Paws and Whiskers

by Jacqueline Wilson

This special anthology features the very best stories about cats and dogs from the world of children's literature, chosen by bestselling author and Battersea Cats and Dogs Home patron Jacqueline Wilson.

Includes a brand new story by Jacqueline herself, Leonie's Pet Cat, as well as extracts from treasured classics such as The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith and Gobbolino the Witch's Cat by Ursula Moray Williams, and from modern favourite writers such as Anne Fine and Patrick Ness. The book also features personal new pieces from many authors about their own treasured pets, with contributions from Michael Morpurgo, Philip Pullman, Malorie Blackman and more.

This is a collection to enjoy and share for many years. For every copy sold, a significant donation will be made to Battersea Cats and Dogs Home.

Genres: Childrens, Anthologies, Classics, Middle Grade, Animals

400 pages, Hardcover

First published February 13, 2014

About the author

Jacqueline Wilson was born in Bath in 1945, but spent most of her childhood in Kingston-on-Thames. She always wanted to be a writer and wrote her first ‘novel’ when she was nine, filling in countless Woolworths’ exercise books as she grew up. As a teenager she started work for a magazine publishing company and then went on to work as a journalist on Jackie magazine (which she was told was named after her!) before turning to writing novels full-time.

One of Jacqueline’s most successful and enduring creations has been the famous Tracy Beaker, who first appeared in 1991 in The Story of Tracy Beaker. This was also the first of her books to be illustrated by Nick Sharratt. Since then Jacqueline has been on countless awards shortlists and has gone on to win many awards. The Illustrated Mum won the Guardian Children’s Fiction Award, the 1999 Children’s Book of the Year at the British Book Awards and was also shortlisted for the 1999 Whitbread Children’s Book Award.

Double Act won the prestigious Smarties Medal and the Children’s Book Award as well as being highly commended for the Carnegie Medal. The Story of Tracy Beaker won the 2002 Blue Peter People’s Choice Award.

Jacqueline is one of the nation’s favourite authors, and her books are loved and cherished by young readers not only in the UK but all over the world. She has sold millions of books and in the UK alone the total now stands at over 35 million!

In 2002 Jacqueline was awarded the OBE for services to literacy in schools and from 2005 to 2007 she was the Children’s Laureate. In 2008 she became Dame Jacqueline Wilson.

Reviews

[Lisa Brunton · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the worst book i have EVER read. It soooooooo boring. I didn't finish it even though i bought the book which i regret so bad

[Ellen-Arwen Tristram · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was younger, I loved Jacqueline Wilson's books. I practically devoured them, reading and reading my dog-eared copies until the spines split. I wanted to be her characters: Eliza from The Bed and Breakfast Star, Ruby from Double Act (although I was probably more a Garnet), Tracey Beaker in the dumping group, and even Lottie from the Lottie project.

Now I'm a twenty-something year old, I've obviously grown out of that. Of course. Now, I've realised that who I really want to be is Jaqueline Wilson herself.

This was a really lovely and well-chosen collection of stories and extracts about dogs and cats. I myself am more of a cat person than a dog person, so I had a natural swing to enjoy those stories more. But I still loved the dog stories, particularly the extract from “The Incredible Journey.” It was really moving.

One concern I had about this novel was that reading only short snippets from stories would feel so incomplete that no satisfaction could be gained. Luckily, I was mostly wrong with this feeling, as I knew most of the books they came from: One Hundred and One Dalmations, Just William, Dick King Smith... I haven't read Jean Ure's novel Ice Lolly and this particular extract was unsatisfying for me. It left you with too many questions; questions can be very good, but this was too much. I was delighted to see The Cat That Walked by Itself; it has inspired me to reread Just So Stories.

The first story, Jacqueline's own, was lovely, and her oh-so-familiar and comforting authorial voice shone through. I liked Leonie, and it was a very complete short story – I wasn't left feeling cheated. Amongst the old favourites were some unexpected surprises: I never knew that Ian McEwan wrote for children! (Note to self: must find out more!) I was also shocked to see the Patrick Ness' extract from Chaos Walking, as the rest of the stories were aimed at much younger children. I would feel uncomfortable with a young child reading Ness' books because, brilliant though they are, they are very violent. It seemed a little out of place to me.

Nick Sharratt's illustrations were similarly comforting, memories of reading by torchlight in tents and gobbling down books in some vague fear that they might leave if I didn't! It was odd to see Nick Sharratt's drawings in place of the traditional pictures for some of these stories (One Hundred and One Dalmations, Alice Through the Looking Glass) but I enjoyed the change. I also loved the cover under the dust jacket!

Overall, a wonderful anthology, and for a very worthy cause. It will appeal to animal lovers of nearly any age, anyone who knows about the bond you can feel to a dog or cat. Very enjoyable.

Now, excuse me while I go away to find a copy of Just So Stories...

Note: I was given a pre-publication copy of this for free, but all opinions expressed are my own.

[Sophie Crane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book, it's brilliant. It is made up of different stories by different authors chosen by Jacqueline Wilson. Some of the stories I had heard before like Gobbolino the Witches cat and Varjack Paw but most of them were new to me.

I love animals and stories about them and I love Jacqueline Wilson and even better that the book was put together to raise money for Battersea Dogs Home. I know I will read this book again and again especially my favourite stories.

[Chloe Reads Books]

I've chosen not to give this book a rating because I can't really work out how to go about it. This was a collection of short stories from a big group of authors. Some of the stories were heart-warming, and some really had me intrigued. Some were a little boring, and some were taken from classic books that I really had no interest in reading. Overall I appreciate what this book was out to achieve!

[royaevereads · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice children's book (why was it in the YA section at the library? I do not know). Some of the stories were written especially for this book, some were excerpts from novels, some were classic children's tales. Unfortunately I'd actually read most of them elsewhere before. Some were happy, some were sad, some were suuuuuuper weird lol. And one thing I learned was that Dodie Smith who wrote I Capture the Castle also wrote The Hundred and One Dalmatians. Who knew? And in one of the stories a kid calls another kid "Dalek" as an insult. Brilliant.

[Daniel Rouse · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay let me get something straight, this book has 400 pages yet only 50 pages is only hers. This book is just extracts of books. I thought this was pointless and she just wanted a book out so opal plumstead was her 100th book...

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won a copy of this book from a Goodreads Giveaway.

Fantastic book! A lovely selection of dog and cat stories, old and new we enjoyed them all, perfect length for bedside stories.

[سارّة دسوقي · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such an interesting enjoyable book.
The book is a compilation of the author's favourite fictional stories about dog and cat pets, taken from an array of old and new novels, including two of her own. It is divided into three sections; Cat Stories, Dog Stories and a Pet Corner - in which writers share stories about their own real pets.

I loved the author's introduction before each story, when she expressed her feelings about the novel itself or about the author's other books, or shared a memory of reading the book as a child. It made the stories after that more special. I think she chose the sweetest combination of pet stories and novel excerpts.

I admit there is more than one book from the ones included here that I'm glad I discovered and I'd like to read full in the future, and I marked the name of multiple authors I want to read more for.
It was lovely and light.

[Juliette Appleby · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought this would be a light, quick read; basically, a break from classic English literature! However, I feel that this book is for a much younger audience and due to this reason, I didn't find it very engaging or gripping - it definitely has a younger target audience but I would recommend it for a younger audience because it is a clear and easy read. Additionally, it is a collection of short stories so they are quick and don't drag out causing a lack of attention and interest. Overall, I think it is well written and would be a perfect read for a pre-teen or younger child but it wasn't for me.

[Mami Veve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Makin cinta deh. Dikasih nana 2 tahun yang lalu dan baru dibaca sekarang..haha..
In English, tapi bukan Krama Inggil.
Cerita di Leonie's Pet Cat, bikin keidean untuk nulis cerita MG tentang BTS atau EXO. yah..pokoknya ide dulu. Nulisnya entah kapan :p
Next, mau berburu Queenie, ada enggak versi terjemahanya.

[May (Bethany) · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars⭐️
I was gifted this book, I think the thing that put me off a bit was the fact that I don’t really like cats and the majority of the book was about cats.
Definitely recommend to people that adore cats and dogs alike x

[Louise · Rating 2 out of 5]

Collection of extracts of other stories. There aren't many full length short stories in here. I found this skippable, but younger readers might enjoy it to figure out which ones they might want to read in full.

[Jasmine Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of it was boring but Jacqueline Wilson’s holds so many of my childhood memories and i love her books. The concept of the book is just not my favorite and new to me since its a bunch of short stories strung together.

[Maria Gulczynska · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s always a good idea to read a children’s book every now and then. It helps me stay focused on the important bits in life. Plus, there’s so much fun with the most curious combinations of words like: ‘blush beetroot red’ or ‘catch the bus by the skin of your teeth’ - fascinating!

[Hasali Wickramarachchi · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was so emotional. Like as soon as I went up 3 pages It made me think how caring and lovely one does to their pet or any other creature and how we will always have their backs. Truly out of this world!

[Darcy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read this book so many times when i was younger and still get the urge to reach for it now. Not only is it about my favourite animals but there are so many different stories that are told which make it even better. Would highly recommend for children!

[zara · Rating 5 out of 5]

In love Leoneis pet cat!💝 catwings is an unusual story.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Millie Hodgson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really like Jacqueline Wilson's books but this one I didn't really like and I found it a bit boring, so I didn't read it all

[Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book because it is about famous authors.

[Felicity Norton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great choice of stories a mix of classics and some original stories overall a very interesting selection of tales

[Daisy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good mix of dog and cat extracts, this means that some are obviously more favourable than others dependant on whose reading them.

[Groot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paws

[Ridwan Bin Mohammad (Tiash) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved all the cats and dogs . A very cuddly book 📚

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received my copy of this book for free through a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.

This was a fantastic book, and would be suitable for both children and animal lovers of all ages.

Jacqueline Wilson did a brilliant job of selecting stories that highlight all the different types of personalities, quirks, and habits that make cats and dogs such excellent pets - you’ll most definitely find a cat or dog in this anthology who reminds you of a pet you’ve had in the past!

Each excerpt is introduced by Jacqueline Wilson with her own comments as to why she picked that story and a brief summary of the story to make you aware of the context, so the excerpts rarely feel incomplete even though some are rather short. It would be a great way to introduce new stories and authors to children; whilst I was familiar with the majority of the authors, I’d previously only read a handful of the stories included. It was also wonderful to hear about the pets of various authors in their own words in the middle section of the book.

Seeing Nick Sharratt’s illustrations again brought back lots of memories from my childhood, and there’s some particularly stand out contributions from him - the endpapers and cover underneath the dust jacket were brilliant!

Paws and Whiskers is clearly a book put together with a lot of care, and a great understanding of what makes animals great. I’m definitely going to be buying myself another copy or purchasing it as a gift for someone so I can make my contribution to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home!

[Becki · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was book was okay, but i found a fair few of the short stories boring. Although, to be fair whilst some of the stories were cute 'animal stories' just aren't really my thing. This has been sitting on my shelf for nearly three years though so I had to finally read it!
I really enjoyed the original JW short story she wrote for this though!

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was a huge Jacqueline Wilson fan when I was a child, so I was delighted to win this book in a Goodreads First Reads giveaway. Even reading this now as an adult I really enjoyed it, and my 6 year old niece absolutely loved it.

[Sharon Appleby · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far I'm really enjoying this book x

[Genevieve Austin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heart warmig collection of cat and dog stories. Includes a 'Pet's Corner' where famous authors write about their own pets/past pets.

[Ella.s · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cool but my all time chapter would be 'Diary Of A Killer Cat' I wrote a passage of it on the wall and it is really long but so funny