Jon Gibbs (1)

This is a fun book for middle-graders. Snowy has a lovely working-class Brit voice, and the action flows at a good pace. I admit, I have a weakness for books that take place in quaint English villages; the talking cat is a lovely bonus. Billy and Carmen are like-able young protagonists who use their wits to figure out who is experimenting on the local animal population.

That said, two things did bother me about the book. First of all, the perspective head-hopped quite a bit, especially during show more the climax; this became confusing at times. Secondly, Snowy's human-like inclinations cause him to indulge in foods that are outright poisonous to cats, like sodas. show less