An absolutely glorious book for reading in January or February, to warm the heart during the miserable period after the Christmas/New Year celebrations, and before you can feel that Spring might arrive!

In part this is the biography of a teacher in Northumberland during the mid 1960s on, but it is really the story of the author's life and relationship with Toby Jug, a tiny three-week-old kitten he rescues from certain death during a January snowstorm. It is also the story of the author's love of life in the Northumbrian countryside, and how this combines with Toby Jug's love for adventure, especially when he and Denis O'Connor go on a summer camping holiday, on horseback, in the Cheviots.

Anyone who has loved a cat will find themselves smiling, crying, howling and nodding with joy as they read this book; whatever you might think, it isn't a child's book, although it should appeal to an older cat-loving child up to the age of 99.

Originally published in a small edition by the author in 2004, thankfully a buyer in a large Newcastle bookshop felt the book should be published nationally, and here it is. Bravo her and Bravo Constable for tasking the plunge! 214 text pages. 16 lovely full page paintings by Richard Morris. Paperback