Spy Cat

by Peg Kehret, Pete the Cat

Overview

Pete the Cat's second adventure is full of wild antics and mystery-solving fun!

A series of burglaries in their quiet community upsets Alex's family, particularly his younger brother Benjie. What would they do if their house were robbed? Pete is confident that he can protect his family, but that doesn't stop the burglars from trying! Luckily, the bad guys are no match for the very protective family cat and Benjie's "spy" skills.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101661741
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	06/19/2008
Series:	Pete the Cat Series , #2
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	379,208
File size:	946 KB
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Peg Kehret was born in Wisconsin, grew up in Minnesota, spent fourteen years in California, and now lives with her husband in Washington State. They have two grown children, four grandchildren, one dog, and one cat.

Peg's novels for children are regularly recommended by the American Library Association, the International Reading Association, and the Children's Book Council. She has won many state "young reader" or "children's choice" awards. Peg's characters are ordinary kids who find themselves in exciting situations and who use their wits to solve their problems. There is usually humor as well as suspense in her books. A long-time volunteer at The Humane Society, she often uses animals in her stories.

Before she began writing books for children, Peg published plays, short stories, articles, and two books for adults. She is a frequent speaker at conferences for librarians and teachers.

At the age of twelve, Peg had polio and was paralyzed from the neck down. Because she can remember that experience and her year of recovery so vividly, she finds it easy to write in the viewpoint of a twelve or thirteen year old. Most of her main characters are that age. Her autobiography, Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio, won the Golden Kite Award from the Society of Children's Book Writers&Illustrators, and the PEN Center USA West Award for Children's Literature.

When she is not writing, Peg likes to watch baseball, bake cookies, and pump her old player piano.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 4-7-In this second adventure starring the feline, the Kendrill family is alarmed when they hear that a neighbor's house has been burglarized. Sixth-grader Alex and his six-year-old brother, Benjie, worry and wonder what they would do if their house were robbed. Everyone is understandably nervous, except Pete, who is sure he can protect his family; after all, he is a perfect watchcat. He does see the next robbery in progress and tries to warn Alex and his friend Rocky. However, while Pete can understand human speech, people can't understand Cat, much to his disappointment and frustration. Then all of his abilities are needed when the Kendrills' house becomes the next target. He tries to stop the burglars, only to have his plan backfire and turn serious when Benjie is missing. It takes the child's bravery and observational powers and the feline's wild antics and loud meowing to capture the crooks. This is a fast-moving mystery adventure that readers of James Howe's "Sebastian Barth" series (S & S) or Betsy Byars's "Herculeah Jones" books (Viking) will enjoy. Pete's observations are printed in italics so readers always know exactly what he thinks.-Terrie Dorio, Santa Monica Public Library, CA

School Library Journal

As in a previous outing (The Stranger Next Door, 2001), "co-written" with this collaborator--her own pet--Kehret delivers an exciting, suspenseful thriller that satisfies on several levels, thanks in no small part to the inherent literary talent of said feline and the juicy role in which he cast himself in the drama. Pete’s not only a distinguished author, but as a key player he’s a spy of rare talent whose actions and "words" are rendered in italics throughout the narrative to distinguish his activities from those of his human coauthor and fictional foils. A rash of robberies has been perpetrated in a small town in which Pete the Character lives with his family. Benjie Kendrill, younger brother of Pete’s owner, Alex, imagines himself a master spy and sets out to hunt down clues to the crimes. Exciting events ensue, including the inevitable robbery of the Kendrills’ own home and the kidnapping of Benjie after he unwittingly gives himself and his store of knowledge away to the thieves. He’s one smart, brave, and resourceful kid, though; along the way he picks up enough clues to nail these burglars to the wall. Pete is the cat’s meow as he goes above and beyond to save Benjie and to lead the less-clever humans (who don’t understand his "English") to the solution of the crimes and Benjie’s successful rescue. Readers will keep turning the pages, though Benjie’s harrowing experiences as a captive might frighten very sensitive youngsters. Kehret manages to include in her satisfying story humor, commentary about kindness to animals, and the importance of family and friends. (Fiction. 10-12)

Kirkus Reviews