CHILDREN'S BOOK REVIEW: ELLIE THE CAT BY MALORIE BLACKMAN

Ellie and the Cat
Author: Malorie Blackman
Publisher: Barrington Stoke

Reading Age:8
ISBN: 978-1-78112-824-4

Malorie Blackman has done a lot for children's fiction. I remember reviewing her earlier novel, Robot Girl knowing that Malorie would keep up creating the magic of her story telling for all, whether its sci fi, fantasy, or the modern era. A Dangerous Game and Peacemaker are some of her best. Malorie has also been awarded the Children's Book Award and the Eleanor Farjean Award as well as an OBE for her services to children's literature.

What readers will notice with Malorie's new novel is how she has written from two different perspectives. Ellie is a child who has to move house every time her father does business around the world. The result of this constant upheaval is Ellie cant make friends, isolating her and makes her sad, lonely and depressed. Her unhappiness instead of being obvious to adults is seen as bad behaviour and is considered a "brat " rather than seeing the real problem she has. So I got to see both sides of the problem when Ellie is sent to live with her grandma for a month. 

Ellie doesn't want to as its just another move she can do without bit her mother insists as her father is going away to another job and she cant look after her. The grandma does her best to make Ellie feel at home but Ellie's bad behaviour has her turn Ellie into a cat. Jolly the cat is seen as a very well behaved feline by grandma so she is very content at being changed into a girl. Ellie is horrified at being a cat but grandma tells her that the only way she can be turned back into a human is to find her lost wedding ring.

Its all well and good grandma turning Ellie into a cat but grandma soon knows she has made a mistake in losing her temper; the switch bodies spell has a time limit - if Ellie doesn't find the ring in a day, she will stay a cat forever! Ellie doesn't take to her life as a cat but what she does find is Jolly isn't very well thought of by the other creatures in and around grandmas house. Ellie the Cat is no ordinary novel about a cat, its about friendship and understanding and had a nice twist in the tale.