Anne Fine's latest book for younger readers is another riotous outing for Tuffy in The Killer Cat's Birthday Bash She explains:
"The idea for The Killer Cat's Birthday Bash came from a walk I took around the nearby churchyard on a winter's night. My dog and I often go round the graveyard. It suits us both, being quiet, properly dark, and usually free from people. (I'm never scared outside in the dark. I can get the creeps inside the house if all the lights go out, but never outside in the open.)
"At one point in the circuit we walk around the church itself, which is floodlit. On that particular evening, Harvey happened to stroll between the floodlight set in the grass and the church front. Across the church wall fell the shadow of the most enormous dog. It was quite startling, as if some giant shadow animal had started stalking us.
"Harvey's quite old and sedate now. He doesn't make the scariest of shadows, however large.
"A cat now... Especially one particular Killer Cat.
"And just suppose that it was Halloween..."
Coming in November, the third collection of stories about best friends Jamie and Angus, the toy highland bull. The first, The Jamie and Angus Stories, won the prestigious Boston Globe Horn Book Award in 2003; The Observer praised its sequel, Jamie and Angus Together as "perfect" for beginning readers making the transition from picture books to books with more text - but with Penny Dale's charming illustrations to help them make the jump. Now in this new collection of stories, Jamie and Angus confront pets and birthday parties together - together forever!
And then - have you ever wondered what a Killer Cat thinks about Christmas?
Click on the cover to find out more about any book; or use the text links on the right.
Your bookshop or library can order any of these books for you. Ask your librarian for a 'request card'.
Anne Fine writes books for all ages: here's more about her books for middle children and older children. She writes books for adults, too.
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