Children’s Books Featuring Cats

We’re always on the prowl for new cat-themed books to dig our claws into. Not that we harbour ambitions of a concept bookshop wholly dedicated to all things feline..  But you’ll find these and many, many more sophisticated board books, picture books, chapter books, and manga perched elegantly on the shelves of our children’s section. An absolute litter!

The Complete Chi’s Sweet Home: Vol. 1, by Konami Kanata

I don’t know about you, but we at Storysmith are becoming slowly but irrecoverably obsessed with Chi’s Sweet Home: the hilarious Japanese cat-based comic series, printed in these beautiful compendiums (we’ve got the first 3 volumes…). If you haven’t heard the good news yet, buckle up! Volume 1 starts with Chi lost and confused, separated from her mother as a kitten and looking for her home and struggling to adjust to the tribulations of life (relatable, hey?).

The Problem with Pierre, by CK Smouha & Suzanna Hubbard

Bertram and Alan are very different (one tidy, the other messy, etc.). Bertram’s feeling lonely in his flat so gets a cat, Pierre (relatable once again!). But Pierre prefers Alan’s sofa to Pierre’s. “After the all the best thing about having a cat is snuggling up together and watching telly”… too true! A beautifully illustrated heart-warming tale about making friends.

Creature, by Andrea Ballance & Grasya Oliyko

Flying Eye (top Storysmith faves) are at it again with another singular picture book! This time brace yourselves for some space-age feline fun. A psychedelic but lovely book about the titular “Creature” who believes themselves to be the centre of the universe… and maybe they are?

Mooncat and Me, by Lydia Corry

Pearl is upset about moving to a new house, and struggling to adjust to life in a new city and a new school… until Mooncat shows up at her window, “huge, fluffy and bright as the moon”! She invites her in for breakfast and before she knows it they are gallivanting around the city together. Sounds great!

Alley Cat Rally, by Ricky Trickartt

Building a racing car out of an old washing machine, Asta seeks to prove to the alley cats that she’s got what it takes to win in the Kibble Hill Rally! A big cast of cat characters including Professor Kim and Ludlow (who appears to be racing in a gourd of some description?) and great easter egg details… (including a little hunt-and-find game to play once you’ve finished).

Professor Astro Cat’s Frontiers of Space, by Dr Dominic Walliman

Speaking of alleys… perhaps Professor Astro Cat was lurking in the crowds at the Kibble Hill Rally? Not so much an expert in kart racing but definitely the smartest cat when it comes to space! Learn all about supernovae, the Mars rover, the size of the planets, telescopes and the ISS with the help of elegant artwork and facts from the most forensic feline… And there’s plenty more in the Astro Cat series to enjoy if you’re still thirsty for facts!

FukuFuku: vol. 1, by Konami Kanata

More kibble-sized cat-based stories from the author of Chi’s Sweet Home! FukuFuku is a delightful little manga series about, you guessed it, a sweet (but misbehaving) little kitten called FukuFuku and her doting old Japanese owner! Visual comedy galore!

A Cat About Town, by Lea Duncan

An exceptional picture book about Cat and his many appointments throughout a normal week: visiting Sebastian the upstairs-intellectual, Mina’s balcony, and over to Granny Yvonne’s for lunchtime. What a busy, civilised cat! We wish we knew what our cats got up to. They always have places to be!

Jasper & Scruff: The Great Cat Cake-Off, by Nicola Colton

The latest in the Jasper & Scruff series is as good a place to start as any with Nicola Colton’s brilliant books! Jasper (fancy chef cat) and Scruff (dog who mostly cares about his stomach) are the proprietors of the immensely popular Paws Diner… but wait! Sabotage! Across the street the new Sophisticafé is on the verge of opening to tremendous fanfare, and their main course looks pretty dang similar to the Paws Diner’s signature Cheese Monsieur… Hilarious antics in that intermediary reading range somewhere between picture book and chapter book, great for early readers around 4-6ish.

Billy & the Beast, by Nadia Shireen

Maybe the only book on this list where the cat is a supporting character? But there’s nothing wrong with that! Billy and her sidekick, Fatcat, take on a terrible beast. Billy & the Beast (and Billy & the Dragon) is a surprising and hilarious picture book from one of our favourite children’s authors.

My Life As A Cat, by Carlie Sorosiak

All you really need to know about this book is the premise: an alien called Leonard gets to spend a month in the body of a human for a month (as is their custom on the 300th birthday) but accidentally ends up in the body of a stray cat! Whoops! What else do you want? Entertaining and wise story about finding family in strange places for children 9ish and up.

Cat Chat, by Dr Jess French

Entertaining as well as genuinely informative, even for those of us who believe wisdom only comes with age! A lovely little rhyming board book that helps you empathise with cats and realise how they’re feeling, when they want to be touched, and what they might not like you to do. There’s a puppy edition too!

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