The Cat from Muzzle

This is a charming story made even more appealing by the fact that it is based in reality as is noted in the back of the book.

Dwayne, a cat from a remote farm in Marlborough, moves house with his owners to a town many kilometres away, but he can’t settle and decides to make the trek back to his original home crossing the Kaikoura mountains and the Clarence river in the process.

It is told in rhyming verse which is lively and well written, with a regular refrain which describes the home that he is missing, “He loves the Muzzle’s bleating sheep, the snowy blowy breeze, the gentle cows, the cluck-cluck chooks, the buzzing mountain bees”.

The book is beautifully illustrated throughout with expressive, colourful double page illustrations that compliment and add to the storyline.

As this was a real feat by a homesick cat, there are lots of opportunities for speculating what other help Dwayne might have had as he made his way home, and what other difficulties he might have faced. It is a remarkable story.

I would highly recommend this book to parents of pre-schoolers and older.

Title: The Cat from Muzzle

Author: Sally Sutton

Illustrator: Scott Tulloch

Publisher: Puffin

ISBN: 9780143773085

RRP: 19.99

Format: Paperback

Date of Publication: May 2019

Reviewer’s name: Anabel McPhee, School Librarian

School name: The Catlins Area School

How highly are you recommending this book? Highly recommended

What’s the book’s opening sentence? Dwayne is tough.

You can buy this book here