Atticus Claw Hears a Roar

Jennifer Gray's Atticus Claw Hears a Roar is a daft, fast cat-detective caper for 7 year olds that starts with a spooky old chest in an attic.

What happens

Atticus is helping the kittens clear out Nellie Smellie's attic for a car boot sale. It's a dull job until he finds a carved wooden chest tucked under the eaves. Inside are two horrible masks (one feathery with a beak, one a snarling jaguar) and an old journal. In Search of the Lost Treasure of the Jaguar Gods, written by a famous explorer back in 1897.

Suddenly everyone wants that journal. The beastly Tofflys, now so poor they polish spoons in a caravan, turn up at the car boot sale in terrible disguises. Jimmy Magpie and his gang want it for their nest. And poor Inspector Cheddar, woozy from the dentist, tells the Tofflys absolutely everything!

So Atticus decides the only way to keep the journal safe is to steal it first. Well, he does have the skills.

It's such silly fun. Nellie Smellie can knit anything, from egg cosies to false teeth. Atticus starts to wonder if she might be a witch (she does have a broomstick in the shed). The magpies are hopeless and hilarious, especially Thug, who thinks Nicaragua is named after knickers. There's a lot of poo humour too, thanks to a parrot called Pam and her bucket.

Atticus himself is great company. He thinks he's the boss of the Cheddar family and gets very huffy when Inspector Cheddar doesn't agree. There's a sweet bit with Thomas, a kitten who reminds Atticus of himself when he was little and who wants to be a police cat too. Before long the treasure hunt heads off towards the jungle.

It's not the first Atticus Claw book, and there are a few nods to earlier adventures. It's easy to pick up, though, as it tells you who everyone is.

A tiny heads-up for younger readers. The masks are meant to be creepy, and Nellie says they were used for human sacrifices. Lady Toffly also threatens to turn Atticus into a cushion! It's all played for laughs, but a sensitive reader may want a cuddle for the masks bit.

What to read next

If your reader loves animals getting up to secret mischief behind the grown-ups' backs, try Guinea Pigs Online next. It's more of Jennifer Gray's animal fun, with two guinea pigs who let themselves out of their hutch every morning and one of them dreams of cooking like a famous TV chef.