Alfie the Christmas Cat

Rachel Wells's Alfie the Christmas Cat is a cosy, chatty festive story for 11 year olds, told by a cat who thinks it's his job to fix everybody's problems.

What happens

Alfie is a "doorstep cat", which means he has more than one home and more than one family on Edgar Road. He looks after all of them. Humans, cats, and even Pickles the pug, who once got stuck in the cat flap.

His kitten George is all grown up now, with a girlfriend called Hana. Alfie is very proud and just a tiny bit smug about it (he'll tell you George gets his brilliant ideas from his dad).

This time there's a lot going on. The older children are doing a school project on homelessness and want to raise money for the local shelter before Christmas. And Tommy, who's fourteen and usually great fun, has turned sulky and rude. He's in trouble at school and he's grounded. Alfie is on the case.

It's a very warm read. Alfie's voice is gently pompous and very funny. He moans about the morning chaos in his house ("Humans! Who'd have them?"). He has views on knitted cat bonnets (George's makes his head look like a tomato). And he's sure that nothing on Edgar Road would ever get sorted without him.

The street is also putting on a Christmas show for the shelter, and somebody seems set on spoiling it. So there's a bit of a mystery for the cats to solve too.

Just to say, this is a big-family book. A lot of the talk is the grown-ups' talk, about new babies, teenagers and planning Christmas lunch for everyone. Alfie also remembers a cat he loved and lost, which is quite touching. If your reader likes fast plots, the first chapters might feel slow. If they love families, pets and a lot of kindness, they'll be right at home.

Isn't it nice to read something where the whole point is people looking out for each other?

What to read next

They might also like to see how Alfie ended up on Edgar Road in the first place. Alfie the Doorstep Cat starts on a sad note, with his owner Margaret gone and her family planning to send him to a shelter, and it's Alfie who decides he isn't going.