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Nick East, Illustrator
Dermot O’Leary, Author
Series: Toto
Imprint: Starboard
Publication date: September 10, 2026
Category: Adventure stories (Children's / Teenage)
ISBN: 9781444976502
From bestselling children’s author and broadcaster, Dermot O’Leary, comes an action-packed adventure.
Toto and her brothers, Silver and Socks, LOVE football and they support a team called Ratborough FC. But on the eve of their biggest match of the season, Ratborough’s star striker is kidnapped!
Toto and her gang must use all their ninja skills in a race across London, following clues and defeating baddies in order to rescue the striker in time to save the game! But why was he kidnapped? The answer might just be the key to unlocking an even bigger mystery…
Ideal for reading aloud or for children to curl up with and read alone, the story features brilliant black and white illustrations throughout by Nick East. With themes of friendship, inclusivity and winning in the face of adversity, this is a hilarious must-read for all animal-loving kids!
**Toto the Ninja Cat has recently been adapted into a purrfect stage play – find it in a theatre near you!**
Have you seen Toto’s other adventures? The Great Snake Escape, The Superstar Catastrophe, The Mystery Jewel Thief, The Legend of the Wildcat and The Pirate Treasure Hunt are out now, and make perfect gifts for young readers. (The books can be read by themselves or as part of the series – so pick up the title that sounds the most fun to you!)
Dermot O’Leary has also written Wings of Glory and Spy Fox – funny action-adventure stories set during the Second World War.
Dermot O’Leary is the bestselling author of the five books in the Toto the Ninja Cat series.
He started his career on T4 for Channel 4 and has also presented shows for both ITV and the BBC.
Dermot presents a Saturday morning show on BBC Radio 2, ‘Saturday Breakfast with Dermot O’Leary’. The show is produced by Ora Et Labora, the production company Dermot co-founded in 2008.
Ora Et Labora also produces Rylan’s BBC Radio 2 show, a number of podcasts and the TV show ‘Reel Stories’ for BBC2, looking back at iconic singers’ lives on screen.
In 2019, he launched a podcast, ‘People, Just People’ with Audible, featuring guests including Stephen Graham, Ed Miliband and Eni Aluko.
He lives in London with his wife Dee, their son Kasper and their cats Socks and, of course, Toto.
You can find Dermot on Twitter and Instagram: @radioleary
Nick East is the illustrator of the bestselling TOTO THE NINJA CAT series, written by Dermot O’Leary. He is also the illustrator of Michelle Robinson’s popular GOODNIGHT . . . series. He worked for many years as a museum designer but has always been a storyteller whether, as a child, filling sketchbooks with quirky characters or, as a designer, displaying a collection of ancient artefacts. Nick is based in York.