To Be A Cat
Matt Haig
Subjects
- Action Adventures - chills, thrills and plenty of spills
- Fantasy Worlds - awesome adventures of magic and mystery
- Funny Stuff - rib ticklers to make you fall off your chair
Average rating
From the bestselling author of A Boy Called Christmas, The Girl Who Saved Christmas, Father Christmas and Me and The Truth Pixie.
‘A clawed masterpiece’ – Guardian
Barney Willow’s life couldn’t get any worse. He’s weedy, with sticky-out ears. Horrible Gavin Needle loves tormenting him. And evil headteacher Miss Whipmire seems determined to make Barney’s existence a complete misery! Worst of all, Dad has been missing for almost a year – and there’s no sign of him ever coming home.
Barney just wants to escape. To find another life. To be a cat, for example. A quiet, lazy cat. Things would be so much easier – wouldn’t they?
A darkly funny and adventurous tale from multi-award-winning author Matt Haig.
Reviews
best book ever, I loved seeing the life of a cat and how they see things
Senorita Flopsy Sherbet 12.08.2025
Amazing! I loved how the boy in the story finds his dad that has gone missing as a cat.
Fairy Pixie Hedgehog 02.08.2025
I enjoy this book because there are lots of things going on and every time it gets to an interesting part, it moves on. It always makes you think about what is going to happen next.
Professor Marge Jamboree 21.07.2025
A beautiful story of a quiet lazy cat.
Empress Rapunzel Racoon 05.09.2024
I loved how a boy had a real puzzle to solve
Queen Pinky Biscuits 20.08.2024
Funny
Baroness Ariel Owl 23.07.2024
It was fictional but it was awesome!
Senorita Lacey Rollerskate 21.07.2024
This book was intriguing and full of great plot twists. The characters had a lot of personality and that made them more appealing. I liked how the book is about cats ; l love cats!
Doctor Hercules Quagmire 18.07.2024
I liked the bit where the boy finds out that he has become a cat. I would recommend it to 8 or 9 year olds because of all of the writing and black and white pictures. It is also quite funny!
Viscountess Panther Bookmark 16.07.2024
I like how the author saved the character from a situation and then a couple pages after that a new problem starts! The illustrations are really nice.
Coach Morgana Rubber-duck 02.07.2024
Animal friendly Fairytale For cat lovers
Lady Majorca Moonlight 14.01.2024
I absolutely loved this book it had lots of exasperation and it really built up the tension I would definitely recommend it but maybe not to the kids under 6 it got scary at times
Nurse Diamond Spaghetti-Hoops 29.12.2023
Really interesting story, enjoyed reading it. How crazy to think this could really happen!
Madam Sapphire Frankenstein 01.12.2023
It is a very interesting book as the boy in there turns into a cat.
Fairy Jet Volcano 18.08.2023
I like how it included lots of details, and i like how Barney turned into a cat.
Madam Ursula Jellybaby 10.08.2023
My favourite character was Rissa because i liked her personality and the description of her home.I really liked the start of the book.I would recommend but you definitely need to like cats.
Judge Diamond Mystery 23.07.2023
this book means so much to me. it is my most favourite ever book!
Corporal Dobbin Fascination 01.09.2022
It was really funny and really easy to understand how the context was written
Master Slide Volcano 22.08.2022
This book is about a boy called Barney Willow whose dad has disappeared and he wants to find him. He has an evil headteacher who hates him because she used to be a cat, who was once chased by Barney's dog Guster. She switched bodies with her previous owner, the real Miss Whipmire, and turned into a human. The human turned into a cat and died. Then the cat that turned into a human, called Caramel, used her skull as a pencil pot. Barney wishes that he and a cat called Maurice, and then he wakes up and they have swapped places. Next he gets imprisoned by the headteacher and she wants to make his skull into a pencil pot. His friend Rissa rescues him but then his headteacher, Miss Whipmire, finds him again and tries to drop him in a canal, and you find out that the cat who switched bodies with Barney is her son. Rissa rescues him from the canal because she lives on a barge, and he lives with them for a while. Finally he finds out that his dad is a cat known as The Terrorcat, and has switched bodies with a cat who now runs a cattery that Barney's cat friend went to. Barney turns back into a human and the cat, Maurice, turns back into a cat. Miss Whipmire is imprisoned and that is the end.
Principal Ursula Menace 18.08.2022
Star Reviewer
i liked this book because it was a very well written book and it was very enjoyable, the fact that i like cats is just a bonus. I would recommend it because with the way it is written, you would probably still like it if you hated cats.
Viscountess Rapunzel Pinkerton 21.07.2022
