Yellowbird Education Book of the Month, August 2017
/The Nine lives of Montezuma, by Michael Morpurgo (published by Egmont).
If you have read Shadow, Mr Skip, Butterfly Lion or the War Horse (or any of his other animal stories) you will know that Michael Morpurgo writes brilliantly about animals. His main strength lies in his ability to write with warmth and feeling, but without sentimentality.
He has written at least two other novels about cats and he clearly knows his subject. This is another good one. It is a story about Montezuma, a feisty ginger kitten that grows up to have many adventures. Some of those experiences are good, some are bad, and it’s fortunate that Montezuma has nine lives (that doesn’t give the plot away). I found myself believing totally in Montezuma and I lived each thrill right to the end. A good book by a very skilful author... whose brilliance lies in the tender and touching way he brings stories like this to an end. You don’t need to be a cat lover to like this one. Suitable for readers 8 – 80.