The Secret Life of Walter Kitty

by Barbara Jean Hicks, Dan Santat (Illustrator)

Walter Kitty is no ordinary housecat. He's Fang—a swashbuckling protector of the high seas, a tiger waiting to pounce on unsuspecting prey, and a caped superhero ready to save the day. But do his "people," Mr. and Mrs. Biddle, acknowledge his greatness? Not even!So once in a good long while, Walter will answer to Wally or Kitten or even Snookums , but most of the time . . . he's Fang!With a hilarious text by Barbara Jean Hicks and fabulously fun illustrations by Dan Santat, Walter Kitty is one cat readers will not soon forget!

Genres: Picture Books, Cats, Childrens, Humor, Animals, Fiction, Adventure

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Acclaimed children's book author Barbara Jean Hicks offers visiting author programs and workshops for aspiring writers of all ages. With a flair for the dramatic, Barbara engages, entertains, educates and inspires her audiences. She has taught at the preschool, middle school and community college levels and most recently worked in an elementary school as author-in-residence, program facilitator and parent educator. She has also written marketing copy and edited manuscripts for numerous trade publishers. Her picture books include the award-winning Jitterbug Jam: A Monster Tale and The Secret Life of Walter Kitty. Barbara lives in Oxnard, California.

Reviews

[Mary-ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an adorable picture book with fun illustrations.

The Secret Life of Walter Kitty mirrors The Secret Life of Walter Mitty with Walter Kitty (aka Fang!) having a rich inner life with loads of adventures rather than his real life boring everyday cat existence. If only his person would understand. Fang of course humours his person by letting them scratch his chin and spoil him in other ways.

Too cute.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

When did I become such a sucker for kitty books?

This one is really cute, great illustrations!

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

The colors and action pact character of Walter Kitty had my 9 and 6 year old grandkids engaged. It was silly and fun to read.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my goodness, the facial expressions on Walter's (a.k.a. "Fang's") face are hilarious! They really do speak volumes: life is rough when your Person and her husband misunderstand you...and get your name wrong. :D

Would be great to read with your kids (or adults!), but to fully appreciate the book, you have to be able to see the pictures, so I don't recommend it for a large storytime.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The inner thoughts of Fang, aka Walter, are amusing. He helps his family, in ways only a cat could do, has adventures, in his dreams, but his humans misunderstand what he is doing. At the end of the day though, like many an other cat, he puts up with the many names, and annoyances, because they give him food, and love. The illustrator has captured all these emotions on paper.

[Diana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" some years ago. I enjoyed it. So when I saw this one come across my desk, I was intrigued. Unfortunately, I didn't like it as much as I expected to. This may not be the fault of the book. I have four cats of my own who cause mischief and give me attitude. The last thing I want to do is read about another one! Really, though, I found this to be lacking the charm I had hoped for.

[Dodo P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh I LOVED this story!! Cracked me up! Wish I had littles to read it to!!

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I have met Walter I mean Fang!

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amusing take-off on the old story The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Feels somewhat like the Sunday Calvin and Hobbes comics, too.

[Becca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute illustrations, but not much of a story.

[Kylee Shaffer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Secret Life of Walter Kitty is about a cat whose life is quite the adventure. He is loved so much by his owner and hated by the neighbor. What his owner and the neighbor do not know is the secret adventures Walter Kitty goes on. He often dresses up like a super hero named “Fang” and goes on many other secret adventures. The illustrations in this book are done by Dan Santat. They really bring to life the story the author is trying to tell. Most of the pictures include dark colors such as blues and black which really make Walter Kitty stand out because he is bright red. Also in each illustration, Walter Kitty is the main focus not only because of the colors that are used but also the size that Walter Kitty is makes him stand out even more. A teacher could incorporate this book into their curriculum by having each student read The Secret Life of Walter Kitty. After they have read the book, each student would then write a short story of a favorite adventure they have been and draw illustrations of their adventure.

[Marlowe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Walter the cat (or, as he’d rather be known, Fang) introduces the reader to his world. We meet his person, Mrs. Biddle, her husband, and Walter’s active imagination.

My son loves cats, so we always try to grab at least one picture book about cats on our weekly library visit. Unfortunately, so many of them portray the cats as jerks, which my son finds confusing and a little distressing. Walter Kitty is one of those. Walter/Fang is mean-spirited and, while he eventually admits that he loves the Biddles, he puts up a posture of not caring for them that made my son feel uncomfortable.

All the humour of the story turns on Walter/Fang doing something the Biddles don’t want him doing.

That said, I did enjoy the artwork, and Walter/Fang’s facial expressions are great. I think that a less sensitive kid might find it funny, so I don’t want to say that it’s a bad book. But for us, this definitely wasn’t a hit.

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the story does not draw on Thurber's Secret Life of Walter Mitty, our Walter Kitty is just as involved in his dreams of heroic feats and larger-than-life action. His real life, with his Person and her tolerable husband, is that of a normal cat. Walter "helps" around the house, much to his owners' irritation, and he grudgingly admits that his life isn't always so bad.

The illustrations are excellent. The human beings, always secondary to Walter Kitty, blend into the background (as Walter thinks they ought to do). Walter's facial expressions are priceless and add immensely to the text. This is an excellent book for young readers of all ages, especially those with good imaginations who get themselves into similar scrapes as Walter.

[Lara · Rating 5 out of 5]

J is obsessed with books about cats these days, and we stumbled upon this one at the library. Both kids and I adore it. It's about a housecat named Walter whose "Person" doesn't know that his name is really Fang. Walter imagines himself a ferocious, adventuresome hero, while his owner babies him. I highly recommend this one to anyone who loves kitties.

[Joshua · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great playful art. I picked this off the shelf at the library for my 5 year old nephew because it said kitty in the title and he had a cat. He rejected it, but I kept it after I realized the title was a play on the short story "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty". This story was nice enough, but didn't make as good a use of the imaginary world potential as it could have, especially given the fun pictures on the inside of the covers.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes that's right, it's a children's book version of Walter Mitty, with a cat. I'm sort of baffled by it (see also: children's picture book version of Animal Farm. Why is this a thing? Why?) but it is cute and it's funny and it'll feel very familiar to cat owners. Walter's name is really Fang, of course.

Anyway it's fun.

[Kellee Moye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Your cat may not be what s/he seems. Hicks tells a story of Walter, a house cat who has a secret life... Well, kind of. Love reading the story from Walter's point of view and getting the extra insight you get from 1st person. To top it all off, Dan Santat's illustrations add a whole new level bringing Walter's secret to life.

[Shelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Walter’s name is not Walter, its Fang. His less than intelligent human pets can’t seem to get his title straight though. Walter is not a name fitting for a fearsome swashbuckling adventurer rotund feline. He is also forced to endure being called Wally, Cat, Kitten, Nincompoop, Snookums, and Baby for his domestics pleasantries, pettings and occasional catnip.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

"My person doesn't know it, but my real name is Fang." So begins the story of this cat's inner life and how his owners just don't get it. He will, occasionally, answer to "Snookums" or "Baby" if there is food involved. Illustrations of this cat's imaginings are great fun and students will recognize their own cat's actions in Walter's.

[Talisa Timms]

This book can be used to teach children to use their imaginations. It can also be used for character analysis. Walter portrays mixed emotions about his life. Students can use his feelings and thoughts to identify why Walter acts this way. This book is also a fun cat book for students who enjoy animals.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a cat person and I like cat books and this is one of the bet ones I have read in a while. The illustrations are fantastic and lively and I love the use of calling the owners "my person." The various nicknames and the personality of the cat are very fleshed out. A fun book!

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was a cute book. Everytime "Walter" (whose real name is Fang) has a dream about having an adventure his people think it's a nightmare. I especially liked the picture at the end when he is dressed as a little super hero.

[The Brothers · Rating 4 out of 5]

A spin-off of "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty", this book is about a normal housecat who falls asleep and dreams of an adventurous life. Invariably, he is awoken and thrust back into his mundane existence.

Cute illustrations.

[Nancy Kotkin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Humorous picture book from a cat's perspective. Sort of feels like two stories mashed together - one story line about the cat's dreams and the other story about how "helpful" the cat is to his owners. The cat's nicknames attempt to tie the two story threads together.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, this was cute! A cat take-off on Thurber's "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty". I could just see one of my cats thinking like this!

[Tricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

house cat dreams of being many things other than himself. anyone who owns a cat will understand the motives of walter.

[N · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I was one of those "cat people" I would probably like this a whole lot more.

[Lizzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ages 5-9. Humorous dialogue but it be more funny for adults than younger children. Vivid illustrations.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

funny story; cute cartooney illustrations

[Bekka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this! very funny, and great illustrations.