about the book
Nat the Cat jumps out of bed, all excited about the picnic lunch she has packed to share with her two best friends, Hugo Hare and Billy Goat. With a great big smile on her face, she trots off to Hugo’s house.
But Hugo is not in a picnicking mood. In fact, he is feeling quite sad. Still smiling, Nat the Cat gives Hugo a gentle pat-pat-pat on his head and then scurries on to Billy’s house.
But Billy is not in a picnicking mood either! He is feeling grumpy. So Nat, still smiling, gives Billy a gentle pat-pat-pat too, and continues on alone to their favorite picnic place in the meadow.
But as she strolls along, she begins to wonder. What kind of picnic will it be without her friends? Slowly her smile shrinks and she feels gloomier and gloomier. At the meadow’s lake, she flops onto the ground, feeling very sad and very grumpy!
But she isn’t alone for long. When two others show up in the meadow, her smile grows half way round her head! Can you guess who it is?
about the author
Jez Alborough says, “Some people write children’s books for their own children…Instead I write for the child I was!”
Born in Kingston-upon-Thames in England, Jez loved painting and drawing, and even as a youngster he knew he wanted to be an artist. One of his favorite things was a special kind of notebook that had a blank page on the left side and a lined page on the right. To him these notebooks were ”engraved invitations” to write and draw stories!
Jez graduated with honors from the Norwich School of Art and then worked hard to make it in the competitive world of children’s book publishing. He succeeded big time!
Jez has illustrated and written over 45 picture books which have been translated into fifteen languages. HisEddy and the Bear trilogy sold 4.5 million copies and became an award-winning TV series. His Duck in the Truck series sold 1.2 million copies. And his book Hug, which contained just three words and was an Oprah Winfrey favorite, grew into a series that sold 1.76 million copies. That is a whole lot of books!
When he was just starting out, he would walk to his studio, jostling among the London rush hour crowds. The people he passed were grumpy—and Jez was just as grumpy. Then one day, a woman with a great big grin passed him. How odd he thought, but found himself smiling, too. Rounding a corner, a man spotted Jez’s smile and smiled back. Jez rushed to his studio and wrote a poem about how smiles spread. Years later that poem inspired Nat the Cat’s book about infectious grins!
Jez lives with his wife in London. He is into learning new things, juggling, and laughing!
Also by Jez Alborough:
The Gobble Gobble Moooooo Tractor Book. Kane Miller. 2010.
Super Duck. Kane Miller. 2009.
Hit the Ball Duck. Kane Miller. 2006.
Fix-It Duck. Harper Collins. 2002.
Hug. Candlewick Press. 2000.
Duck in the Truck. Harper Collins. 2000.
Sources:
Author website
Author biography: Amazon
Author biography: BookTrust
Author biography: Candlewick
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Delia’s Dull Day : An Incredible Boring Story by Andy Myer
Delia complains that every day is dull and uneventful, but she fails to notice all the exciting things taking place around her—like the gorilla waiting in the lunch line or the space aliens creeping through her house as she watches TV. Life isn’t so boring after all!
The Gobble Gobble Moooooo Tractor Book by Jez Alborough
While Farmer Douglas sleeps, the animals on the farm take turns pretending to drive the great big tractor. But as each animal imitates the rumble-rumble and honk-honk of the tractor it comes out as baa baa, gooble gooble, and moo moooooo. What happens when the farmer wakes up and hears all this commotion?