I’ve been a fan of Julie Murphy’s writing since I first read Dumplin’ [wow! ten years old now!] when she gave fat girls back the power (by the way, the movie was pretty good too, if you’ve not seen it yet!). This is a new series for younger readers to MG, and again, puts the spotlight on self-belief and self-empowerment, acceptance of differences, diversity and recognising our strengths.
I admit that at first I was a little anxious that this was going to play into the hands of the ‘furries’ [which is not just an old person prejudice because, to a one, my former students especially the year 9 girls were absolutely livid about that whole idiotic concept]. So I was pretty relieved actually to find out that Catty is not pretending to be a cat. She is, in fact, half-cat as is her mother. As you can imagine, this can pose some problems as Catty’s mum gets a new job which means no more home schooling. It’s a little catty chaotic at times, but good friends and good sense and a strong self-belief all help.
New South Books
Catty Corner Lands on Her Feet
Julie Murphy, illustrated by Eve Farb
9781454956471
July 2025
AUD$24.99, NZD$29.99
Catty Corner is in second grade and has been home schooled which suits her right down to the ground. Like her mother, she is half-cat. She has a tail and ears and all the attributes of a cat – fussy with some foods, an irresistable urge to scratch (especially furniture), a tendency to hiss and get claws out under stress, and definitely easily startled.
So going to regular school is quite a trial for this kitty-girl. Fortunately, catching the bus on her very first day, she makes her first friend, Jo. While Jo is quite surprised when she first sees Catty’s furry ears, she is also very impressed. More than can be said for Catty’s neighbour who, although he recognises her, has never seen her cattributes before, and is already out to shame her.
At school she makes another new friend, Bebe, and that could go well until there’s a cat-astrophe. When Catty is suddenly startled by someone stepping on her tail (deliberately – guess who?), her cat instinct makes her bite and unfortunately, Bebe’s hand is right in the way.
And then there’s the hissing at Milo, her neighbour. Mind you, he’s mean and he deserves it but there’s smoothing over to be done all round. But it’s not all disaster for Catty.
When the class fish is in danger of losing everything, it’s Catty’s cat-like agility and fast reflexes that save Douglas Snickerdoodle from a terrible fate. There’s also the joy of book fair, not a new experience for this reader, but definitely for a home-school half-cat child. And to add cream to that, is the fact that her new friends also love books and writing!
Julie Murphy, illustrated by Eve Farb
Catty Corner Pounces into Action
9781454956495
July 2025
$24.99, NZD$29.99
Catty does start to settle in a little, especially when she gets her scratch pad -which is a soft padded journal first started by her granny. It contains words of wisdom from her granny and her mum, relating their own experiences in being half-cat in a wholly human world, but with the added benefit of being able to scratch the cover for calming – just as sensory items work for many kids who are neuro-diverse.
She is learning that friendships and connections can be difficult, because when you are used to a lot of thinking like a feline, thinking like a friend is quite different. The situations are certainly very unfamiliar indeed and it’s easy to make mistakes.
But Catty is an adept learner, and she’s a big help with her friends as they buddy up with the kindergarteners, and with an investigation into the Gobbler Bandit. Someone has been pinching the snacks out of the classroom cupboard, and then the meatballs for the Meatball Mania event disappear!
There’s a thawing in neighbour relations, as Milo pitches into the investigation by virtue of his own detective kit. As the friends encounter one problem after another, it almost seems that everything will be catawampus [btw, one of my favourite words that I use regularly] but as they support one another, they begin to discover that it’s not just Catty that is ‘different’.
Her friends each have their own insecurities but, they decide that together, they can be a support for each other. Indeed, they can complement each other.
All in all, aside from the obvious wackiness of the half-cat premise, this is a great little series for your increasingly able readers with lots of really sound positive influence to help them discover their own self-belief, accept differences in others, diversity of all types, and be supportive of each other. It’s a 4 🐱🐱🐱🐱rating for readers from around Year 2 upwards.
Just So Stories 
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