The Diary of a Killer Cat
Age Range: 5 to 11
Book Description… Poor Ellie is horrified when Tuffy drags a dead bird into the house. Then a mouse. But Tuffy can't understand what all the fuss is about.
Who on earth will be the next victim to arrive through the cat-flap? Can soft-hearted Ellie manage to get her beloved pet to change his wild, wild ways before he ends up in even deeper trouble?
The hilarious antics of Tuffy and his family are told by the killer cat himself.
Teaching Ideas and Resources:
- Before reading the book, discuss what it might be about. What does the killer cat do?
- The chapters are named after each day of the week. Could you write a story where a different event / paragraph / chapter takes place on a new day?
- Some of the words in the story are written in italics. Why has the author done this?
- Write a new story from the point of view of a pet animal.
- Write a diary entry from the point of view of your own (or a friend's) pet. How does it feel about living with the family? What does it like? What does it dislike?
- Turn the story (or part of it) into a play script and perform it to an audience.
- The story is written in the first person. Can you write a story from somebody else's point of view?
- Find all of the words that the author uses to describe how something is said (e.g. asked, muttered, cried). Make a poster to teach other children about good vocabulary to use in their writing.
- Tuffy is grounded for his behaviour. Can you write a new story about a pet who is grounded for their bad behaviour?
- What does 'woe betide you' mean? Can you find other examples of older language that isn't used much any more?
- Listen to this extract from the audiobook. Could you record your own reading?
- There are a number of books in the 'Killer Cat' series. Can you write a new story involving the character?
- Read this interview with the author. If you could ask her a question, what would you like to know?
- Visit the author's website and write a biographer of her using the information there.
- Write a timetable showing the events of each day.
- Make a poster teaching people how to look after a pet cat.
- Use a paint program to draw pictures of different types of cats.
- Can you sew a small model of Tuffy, the killer cat?
- Look at photos of cats and draw / paint your own pictures.
- Draw cartoons of cats with different expressions (e.g. cute, friendly, angry, suspicious).
- Compose a theme tune for a movie version of the story. What instruments would be the best to use?
- Find out about pets that people have kept in the past.
- Why were cats special in Ancient Egypt?
- The bird and mouse are given funerals. Why do we have funerals? What happens? How do they help people?