The Church Cat Abroad

The second book in the Church Mice series. It introduces the running joke of the leaky vestry roof, here with Sampson and the mice hoping to become famous actors so they can raise enough money to fix the roof. It does not go as planned. This isn't one of the books I had as a child (I only had 4 of the 12) so I don't have the same level of love for it as I do those, however it is still brilliant. The pictures are as usual so much fun to pore over and even though it is a light-hearted and silly comedy, some of the scenes still affected me emotionally. The mice are so demonstrative in their expressions that I can feel their raw emotion leaking off the page! It's probably the most elaborate and far-fetched of all the stories in the series show more so it is interesting to see Oakley trying out different ideas early on. show less

The second in Graham Oakley's picture-book series about a group of church mice and their cat companion, The Church Cat Abroad follows Sampson the Church Cat, Arthur (the eponymous hero of The Church Mouse), and Humphrey the Schoolmouse, as they set out to earn the necessary money to repair the vestry roof. Unfortunately, Sampson's career as a film star ends rather abruptly on a South Seas islands, and the three companions find themselves stranded. How will they ever get back to England...?

Like the first installment of Oakley's series, The Church Cat Abroad offers an entertaining narrative paired with charming and very detailed illustrations. Young readers will enjoy reading about Sampson, Arthur and Humphrey, and their trials and show more tribulations; will root for their eventual (and inevitable) homecoming; and will relish the many humorous visual details. Recommended to anyone who read and enjoyed the first story about this unusual cat and mouse group. show less