Jumblecat - Softcover

Kimpton, Archie

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1471402789 ISBN 13: 9781471402784

Publisher: Hot Key Books, 2014

Synopsis

A hilarious and madcap adventure from a delightfully quirky debut author

Billy Slipper is a fairly normal boy with a definitely not-so-fairly normal family. All he wants to do is add to his 'Collectabillya' (an assortment of weird and wonderful objects he finds) in peace, but his cleaning-mad mum (she even clingfilms the carrots!) and his fantastically horrid twin sister have other ideas.

However, they don't bargain on Billy finding his best ever Collectabillya - Jumblecat! Jumblecat is a . . . well, a jumbled-up cat (who talks, by the way), and he's set to change the Slippers' lives forever. With the help of his batty old-lady next-door-neighbour, Billy must battle to win the town pet show (top prize: £10,000), find a vet who can un-jumble Jumblecat (price: £10,000), RESCUE Jumblecat when he is stolen (culprit: an insane taxidermy-obsessed general) - and then stop Jumblecat from getting stuffed, all with the help of his dad's milk float. Sounds easy? Well, you just haven't met Jumblecat yet. Beautifully illustrated by the Greenaway Medal nominated artist Kate Hindley, JUMBLECAT is sure to capture your heart.

About this title

About the Authors

Ever since reading 'sodium monofluorophosphate' on the side of a toothpaste tube, Archie Kimpton has always enjoyed putting words together and seeing what comes out. He graduated from Manchester University in 1991 and has spent the last twenty years in preparation for this moment, flogging salami, script writing, book binding and care working in the interim. JUMBLECAT is his first novel. He lives in south London with his wife, kids and Doonican, the diabetic cat and sometime inspiration for his animal cruelty based stories (only joking, Dooni). Follow Archie at www.archiekimpton.wordpress.com or on Twitter: @ArchieKimpton

Kate lives and works in Birmingham (near the chocolate factory). She studied illustration at Falmouth College of Art, and went on to work for two years as a children's print designer at a studio in Northampton, whilst working on children's books and greetings cards. She has exhibited with her good chums Girls Who Draw and Inkygoodness across the UK, and had a jolly good time painting up a totem pole for the Pictoplasma Character Walk exhibition 2011. Things Kate finds inspiring include Bob Godfrey, Richard Scarry, The Magic Roundabout (in particular Dougal and the Blue Cat), and Sharps Doom Bar. Kate's first picture book THE GREAT SNORTLE HUNT, written by Claire Freedman, was published by Simon & Schuster in August 2013, and was longlisted for the 2013 Kate Greenaway Medal. Follow Kate at www.katehindley.com or on Twitter: @hindleyillos

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Just then, the creature completely lost its footing. It started rolling down the hill, slowly at first, disappearing into thick tussocks of grass, then re-emerging, still tumbling, gathering speed like a runaway train, bumping over hillocks, through brambles, getting faster and faster, coming straight at him. Whatever it was, Billy was determined to catch it. He steadied himself, spreading his arms out wide like a goalkeeper preparing to save a penalty.

THWACK! It crashed into Billy's stomach with enormous force, knocking him to the ground. He was winded, but somehow, whatever it was, he'd caught it. He lay there a while trying to catch his breath, the creature kerplumped across his stomach, as heavy as a sack full of cauliflowers.

Billy counted to thirty and then, without making any sudden movements, slowly lifted his head to take a peek. It was a cat. Well he thought it was a cat, but it was like no cat he'd ever seen. Everything was in the wrong place. The head was where a leg should be, the tail was where the head should be and the legs were sticking out all over the place.

It was a totally jumbled-up cat.

As if it had been sleeping all along, the cat yawned, opened its eyes and stared directly at Billy.

'What are you looking at?' demanded the cat. Its wide, green eyes were inches from Billy's face.

Billy froze. He stared back at the cat, trying to think of something to say. What do you say to a jumbled-up cat that talks?

'Cats can't talk,' stuttered Billy, eventually.

'Of course cats can't talk,' said the cat, talking.

'But you're talking.'

'Am I?' replied the cat. It seemed genuinely surprised.

Edition details

• Publisher: Hot Key Books
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1471402789
• ISBN 13: 9781471402784
• Binding: Paperback
• Illustrator: Hindley Kate
• Number of pages: 256