Kitty and the Tiger Treasure

Paula Harrison's Kitty and the Tiger Treasure is a rooftop adventure for 7 year olds about a girl with cat superpowers and a golden statue that vanishes in the night.

What happens

Kitty's family has a secret. Her mum is a superhero with catlike powers, and Kitty and her little brother Max have them too. Kitty can see in the dark, hear sounds from far away and balance on anything. Best of all, she can talk to animals!

Tomorrow the family is visiting the museum, where the Golden Tiger is going on show. It's covered in diamonds, it has emerald eyes, and legend says it grants your greatest wish if you touch its paw. (There's a curse as well, which comes in very handy later.)

Her ginger kitten Pumpkin would love to see it too. But cats aren't allowed in museums. So why not go tonight, when there's nobody else there at all?

Off they go across the chimneys, Kitty in her cape and cat ears. Figaro joins them on the way. He's a very grand black-and-white cat who would quite like a four-course fish supper, thank you. Then Cleo, the museum's grey cat, lands on Kitty's shoulder, sure she's caught a burglar. And while they're all sorting that out, a shadow creeps up to the statue...

What follows is a proper little mystery for this age. There's a trail of paw prints, a dark gallery with a wax soldier in the corner, and a pet shop full of squeaking animals at midnight. It's a tiny bit spooky in places but never scary.

It feels lovely to read, too. The moon is bright, the rooftops become a secret path only Kitty knows, and her powers tingle as she leaps from house to house. Who wouldn't want to do that?

The heart of it is kindness. Cleo keeps blaming herself for letting the thief get away, and Kitty keeps telling her it isn't her fault. Friendship matters more to Kitty than any jewel.

The whole story fits into six short chapters, with some fun facts about cats' super senses at the end. If you've got a newly confident reader who loves cats (and who doesn't?), this is a very easy yes.

What to read next

This is Kitty's second adventure. If they haven't met her yet, go back to Kitty and the Moonlight Rescue, the night Kitty first dares to climb out of her window, when Figaro turns up with an emergency at the clock tower.