The Diary of a Killer Cat (The Killer Cat Series Book 1)

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The hilarious antics of Tuffy and his family are told by the killer cat himself. Teaching Ideas and Resources: English The story is written in the first person. Can you write a story from somebody else’s point of view? Tuffy is grounded for his behaviour. Can you write a new story about a pet who is grounded for their bad behaviour?

This short story is a humorous diary account, written from the point of view of a very naughty and sarcastic ginger cat. The story depicts a casual, child friendly approach to life and death and shows the circle of life from a cats perspective. Throughout the week, Tuffy manages to horrify his owners on a daily basis, by causing chaos in and out of the house. From ruining flower beds, killing birds and even dragging a dead rabbit through the cat flap, Tuffy’s family are beside themselves and cannot understand why he insists on killing things. Tuffy repeatedly justifies his behaviour to the reader, by stating he is a cat and killing is what cats do! Tuffy also seems to try and convince the reader to be on his side, by claiming that ‘it’s practically his job’ and he believes he deserves credit for managing to get the rabbit through the cat flap at all. The twist in the story reveals that Tuffy may not be quite so mischievous after all, which leads to his owners apologising to him and treating him a little more kindly. However, the reader is lead to believe that Tuffy is about to embark on another adventure, as shown by the big cheeky grin on his face in the last illustration of the book. The diary of a killer cat would be suitable to read with children from a 6-9 age range, depending on their reading ability, as I believe they would find it the most comical. It would also be perfect to use with children who have pets (especially cats) as it could spark the conversation of where they go at night when they are able to sneak around the garden and through the streets. Although slightly macabre with its undertones of death throughout, it may be more suitable to use with boys, as they may appreciate the language and humor which seems to be aimed in their direction. I would consider reading this story first before sharing with children, as the content may be less enjoyable depending on your child’s personal experiences.Anne has written more than sixty books for children and young people. Amongst numerous other awards, she is twice winner of both the Carnegie Medal, Britain's most prestigious children's book award, and the Whitbread Award. Twice chosen as Children's Author of the Year in the British Book Awards, Anne Fine was also the first novelist to be honoured as Children's Laureate in the United Kingdom. In 2003, Anne became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and was awarded an OBE. Her work has been translated into forty five languages. This book is brilliantly written and had me laughing throughout. Anne Fine manages to give Tuffy a brilliantly cheeky personality, which children and adults alike will fall in love with. It is the first story in a series of four, all of which are as good as this debut. Highly recommended for children, parents and teachers. Can soft-hearted Ellie manage to get her beloved pet to change his wild, wild ways before he ends up in even deeper trouble?

There are a number of books in the ‘Killer Cat’ series. Can you write a new story involving the character? Find all of the words that the author uses to describe how something is said (e.g. asked, muttered, cried). Make a poster to teach other children about good vocabulary to use in their writing. I took great pleasure in reading this book. Throughout the twists and turns of the cats cheeky comments and actions I had a smile on my face, and I believe that children would thoroughly enjoy reading this book also. The familiar settings of the book causes readers to consider what their own cat (pet) is thinking about their family, and what they could potentially get up to when they go off into the garden and beyond.What does ‘woe betide you’ mean? Can you find other examples of older language that isn’t used much any more?

This is a humorous book about a cat that kills yet cannot understand why his family are upset with this. He is a ‘cheeky’ kind of character always trying to justify his actions, which the children would like. The illustrations are funny which would be useful in class to keep children engaged. It also has as great sense of sarcasm about it, again useful when introducing the notion of sarcasm as it gives great examples.Poor Ellie is horrified when Tuffy drags a dead bird into the house. Then a mouse. But Tuffy can't understand what all the fuss is about.