How Cats Really Work!

by Alan Snow

New cover reissue of the hilarious cat owner's manual! What is a cat's sinister mission on earth? Where do cats go at night? Why do dogs dislike cats so much? Find out the answers to all of these questions! and more. Packed full of cross-section illustrations revealing the astonishing truth about cats, this hilarious spoof pet-owner manual, reissued with an attractive new cover design, is a must-have for animal-crazy children and adults alike. Prepare to be amazed!

Genres: Picture Books

32 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2009

About the author

Alan Snow is a prolific English author and illustrator, celebrated for his intricate visual storytelling. After studying at Salisbury College of Art, he illustrated over 160 books and contributed to animation and video game design. He is most famous for the Ratbridge Chronicles, particularly the 2005 novel Here Be Monsters!. This richly illustrated work, set in a fantastical Victorian world, inspired the 2014 Academy Award-nominated stop-motion film The Boxtrolls.

Reviews

[Alice-Elizabeth (Prolific Reader Alice) · Rating 4 out of 5]

For cat lovers young and old, this is a fun read about aliens and cats with funny illustrations! Fast-paced and exciting too.

[Chris Browning · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a good ten years I’ve longed to make children’s picture books. I’ve nudged closer and closer to this goal but never quite have felt that I’ve got there yet. I keep seeing my comics and zines as practice runs, to refine my skills, but sometimes this whole dream feels really far off

Until tonight. Because this book not only affirms that I’m already ready for doing this seriously but also suggests that I’ve actually been writing and drawing stuff that only needs a bit of tweaking to actually be ready. Because this feels like it’s been beamed in from a parallel world by another me. It’s exactly the sort of thing I love to write - ever since I read the Ahlberg’s Little Worm Book as a small child, I guess this whole approach has been perfection for me and I’ve been trying to replicate it ever since in one way or another. This is very funny, very silly and importantly works on several levels for readers: you can read all the details or skim it or just stare at the images and make up your own narrative. It takes kids very seriously and even has an index (I would have killed for this!). Ever since the Dracula books by Victor Ambrus (predating my first read of Fungus the Bogeyman by several years) I’ve loved picture books that take kids seriously as readers and considers them ready for some quite sophisticated jokes. And this does that in spades. It’s an absolute joy and even more importantly it’s wildly empowering that I’m almost ready to do this sort of thing myself

[Healthy Dose of Self-Destruction · Rating 2 out of 5]

★★★✩✩✩✩✩✩✩
3/10 Ruim