Tibs the Post Office Cat

By Author / Illustrator

Joyce Dunbar, Claire Fletcher

Genre

Adventure

Age range(s)

Publisher

words & pictures

ISBN

9781910277201

Format

Hardback

Published

20-04-2017

Synopsis

Meet Tibs, son of Toodle, son of Tiddles, son of Toby. A trusted employee of the Post Office. Tibs is paid 2s 6d a week to catch mice but he prefers making friends with them! Join Tibs on a curious cat and mouse adventure where everything is not quite what it seems....

There was trouble at the Post Office: holes in the mails sacks! Letters torn to shreds! Stamps licked through to the glue! When the postmaster discovers that mice are to blame, he decides to employ a brave new cat to sort them out. Tibs comes from a long line of Post Office cats, so his new career should be a piece of cake, except that instead of catching the mice, Tibs would rather make friends with them! Can Tibs teach them how to tidy up, instead of nibbling the post, and will he be able to deliver the reward that he promised? Soon, these unlikely friends are on an adventure that takes them down to the underground Mail Rail where, together, Tibs and the mice find themselves catching more than they bargained for!

This charming story based on the life of a real cat called Tibs who was employed by Post Office in the 1950s to catch mice, earning a tidy sum of 2s 6d a week for his dedicated service. With a career spanning 14 years, the real Tibs became a Post Office celebrity. Featuring a cast of warm and loveable characters, this book will have children captivated by a nostalgic world of stamps, letters and underground mail trains.

Reviews

Joyce Dunbar has created a lovely book based on what is said to be a real cat: Tibs. The story is set in the 1950s, an age where the post was sorted by hand and many, many letters were handled each day. Tibs comes from a long line of famous Post Office cats and his day has come to rid the Post Office of pesky mice. This turns out to be easier said than done, as Tibs is too kind hearted to this. Rather than getting rid of the mice, Tibs simply creates a way in which mice, cat and human can all coexist harmoniously. Complete with a humorous ending, this heartwarming story will be enjoyed by children between 4 and 7 years old. We read this in my year 1 class and hear are some of the things the children said about it: 'It is fantastic!' 'I love the ending' 'The pictures are beautiful.' They all wanted to recommend the book to the rest of KS1 as well as their mums and dads. As the reader of the book, my own critique would be that the story doesn't flow as well as it could. This book would be a great read during a British History topic in school, especially in KS1.