basket or walk in the park, then this is the book for you!
Matt Haig tells the story of unhappy Barney Willow who learns the hard way that you should never wish to be anything other than yourself. Told with unique humour and just the right amount of sadness, you will be turning the pages quicker than you can say `cat's whiskers'!
The book centres around unconditional loyalty, courage in the face of impossible circumstances and the surprise that things are never as scary as you make them out to be, even bullies.
Barney Willow is one determined boy, but it is the other characters that are perhaps the true heroes of this tale. Rissa, Barney's best friend shows everyone that weird is wonderful and Guster, the King Charles Spaniel is the perfect combination of pomposity and allegiance- just like any spaniel!
A great book to encourage children to think about the things which truly matter and a thoroughly enjoyable read!

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars TO BE A CAT 17 April 2012

By MAISIE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I gave this to my 8 year old grandson without seeing it, on the strength of a newspaper review. He loved it. He is an intelligent advanced reader and has now lent me the book as he thinks I will like it. I have only just started and it seems really perfect for a cat lover of any age. It is not written in 'children's' language and I was immediately impressed by opening the book at random to be met with the word 'ceramic', a word not usually in a a child's vocabulary but easy for them to understand and remember.To Be A Cat

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Primary Times 3 April 2012

By Primary Times Ireland

Format:Hardcover

Full of brilliantly dark and mischievous illustrations, this is a fast-paced, exciting story about how twelve-year-old Barney copes when he wakes up as a cat - and it's his worst enemy's cat!
With bullies, a head teacher-from-hell, and a missing Dad - poor Barney just wants to escape but life's not easy as a cat either. A fast, exciting story from the winner of the Gold Smarties Award.

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› See all 12 customer reviews (newest first)

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Success

Bought for a reluctant reader who loves cats, it really worked and was enjoyed and thought to be 'clever', so a good result!

Published 1 month ago by Sue simmons

2.0 out of 5 stars too expensive

I prefer to wait until books like this are �5 or under. Over �5 seems overpriced for a Kindle book even for added VAT. Nothing more I can say about a book I have yet to read. Read more

Published 2 months ago by Erssie Major

5.0 out of 5 stars Marvelous! I wonder how many children imagine their headteacher as an...

This is a wonderful children's book. I think probably best suited to 9-11yrs olds (boys or girls), though others may well enjoy it too. Read more

Published 2 months ago by nic

5.0 out of 5 stars Get reading kids!!

Bought this for my 11 year old niece then I started reading it.
FABULOUS!!
What a great book. It's very funny.
A great writer who is a fantastic storyteller!

Published 3 months ago by Nina

4.0 out of 5 stars Feline fun and fear

Although labelled as a book for 9+ that may mean for readers over 9. I read this book to my six-year-old daughter and we both enjoyed it. Read more

Published 7 months ago by Stamford

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful read for adults and children

I've loved everything Matt Haig's written since discovering him through The Last Family in England, which is still in my all-time-favourites list. Read more

Published 9 months ago by Welsh Annie

4.0 out of 5 stars The feline love child of Franz Kafka and Roald Dahl

Barney Willow is a normal twelve year-old boy. He is average height, he has a best friend called Rissa and his favourite book is The Water Babies. Read more

Published 9 months ago by Miss E. Potten

5.0 out of 5 stars Full of Fun

I was so excited to read To Be A Cat by Matt Haig and fortunately, it lived up to all my expectations. Read more

Published 12 months ago by Kulsuma at sunshine and stardust

5.0 out of 5 stars To Be A Cat

My whole family have read this book and we all look at our cat a little bit differently now. My daughters read it first (11 & 7 yrs old) and they both loved it and nagged me until... Read more

Published 12 months ago by Tracytid

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