Malkin Moonlight

by Emma Cox

Every journey begins with a paw step ... A small black cat, with a magnificent tail, Malkin is destined to be a hero. He just doesn't know it yet.

On his third life, Malkin falls in love with a Domestic, Roux. Together they explore the night and have adventures. But when Roux's owners decide to move away she chooses to become a Wild and live with Malkin.

Setting out to find a new home, they stumble across a recycling centre full of cats – at war. Can Malkin realise his destiny and find a way to bring peace to the land? An extraordinary adventure awaits ...

Genres: Adventure, Middle Grade, Animals

272 pages, Paperback

Published July 14, 2016

Reviews

[Adele Broadbent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Malkin Moonlight has been blessed by the moon with a collar of pure white fur. She has told him he is special and will go on to do great things.

He is special, preferring peace than anger and he even shares his food with mice and rats. When Malkin is saved by a domestic cat called Roux after nearly drowning in a sack, he soon falls in love, despite the pull of something calling him further afield.

Malkin can feel when he is needed and he and Roux often go to the aid of other animals. After nearly losing Roux they finally answer the call of Malkin’s destiny and leave Roux’s home.

They arrive at a recycling station/waste dump which houses two different groups of cats, fighting for the best food and shelter. Can Malkin heal the generations of hate and anger between them before more of them lose any more of their treasured nine lives?

Told in an omniscient point of view, the reader gets to see all the character’s thoughts and feelings. This is a tale of tolerance, love and forgiving and will be loved by cat lovers everywhere. Just imagine a feline Ghandi.

[LJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautifully written tale of cat adventures. The language is as graceful as cats themselves. The story is about kindness without shying away from the painful things that cats/animals encounter.

[Irina (Beautiful pages) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely wonderful! cute little story, full of kindness and comfort. I loved it very much!

[Ariadne Skyrianidou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Malkin Moonlight is a really good book. If my primary school pupils could read that much English I would definitely recommend it, but it is as good for teenagers and the young at heart as well. Although I am a dog person I loved Malkin and his friends and "enemies". As Cats is one of my favourite musicals I would have loved it if it had this as its script. Malkin is a clever kind-hearted cat that loves doing good deeds and helping other cats.The writer chooses a Recycling Centre as the cats' world and there they live their adventures. The book touches the themes of peace making, kindness, environmental problems and protection, cruelty to animals, love, even literacy, probably because the author is a teacher herself. I loved how she describes all the animals' emotions and thoughts. I also liked the drawings in the book by Rohan Eason and adored the exceptional book cover. The author was the inaugural National Literacy Trust New Children's Author Prize.

[Bruce Gargoyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of this title from Bloomsbury Australia for review.

Ten Second Synopsis:
Malkin Moonlight is a cat blessed by the moon, who loves a domestic cat named Roux. Together they will do great things and heal a rift in their new home.

This is a gentle tale about using one's life (lives!) well in the pursuit of peace and happiness. While not being the biggest fan of books featuring animal societies, I still found this to be an enjoyable read due to the episodic chapters and old-fashioned narrative style. As the story progresses the reader finds out more about Malkin and Roux as they discover new things about themselves through various challenges and sticky situations. After the relationship between Malkin and Roux is thoroughly established, the story moves on to a different setting - a world of cats, if you will - which is in sore need of a peacemaker. Malkin comes to fill that role in the nick of time before a man made disaster looks set to threaten the existence of the cats' new home.

I think this book will hit the mark for middle grade readers who love a good animal story and the illustrations here and there throughout will give an added context to their imagining of the story. There was a subtle sense of schmaltz underlying the story that put me off slightly - something to do with the cats' (and particularly Roux's) turns of phrase, I suspect - but that is possibly to be expected from a tale that promises a hero finding his destiny in the blurb. This is one to watch out for if you have a crazy cat person in training in your dwelling.

[Pauline · Rating 4 out of 5]

With Malkin Moonlight Emma Cox won the National Literacy Trust's inaugural New Children's Author Prize 2015! This beautifully written tale is told from the perspective of Malkin Moonlight, a cat who has been given special gifts by the Moon who, recognising Malkin’s inherent kindness marks him with a distinctive white collar. From his difficult start in life, where he escapes drowning and in the process loses his first life, he finds his place in the world, finding friends, love, and companionship. The moon has told him he is destined for great lives. The pull of his destiny dictates his every move. This is a novel about kindness and friendship and doing the right thing to help others. Cat lovers will particularly enjoy the details of the cat’s eye view of the world. This is in the tradition of other children’s novels such as Wind in the Willows and Charlotte’s Web.

Suitable for 8+ - themes of kindness, bravery, animal cruelty, loyalty and animals.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Readers young and old will fall in love with this beautiful story; while at times it was utterly heart-breaking, Emma Cox weaves a wonderful narrative that has its moments of pure delight and a conclusion that left me watery eyed with happiness.

[Lia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Malkin moonlight is about a cat who is blessed with a white ring of fur around his neck, the moon talks to him and when he is saved by a cat from a near death experience he has to decide between following what the moon tells him to do and what he really wants to do which is staying with this cafe cat,
Spoilers










He decides to stay with the cafe cat and they live happily aver after the end

[Philippa Leah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Whilst I loved some of the ideas (the way the cats lost their nine lives, the use of sixth sense etc) I just felt something was missing - the way the cats spoke to each other didn't ring true (which I realize is a ridiculous thing to say) and it was all a bit schmaltzy. An interesting debut though - I am keen to see what she comes up with next.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a while I thought this might be one of those children books that appeals more to adults than children, but revised my opinion as the story went along. Quite lyrical, the story of a cat blessed by the moon to have a special destiny and how he found love and a home amongst other free living cats, and brought peace to a long standing feud. Best for cat lovers, 8yrs+

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

«…this is what happens with bad words- they go on and on until no one remembers what they were, but everyone lives with the consequences.»

This sent shivers down my spine, truly wonderful book both for children and adults!

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

My sons both read and loved this. My older son wanted me to read it, he said I had encouraged him to read my favorite books and he wanted me to read his.

[Nathalie Bilinsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful, engaging and imaginative book - my 8 year old daughter's current favourite and I highly recommend it for this age group.

[Ashie · Rating 5 out of 5]

literally one of my favorite books so wholesome and sweet

[Samsam · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was very imaginative and addicting👍👍👍👍😍😍😍🥰🥰🥰

[Zahra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Malkin Moonlight is a story about a little black kitten named Malkin. After a tragic beginning he meets the moon who gives him a white ring of protection and tells him that he is destined to do great things.
Malkin then meets a girl kitten named Roux and soon falls in love with her. The two of them work together to help the animals near the river. Malkin knows that this is what he was destined for, but now he feels that his home is elsewhere. So he sets off to find a place to call home.
The story Malkin Moonlight has a mixture of feelings. It is a story of tragedy and love, friendship and compassion. I would recommend this book to those who would want to read a good story!

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first part, particularly the first few pages, were rough I'll admit. Perhaps I'm too sensitive when it comes to animals and violence or perhaps kids these days aren't as sensitive as I perceive them to be but I was sad. Malkin ran around saving animals in distress for the first part. And then his mate ran away from her family to be with him. Devastated. I'm not emotionally stable enough for this sort of story. Malkin does find a home though in the second half and there's a feel good theme running through it. Saving lives, making friends, righting wrongs. I'm not sure if I'd recommend this exactly as I was a bit scarred from the whole farmer throwing a bag of kittens in the river to drown them thing. I'm not ok with this.

[Dimity Powell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this, Miss 11 loved it so four out of five stars really. Although it begun with a feeling of cautious reluctance (that is despite a fairly awful beginning for young kitten Malkin) this middle grade novel soon assumed a second, then a third life of its own. Adventure, treachery, abandonment and war all pop up from time to time as Malkin matures and sets out on his quest to quell the anxious stirring within him - to complete a quest he does not know the exact nature of or why. With the pull of the Moon as his guiding light and the love of his partner, Roux to empower him, Malkin eventually realises his role as peacekeeper . This is a captivating tale with enough assorted feline characters to cast a musical with - seriously, but also just as entertaining to read in the end. A lovely narration promoting kindness unto others and the importance of humility with strong yet sweet undertones of love conquering all.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, well-written book that can remind kids (and kids at heart) about power of kindness, beauty, love, self-believe and life purpose.