96. Sam the Cat by Sam Bowring illustrated by Andrew McLean

Sam the Cat by Sam Bowring and illustrated by Andrew McLean
Published February 2012 Penguin


From the publisher:

Sam lives very happily in a tumbledown house with Jane and Ian. But when Jane and Ian bring home a baby boy, not only does the baby get all the attention – he even steals Sam's name!


This is a funny picture book, with at least one page that made me laugh-out-loud (the page when the cat hears the owners talking about changing his name).  It's even funnier when you realise that this is actually a true story.
  
This is the story of how the author's parents, Ian and Jan,  struggled to come up with a name for their new son.  The only name they really loved was Sam, but that was the cats name.  "I know!" they thought, lets call the baby Sam and give the cat a new name...Jack.  Needless to say 'Jack' wasn't impressed with his new name, and he leaves the house in disgust.  The next part of the story, 'Jack's' adventure in the real world is entirely fictional (but the real cat did indeed run away) and not very pleasant, but then one day Ian spots 'Jack' while on his way to work and takes him back home again.  Where Jack realises that having people who love you and feed you far outweighs the indignity of having your name changed without permission.

Who will like this book: Boys and girls age 5+
Read it if you like: Scallywag by Jeanette Rowe