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Anne Fine's The Diary of a Killer Cat is a very short, very funny book for 8 year olds, told by a cat who can't see why everyone's so upset.
Tuffy lives with Ellie and her mum and dad. On Monday he brings a dead bird in and leaves it on the carpet. On Tuesday there's a little funeral (he quite enjoys it). By Thursday he's hauled next-door's rabbit into the house. And Thumper is VERY dead.
It's Tuffy's diary, so you get the week one day at a time, and every day he's got an excuse. He's a cat. It's practically his job. The bird more or less threw itself into his mouth!
The grown-ups are the best bit. Instead of owning up to the neighbours, Ellie's parents wash the rabbit in a bucket and have Ellie blow-dry him. Then Dad dresses all in black and crawls through the hedge after midnight to put Thumper back in his hutch. Would you have done the same?
Saturday's trip to the vet is pure chaos too, with smashed bottles, spilt cleaning fluid and a scratched vet.
Meanwhile Ellie sobs into Tuffy's fur. The gap between what Tuffy tells you and what's really going on is where the jokes are. Even quite young readers will spot it and giggle.
There's a lovely twist on the last day, too, which is well worth saving for them.
The whole joke does rest on dead animals. Nothing is gory and it's all played for laughs, but a very soft-hearted animal lover might end up on Ellie's side rather than Tuffy's!
It's short enough to read in one sitting and it's brilliant read aloud. Tuffy's voice is SO much fun to do.
Tuffy's back in The Return of the Killer Cat. Ellie's family go on holiday, a fussy vicar moves in to cat-sit, and Tuffy has no intention of behaving himself.
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