Scout the School Cat Read online

  “Hey, Lila, maybe you could come and meet my rabbit this weekend?” suggested Charlotte when it was her turn to stroke Scout.

  “Oh, I’d love to. Thanks,” said Lila, blushing. She caught Kitty’s eye and gave her a huge smile.

  Kitty beamed back. Her Show and Tell plan had worked. Lila had shown her class what made her special—and she’d made lots of new friends!

  Chapter 7

  Kitty and Lila walked out of school together a short while later, carrying Scout’s basket between them. Scout was snuggled inside, purring. Lila was grinning proudly. It seemed like everyone in school was talking about her and her kitten.

  “That was the best Show and Tell ever, Lila,” one boy in her class called as he ran past her.

  “Oh, thanks, Charlie!” said Lila happily.

  “Don’t forget about meeting Clive this weekend, Lila! That’s my rabbit!” said Charlotte, waving.

  “I can’t wait!” replied Lila.

  Grandma was waiting at the school gates to walk both Kitty and Lila home. “Well, I can tell from your faces that Show and Tell was a big success!” she said, chuckling. “Tell me all about it!”

  “Everyone loved Scout!” said Lila excitedly. “And once I’d started telling everyone about Scout, everyone wanted to talk to me, too! I didn’t know so many other kids in my class liked animals, especially cats. They’re all so friendly, and it felt much easier with Scout there. And you, Kitty.”

  “Well done, Kitty-cat,” Grandma whispered. “I’m very proud of you for helping out your new friend.”

  “I still have one more thing to do,” Kitty whispered back. “Lila has lots of friends at school now, but I have to make sure that Scout isn’t lonely while Lila’s gone!”

  When they reached Lila’s house, Lila ran up the garden path. “Mom! Dad!” she shouted. “I had so much fun at school today!”

  Lila’s parents appeared at the door, smiling. “I’m very happy to hear that!” said Lila’s mom. “So Show and Tell went well?”

  Lila eagerly began telling them about her day, while Kitty and Grandma brought the basket to the door. Lila’s mom thanked them. “You’ve been such a good buddy to Lila, Kitty,” she told her. “And you’ve done such a great job of looking after Scout today, too! Was she any trouble on the way home?”

  “Trouble?” said Kitty, surprised. “No, why?”

  “Oh, that’s good to hear! It’s just that she ran away from home earlier this week. Lila’s dad saw her running across a really busy road, and we were so worried about her. We’ve had to keep her inside all week. It’s been really hard—she does love playing outdoors.”

  Now it was time for Kitty to put the next part of her plan into action! “Scout was really well-behaved all day,” she explained. “I think when she ran away, she might just have been following Lila to school. Cats are really smart, you know. They can tell when a human is feeling upset or nervous, like Lila was.”

  “That’s very true,” added Grandma.

  “I didn’t know that!” said Lila’s mom, looking impressed. “Lila and Scout are very close.”

  “Now that Scout has been to school with Lila, and she’s seen how happy Lila is there, I don’t think she’ll run away again,” Kitty said. She crossed her fingers tightly. Had she said the right things?

  Lila’s mom looked thoughtful. “You know, I think you may be right,” she said. “We just wanted to keep her safe, but Scout has seemed so unhappy being cooped up in the house these last few days. Maybe we’ll let her into the yard tomorrow and see how it goes.”

  “Great!” said Kitty, grinning.

  She helped Lila open the basket and gently lift out Scout, who was meowing happily and trying to lick Kitty’s hands. Kitty couldn’t talk to Scout while Lila and her parents were here, but she knew what Scout was trying to say. She had heard what Lila’s mom had just told Kitty. Scout was going to be allowed back outside—and she couldn’t wait!

  Kitty hugged Lila and scratched Scout’s head, then set off back down the garden path with Grandma. “Bye, Kitty!” called Lila, waving. “Thanks for being the best buddy ever!”

  “See you tomorrow, Lila!” said Kitty, smiling.

  As she and Grandma turned the corner, Kitty grabbed a twig from the ground and knelt down to scratch a triangle in the trunk of a nearby tree. “Another Cat Council meeting?” said Grandma. “What for, Kitty? I thought you had solved Scout’s problem!”

  “There’s just one more thing I need to ask the cats,” explained Kitty mysteriously. “You’ll see, Grandma!”

  “Wait for us, Kitty!”

  Kitty was halfway to school the next morning when she heard footsteps behind her. She turned to see Mia, Jenny, and Evie rushing up the street.

  “Hi, guys!” said Kitty.

  “We were hoping we’d catch up with you!” said Jenny, panting. “Mia told us that the kitten we were looking for has been found.”

  “We couldn’t believe it!” said Evie, grinning. “It’s the best news!”

  “Yes, she was right under our noses the whole time!” said Kitty, laughing.

  “Well, I’m just glad that she’s safe and happy,” said Mia, smiling. “She’s such a cute little kitten.”

  Just then, in a flash of black, gray, and ginger fur, three cats ran past them on the street. “Wow, they’re in a hurry!” joked Jenny. “I wonder what they’re up to?”

  Kitty smiled as the cats leaped over a fence, headed in the direction of Scout’s house. At the Cat Council meeting last night, she had asked for volunteer buddies—cats who would keep Scout company during the day, while Lila was at school. Every single cat wanted to volunteer! In fact, they were going to have to take turns. Otherwise, Kitty thought Lila’s parents might wonder why their yard was suddenly full of cats.

  Lila and Scout now had plenty of friends in their town, and Kitty felt lucky that she could be friends with them both. Plus, she had her best friends—three of them. Jenny, Evie, and Mia.

  “Looks like they’re having a race,” she said, watching the cats disappear out of sight. “Come on, let’s see who can get to school fastest! Ready, set, go!”

  And Kitty Kimura and her best friends flew down the street together.

  MEET THE CATS

  Kitty

  Kitty is a little girl

  who can magically

  turn into a cat!

  She is the Guardian

  of the Cat Council.

  Tiger

  Tiger is a big,

  brave tabby tomcat.

  He is leader of the

  Cat Council.

  Suki

  Suki is Kitty’s

  grandmother.

  She can magically

  turn into a cat too!

  Misty

  Misty is Kitty’s best

  cat friend. She

  loves snoozing in

  the sunshine.

  Sooty

  Sooty is a black and

  white cat. Her favorite

  food is sardines, and she

  doesn’t like surprises.

  Scout

  Scout little kitten who

  loves her owner, Lila!

  She also loves playing outdoors

  with her new cat friends.

  Except for kittens (who

  meow for their mothers),

  cats don’t meow to

  communicate with each

  other, only with humans.

  The oldest recorded living

  cat was Crème Puff of

  Austin, Texas, who lived to

  be 38 years and 3 days old.

  Abraham Lincoln kept four

  cats in the White House.

  When his wife, Mary Todd

  Lincoln, was asked if he

  had any hobbies, she supposedly

  said, “Cats.”

  Cats have 230 bones—

  24 more bones than

  humans!

  Along with camels and

  giraffes, c
ats are the only

  animals that walk by moving

  both their right feet, then

  both their left.

  Ella Moonheart grew up telling fun and exciting stories to anyone who would listen. Now that she’s an author, she’s thrilled to be able to tell stories to so many more children with her Kitty’s Magic books. Ella loves animals, but cats most of all! She wishes she could turn into one just like Kitty, but she’s happy to just play with her pet cat, Nibbles—when she’s not writing her books, of course!

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  First published in the United States of America in September 2020 by Bloomsbury Children’s Books

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  Text copyright © 2020 by Working Partners Ltd

  Illustrations copyright © 2020 by Dave Williams

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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Moonheart, Ella, author.

  Title: Scout the school cat / by Ella Moonheart.

  Description: New York : Bloomsbury, 2020. | Series: Kitty’s magic ; 7 |

  Summary: As the new school year starts and many students worry about making friends, Kitty Kimura, a human girl who can transform into a cat, tries to help an unhappy kindergartner and find a missing kitten.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2020021995 (print) | LCCN 2020021996 (e-book)

  ISBN: 978-1-5476-0492-0 (HB)

  ISBN: 978-1-5476-0491-3 (PB)

  ISBN: 978-1-5476-0493-7 (eBook)

  Subjects: CYAC: Cats—Fiction. | Magic—Fiction. | Shapeshifting—Fiction. | Friendship—Fiction. | First day of school—Fiction. | Schools—Fiction. | Japanese Americans—Fiction.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.1.M653 Sc 2020 (print) | LCC PZ7.1.M653 (e-book) | DDC [Fic]—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020021995

  LC e-book record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020021996

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