The Cat and the King product reviews

We love Nick Sharratt's picture books and were so excited to see this novel by him. I read this to both of my children over the course of a week. They both loved the front cover. That bright yellow with the red font and details for the cat and the King were so vibrant and lovely. Although it seems to be quite thick, it has a lot of illustrations inside it and it was relatively quick to read. The illustrations inside are all Sharratt's style, but in red, black and white and shades between. I really liked the pops of red on each page as it added dimension to the characters and their adventures.

My daughter loves dragons, so she enjoyed seeing a dragon in the story even if it was a naughty one. We have recently gotten a cat too, and she enjoyed how clever and friendly the cat in this book is. I enjoyed the normalcy of the things they did. Sharratt outlines their trips to the supermarket and taking the bus. Then he adds the humour, of a King stuck in these very common situations and not really knowing what to do. Thank goodness for his friend the cat!

At the end of the book there is a recipe for Royal Shortbread as well. Both of my children were very excited to have a recipe for that, as during the book they were wondering what it might taste like. I haven't made any with them yet, but I know we have it down for school holiday fun. This book would be brilliant as a Christmas present. With the addition of the recipe it gives it more value in my eyes, because it has an activity as well. I would definitely recommend this book for any kid who likes stories of royalty, cats and dragons.