Lui Sit introduces her eco-adventure, Land of the Last Wildcat
About Author
Lui Sit's debut children's book, Land of the Last Wildcat, takes us on a journey to a lush island and myths about a magical creature.
Lui was born in Hong Kong, raised in Australia and she now lives in London. She fell in love with reading, then writing when she learned English at primary school. She started writing plays and then poetry when, aged 9, she got paid $5 for her first ever publication - A Ballad of War.
As an adult, she has worked in the arts, education, publishing and charity sectors, but has always wanted to be an author.
Image ©Rebecca Cresta Photography
Interview
Lui Sit introduces her eco-adventure, Land of the Last Wildcat (Macmillan Children's Books)
May 2025
After her class visit to a local museum goes badly wrong, Puffin finds herself on an unexpected adventure to help return a magical creature to its native home; a mysterious island with ancient legends about healing wildcats that once roamed freely.
ReadingZone spoke with debut author Lui Sit to find out what inspired her novel, Land of the Last Wildcat, which is illustrated by David Dean, and for tips to help young writers in creating their own mythical creature.
Find out more about Land of the Last Wildcat Download a chapter extract
Review: "An exciting ecological adventure, especially for those who love science, animals or are ecology-mad!"
Lui Sit explores the inspiration behind Land of the Last Wildcat, and gives her writing tips
"Through viewing nature as an endless resource for human use and consumption,
we only hurt ourselves as a species in the long run."
1. Thank you for joining us on ReadingZone! Can you tell us a little about yourself, your pet loves and hates and what gets you up in the mornings?
Thanks for inviting me! In truth, I think I get up in the morning so I can drink that first cup of coffee! (The first sip is always the best). Some of my favourite things include writing, walking, dancing and coffee so a day that involves all of those things is a good day for me. I dislike cold, grey damp weather so if I can do all the above under sunny skies, even better!
2. How did you start in writing for children, and what kinds of stories do you enjoy writing?
Middle grade fiction is my favourite area in children's books. The books I read at that age had such a big impact on me so it's no coincidence that the first book I wrote (Land of the Last Wildcat) is a middle grade story. I like writing middle grade because you're writing for readers who still believe in blurring the boundaries between magic and reality. I like that anything is possible in children's middle grade fiction. I especially like writing books where the setting is contemporary but there is an element of wonder and magic that can feel potentially real.
3. What happens in your new book, Land of the Last Wildcat?
In the story, you meet ten year old Puffin Lau and a special wildcat called the kuri that can heal. Puffin's mum, Allegra, is a research scientist who specialises in the study of these wildcats and believes a kuri exists in the world even though no-one has seen one for hundreds of years. Much like a unicorn or phoenix, most people believe that the kuri is either a myth or doesn't exist anymore.
One day on a school trip to her mum's workplace, Puffin and her friend Lance stumble on a kuri locked up in one of the labs. Puffin realises that the kuri's life is in danger; it's been captured in order to find out how it can heal. So imagine if you've caught a unicorn - would you cut off its horn to see how it heals? Would you experiment on a phoenix to see why its tears are healing? This is what lies in store for the kuri, so Puffin and Lance embark on an epic journey in an attempt to save it.
4. You've described Land of the Last Wildcat, as your 'love letter to the beauty of the natural world'. As a child, what helped your love of nature to take root?
Near my childhood home in Australia, there were areas of urban bushland in which I used to play. It's from this time exploring nature alone and with friends that my love of the natural world took root. As an adult, I like to spend time walking outside so seek out natural spaces to do this. I also love the sea and spend as much time in or besides it as possible.
5. What helped inspire the idea for this book - an island where Wildcats help to keep the balance of nature?
The whole ecological ethos of wildcats being integral to Linger Island's wellbeing came about when I explored why it was important for the kuri to be in her native environment. I borrowed the premise (from the natural world) that removing a key element (the kuri) from the environment of Linger Island would disrupt the ecological balance of the island with grave consequences.
This in part was drawn from my time working on campaigns to stop the logging of ancient forests in Western Australia. When you go into forests that have taken thousands of years to form, you see the balance of nature is drastically compromised when you remove a part of that ecosystem. For instance, chopping down an eight hundred-year-old tree affects many species that relied on that tree for survival. I simply took this experience and applied it to my story.
6. Is the setting drawn from any places you know? How did your Linger Island and the magical elements develop?
The inspiration for Linger Island came from a variety of sources. One was Easter Island, primarily because of the moai statues found there. I've always been fascinated by these giant stone figures so drew on them when I created the azarine. Old Glow on Linger Island is inspired by the ancient karri and tingle trees in the southwest forests of Western Australia. Giant's Cave actually exists in Western Australia and Ferret Tunnel is based on the Hong Kong - Kowloon underwater tunnel which fascinated me as a child. I used to hold my breath every time we went through it.
The magical elements evolved with each rewrite! But once I had a cat that could heal, I needed to get to the source of how it does this. I drew on the idea that native wild animals thrive in their natural habitat. The kuri needs to be on Linger Island. What is unique to Linger Island? The azarine. So when joining the dots that the kuri and azarine need one another, that is how that magical relationship developed.
7. The reader learns that Puffin's links to Linger Island come through her father. Why did you want your character to have dual heritage, and how important is representation through stories for you as an author?
My daughter is multiple heritage. When she was growing up, there were very few books available to her with protagonists of multiple heritage. I did not like that she could not see herself in the books she read. This was also my experience as a Chinese kid growing up in Australia. I never saw myself in any of the books I read, unless it was a folktale or myth. But I wanted to see myself in contemporary stories and there were none. So that's why Puffin has multiple heritage.
8. There is a strong threat of environmental collapse through Land of the Last Wildcat. How does the story help to show the interdependence of man and nature
Humans are not separate from nature. This is what Puffin realises when she stands at the base of Old Glow and reflects on the origin of the kuri's healing abilities. Smoult, on the other hand, sees nature as resource, quite separate from himself. Through his story arc, I attempted to show that through viewing nature as an endless resource for human use and consumption, we only hurt ourselves as a species in the long run.
9. Other than a great adventure, what would you like your readers to take from the Land of the Last Wildcat?
I would love readers to take away the power of real friendship - how one truly good, loyal friend can be better than having multitudes. Also how found family is just as real and important as blood relatives. Also that it's not just adults that can affect change.
10. Will we see more of Puffin in future stories? What are you writing currently, and what does a favourite day away from your notebook look like?
I am currently writing a second book featuring Puffin and Lance on another adventure. A favourite day away from writing involves moving my body in some way through a dance class (my favourite is West End Workout), yoga, running, swimming - but not all at once! I like walking and listening to music while I choreograph dance routines in my head or dream up new ideas. Spending time with friends and family is always good. I like exploring new places too so anytime that can happen is great!
Creative challenge: What kinds of discussions would you like to see take place during a reading of Land of the Last Wildcat? Can you suggest a way to take this further, perhaps in letter writing or a display?
Some suggested discussion points are:
- What is the balance between looking after nature and utilising natural resources?
- Are humans separate from nature? Do you think we act as if we are?
- Should all rules and laws be followed? Why? Why not?
- What would you do if you discovered a unique animal with a special ability?
- Should young people have more freedom? What would more freedom look like?
- Do you think Puffin and Lance did the right thing? Why? Why not? What would you have done in their shoes?
- If you had a birthbond, what would you wish your birthbond to be with?
Suggested activities:
- Display ideas: As in the book, where the children form a kuri shaped collage on the wall with orange slips of paper, this could be replicated in the classroom where children write what their birthbond might be?
- Letter writing: Another idea is they imagine they are on Linger Island and have to write a letter home to friends or family about their time there.
- Creating a campaign poster: A final suggestion is that the children determine something within nature they feel strongly needs preservation and construct a poster about why it is important to preserve this particular thing.
Land of the Last Wildcat
