The Barefoot Springs Pet Parade is coming up, but best friends Cassie and Lina aren’t allowed to have pets. After all, it’s chaos at Lina’s house with three-year-old Timmy and twin babies, and Cassie’s dad doesn’t want another bad experience after what happened with the goldfish years ago. But when the girls are asked to pet sit Gus, the cat from next door, they take the responsibility seriously, hoping they can change their parent’s minds. Gus can stay in Lina’s barn, out of the way of the family, and the girls will look after him. ‘We’re ready for anything,’ they say. But the best friends didn’t count on discovering that adorable, fluffy Gus is a talking cat, and a grumpy one at that. What will they do when he escapes from the barn? Or when he returns to the house, determined to make a mess? It seems that pet sitting is a lot harder than first expected. And when Gus’ owner turns up and takes him home before the girls have had a chance to prove their pet setting capabilities, they’ll have to attend the Pet Parade without a pet of any sort. But grumpy, adorable Gus has a surprise for them when he turns up at the Parade. ‘You kept on loving me when I made a mess,’ he declares. ‘I’m like your pet.’ There’s a happy surprise for Gus too, when he wins the ‘Best Dressed Pet’ award to the applause of the town. Maybe Cassie and Lina are ready for anything, after all.
Author:
Ella Shine LOVES pets of all kinds. She lives in Sydney, Australia with her three cats, four bunnies, parakeet, bearded dragon and an imaginary ant farm for company. When shes not writing stories for children she can be found dreaming up adventures and hunting for the unexpected with at least one of her pets in tow! (And when shes not doing any of the above, Ella Shine is simply the super fun pen name of two real authors writing books together, chapter by chapter.)
Illustrator:
Lisa Flanagan has illustrated over a dozen books for children of all ages. She loves being creative and exploring outside. When she was little, Lisa had a budgie that couldnt fly but walked on the floor like a person. You needed to be very careful where you stepped!
* Humorous series fiction thats fun for adults to read too.
* Australian setting and characters.
* Themes: friendship, responsibility, risk-taking, problem solving, family and community, unconditional love.
* Multicultural flavour with BIPOC character.
* Teachers notes available.
Publicity:
* The authors and illustrators do 2-5 school visits per year at which they talk about the series.
