Dave Pigeon 1. How to deal with bad cats and keep (most of) your feathers by Swapna Haddon, illus. Sheena Dempsey.

Dave Pigeon. How to deal with bad cats and keep (most of) your feathers by Swapna Haddon, illus. Sheena Dempsey. Pub. Faber & Faber, 2016.

This is the first of a series of books about a lovable but lucky pigeon called Dave. He loves himself, is very competitive, not that bright, likes to get the better of other pigeons in the race to that tender morsel at any cost, but in spite of that, he is successful.

Why’s that you may ask? because he has a true friend in Skipper who not only gets Dave out of scraps but writes or narrates these tales.

These books are for your newly confident reader who may be reluctant but will follow a series if there is enough going on. I am happy to say there is a lot going on and in this book Dave and Skipper have found a human who is good to them but she has a mean cat who will rip their feathers off if given a chance.

The cat has to go but how? You will have to read the book to find out. Dave’s efforts are bizarre and Skipper is going to be tested.

Sheena Dempsey illustrates superbly with the cat being a beauty. For readers 7-10 years.