Find fantastic free resources and discover new books from award-winning authors
Menu
Dermot O’Leary, Author
Nick East, Illustrator
Series: Toto
Imprint: Hodder Children's Books
Publication date: September 20, 2018
Category: Adventure stories (Children's / Teenage)
ISBN: 9781444939477
From bestselling children’s author and TV broadcaster, Dermot O’Leary, comes an action-packed new adventure from Toto the ninja cat – when all the cheese in the world disappears, it’s up to her to sniff it out! Purrfect for fans of The Aristocats, The Secret Life of Pets and Atticus Claw Breaks the Law.
Toto, the amazing ninja cat, is back and cooler than ever! Toto is almost blind, but that doesn’t stop her having brilliant adventures.
Something CAT-ASTROPHIC has happened: ALL the cheese in the world has been stolen. Join Toto, her brother Silver and their best friend Catface on a secret mission to save the day. Toto is going to need all her ninja skills to defeat the fur-midable cheese thief . . .
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 gentle themes of friendship, inclusivity and winning in the face of adversity, this is a hilarious must-read for all animal-loving kids!
Dermot says: ‘The idea for Toto first came to me when my wife and I rescued two stray cats from an olive grove in Italy. One of them, Toto, has been blind from birth, but we quickly realised she had ninja-like reactions. Like a lot of cat owners (or cat servants), we like to imagine our pets having secret lives when we’re out or asleep. So before I knew it I was writing about Toto and her brother Silver’s nocturnal adventures around London. I really hope that children who pick it up enjoy reading the adventures of our little Italian underdog (cat).’
Have you seen Toto’s other adventures? The Great Snake Escape, The Superstar Catastrophe, The Mystery Jewel Thief and The Legend of the Wildcat are out now, and make perfect gifts for young readers.
For more animal adventures, discover Wings of Glory. Can one tiny bird help to win a world war? A funny action-adventure story with a feathery twist, from the bestselling children’s author of Toto the Ninja Cat, Dermot O’Leary, with glorious illustrations throughout by Claire Powell.
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.
Related Book: Wings of Glory
Book Creator: Dermot O’Leary, Claire Powell
Set during the Battle of Britain in 1940, Dermot O’Leary’s brand new book, Wings of Glory, tells the story of the war effort from the point of view of the animal kingdom, in an accessible, child-friendly way with lots of action-adventure, humour and bird poo! Perfect for KS2 classrooms and those studying World War Two and the Battle of Britain.
Watch a video of Dermot reading an extract here: https://youtu.be/I6G8iuQD_Bg
Download our fun activity sheet pack, including quizzes, extracts, wordsearch and more here.
Themes: WW2, Battle of Britain | History | Courage | Animals