Wild Cat
Collins Big Cat, 2012. ISBN 7780-00-742833-5. Illustrated by Zara Slattery.
Click here to buy Wild Cat from Amazon UK
There was something strange happening in the valley where Catrin lived. When she looked out of the window at night, she felt as if something was out there on the dark mountain, moving softly, watching.
Wild Cat is a mystery story set in Wales. A strange creature is haunting the mountains – its shivery howl can be heard at night. Catrin can hear it, and soon the new English boy who has come to her school can hear it too. They set off on an exciting adventure to find out what it is.
Wild Cat is loosely based on my children’s opera of the same name, which was commissioned by Welsh National Opera and performed throughout England and Wales. You can read about it on my Using music page.
Writing tip
What do you know about wild cats? Are they extinct, or do they still exist? Wild cats have been seen in the Scottish mountains, and I have seen one in a wildlife sanctuary four miles from where I live. But they are very, very rare. Perhaps you could write a story about a wild animal that is in danger of becoming extinct. Find out as much as you can about it, where it lives, what it looks like, then imagine yourself going on an expedition to find it. And then what would you do? Would you take it to a zoo, so many people would be able to see it? Would you take it to a sheltered environment, so it could live in the wild and be protected and observed? Or would you leave it exactly where you found it, in its natural environment?
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