The Dog and the Pram

The Dog and the Pram is a story for young children. It is based on a real golden tabby cat – the author’s family pet called Jimmy James, who was a direct descendant of the legendary feral cat known as Maisie of Fleet Street, whom the Daily Express dubbed, “the cat that Hitler couldn’t bomb”. Jimmy James was a worthy successor and lived a long, much-loved life of many adventures. As always, such tales have been told and retold in family circles and have probably grown in the telling. In words and pictures, this book recounts just one of the many stories about this remarkable cat. It should appeal to any young child who likes animal stories. The tale shows how Jimmy James rushes out bravely at a naughty dog and saves two babies in a pram. The words have been tried, tested and enjoyed by 4- and 5-year-olds in an ethnically mixed North London primary school. The pictures, by a 12-year-old girl, have been described as “…very clever – quite charming and exactly right for the style of the story and its intended age group.” The author is himself delighted with them and cannot picture the story without them.