Murray the Viking by Adam Stower

Murray the cat enjoys living the good life with Fumblethumb the wizard, a life made even better when Fumblethumb accidentally turns one of Murray's favourite buns into a bunny, complete with a cherry for a tail. But when he messes up again and turns the cat flap into a gateway to adventure, instead of just the garden, then the fun really starts...

In this new series for newly independent readers consolidating their skills, the cat flap takes Murray and Bun back to the times of the Vikings where they are given an important mission to travel to Troll Island to rescue Eggrik the Viking. if he hasn't already been gobbled up by the trolls, that is.

Simple text, humour and full of illustrations that carry the story along at a rapid pace, this is a great stepping stone between everyday readers and novels that will have wide appeal because of its outlandish characters and original adventures, as well as introducing them to historical fiction, perhaps sparking an interest in the time period. Something new to offer those moving forward on their reading journey as they go through their own cat flap of adventure to the world of stories.

Themes: Cats, Magic, Rabbits, Vikings, Trolls.

Barbara Braxton