Cyril and Pat

By Author / Illustrator

Emily Gravett

Genre

Adventure

Age range(s)

Publisher

Pan Macmillan

ISBN

9781509857272

Format

Hardback

Published

12-07-2018

Synopsis

Cyril and Pat is a very funny, rhyming story about friendship from everybody's favourite picture book creator and twice winner of the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal, Emily Gravett.

'Enormous fun to read aloud.' - Guardian

Cyril is the only squirrel in Lake Park, and he's very lonely. Until one day he meets Pat - Pat the big, grey . . . other squirrel. Cyril and Pat have lots of adventures and fun together and Cyril is so pleased he's made a friend. But everyone is adamant that Cyril and Pat simply cannot be friends, and they soon reveal why: Pat, as the reader has known all along, is actually a RAT!

But Cyril's life turns out to be a lot duller and quite a bit scarier without Pat by his side, and in the end the two friends learn that some things are more important than being the same, or listening to others.

Reviews

This is a lovely story about friendship, and difference, brought to life by two animals. The story follows the adventures of Cyril and Pat. Cyril the squirrel finds a friend in Pat, who he believes is also a squirrel. However the reader - and the other animals in the book - realised that Pat is actually a rat! Pat and Cyril play games together and roam through the park having fun. Many animals try and tell Cyril about his friend being different but they are having too much fun to listen properly. Eventually, however, the other animals send Pat away and Cyril doesn't stop them. Now he is left to play alone which he realises is no fun! He also ends up in lots of trouble - will his friend be around to save him? This story demonstrates the importance of difference and explores friendships between those with different qualities. It also has some beautiful illustrations! There is a rhyming pattern in the book which children will really enjoy spotting and trying to guess which words are coming next, once they have spotted the pattern - my class love doing this during whole class story time with rhyming books! Picture Book / Ages 5+ / Reviewed by Lucy Newton, teacher