Daisy is a ship's rat-catching cat. But she's not very good at her job. The ship's captain has had enough: Daisy has to start catching rats or she's up for sale at the next port! Poor Daisy, she tries her best but the rats are just too smart for her. Then a storm blows up and heroic Daisy has a chance to prove just what a moggy can do once her mind is set!

This story, though written in 1993 was based on an experience I had ten years before. I had sailed on a tall ship called the Marques for a week around the south coat of Britain during the summer holidays before starting at art college. We did indeed get caught in a storm. It wasn't a particularly bad one but it was certainly scary climbing the rigging in the dark to haul in the sail. A year later, during the 1984 tall ships race The Marques got caught in another storm off Bermuda and sank taking the lives of many of the crew with her, some of which I had known. As a result, I wanted to do a book to remember them by and came up with this one. There is a dedication on the inside cover. Because it was a ship it had to have a human crew. It was the first time I had done human figures in a book for about four years which is probably why they look a bit wooden (see review below!). With the exception of the Mr Dunfilling books, I haven't done human figures since. Better to stick to what you're good at and leave others to do people! Daisy has reappeared in various other guises some of which are shown below. The story also appears in a couple of animal story anthologies: My Best Book of Animal Stories (Bodley Head) and The Hutchinson Book of Cat Tales (Hutchinson).

Foreign Editions-France, Japan.

Reviews-

Rob Lewis' characterisation provides a satisfying ending. Daisy as a main character does take on a real persona and the rats are all identical as the baddies. The crew of sailors appear as a strange-looking, expressionless group of people. This is the book's main shortcoming, and if they put me off they may well have the same effect upon younger readers. BABY MAGAZINE

Excellent pictures of crew, cat, storm, and the sailing vessel itself. NAOMI LEWIS LONDON EVENING STANDARD

The text is clear, well presented and laid out with just the right amount on each page so as not to deter the developing reader with too much prose in one 'bite'. The illustrations are full of character and very generally supportive. PT. CAROUSEL

Relaxed and simple...a useful book for four to five-year-olds to try to read alone. INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

Delightful...Rob Lewis creates a very lovable cat, one that every reader cannot fail to warm to. THE BOOKSELLER

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