I love receiving surprise book post and as a cat lover I was delighted to receive children’s book Cats in Chaos by Peter Bently and illustrated by John Bond. My huge thanks to Tina Mories for sending it to me.

Cats in Chaos is a companion book to Dogs in Disguise that I reviewed here.

Published by Harper Collins Childrens’ Books on 7th July, Cats in Chaos is available for purchase through the links here.

Cats in Chaos

A hilarious new picture book from Roald Dahl Funny Prize-winning author Peter Bently and the incredibly talented illustrator John Bond, creators of Dogs in Disguise.

A fun-filled look into the chaotic world of cats and all the crazy things they get up to when their owners aren’t looking!

In the dark of night, as their owners sleep, the cats of the city are all headed to one place: Catsby’s Great Circus! Step this way and see conjuring cats, felines that fly, Siamese that swing from above, and don’t miss the mighty PURRCULES CLAW. But with so much activity, it only takes one little mouse in the wrong place to put the whole circus in chaos…

This jaunty rhyming text from hugely popular, award-winning author, Peter Bently, with brilliantly witty illustrations from John Bond, creator of the Mini Rabbit books, will have children laughing out loud!

My Review of Cats in Chaos

The cat circus is in town.

I have one small quibble to get out of the way before my review proper and that is my preference not to have occasional words entirely in upper case letters in children’s books as I prefer them to reflect how we would like emergent writers to write. That said, the target audience for Cats in Chaos would neither notice or care!

Cats in Chaos is fabulous. It’s so funny that I found myself laughing aloud on several occasions and I can envisage young children absolutely loving the antics of the cats and the chaos caused by the mouse. The word play like ‘cat-astrophe’ and the onomatopoeic words like ‘yowling’ add to the smashing educational as well as entertainment value of Cats in Chaos. The story is fast paced with a structure that works beautifully, beginning and ending with cats snoozing and snuggling (or not!).

There’s brilliant rhyming that helps promote children’s own language use and the names of the cat circus acts like Evel Katnevel the motorbike rider are perfect too – or should that be purrfect? All these features add to a huge sense of fun which I think is very much needed after recent times.

Add in the sensational illustrations, the vibrant colours and the perfect balance of text to picture and I think Cats in Chaos is destined to become one of those books children adore and return to time and again. I loved it!

About Peter Bently

Peter studied languages at Oxford University, England, and lives in Devon with his wife Lucy and their two children. After a career as a non-fiction editor, he turned to writing for children soon after the birth of his son Theo. Egmont published his very first children’s book, the bestselling A Lark in the Ark, which was shortlisted for the Red House award and the inaugural BookTrust Book of the Year awards.

Peter also wrote King Jack and the Dragon, which was shortlisted for the Kate Greenway Medal and selected as one of the American Library Association’s Notable Books of the year. Among his other titles, the hilarious The Great Dog Bottom Swap was shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize, which he won in 2011 with Cats Ahoy!

You’ll find more information on Peter’s website and you can follow him on Twitter @PeterBently and Instagram.

About John Bond

John Bond is an illustrator, author and artist. He grew up on a farm in the Cotswolds and went on to study a degree in Illustration at Kingston University, London. He now lives and works in Worthing on the south coast. His studio is based at Colonnade House.

With a background in animation and digital media, he spent 7 years working at an award winning creative agency – designing and directing a multitude of projects for broadcast, digital, and interactive content.

He now works independently as an illustrator and artist, balancing commercial jobs with self initiated projects alongside running his own online store. Bond’s work has been exhibited in galleries worldwide and he has spoken at industry events such as Pictoplasma, Glug and Pecha Kucha.

For more information, visit John’s website, follow him on Twitter @iamjohnbond and Instagram or find him on Facebook.