Dan Metcalf

Paw Prints in the Somme Dan Metcalf

The realities of World War One on the front line, as experienced by a naïve young kitten. When young farm cat Tom is transported from his home in Devon to the trenches of World War One, he makes firm friends with boy soldier Jim. Adopting Tom as his lucky charm, Jim promises to get Tom home to Devon if he makes sure he gets through the war. Tom uses his senses and instinct to protect his friend, fighting his own fears and battles along the way. Between 1914 and 1918, thousands of cats were sent to the trenches in Belgium and France. This is the story of just one. In the centenary of the Great Wars, find out how lives were lived and lost in the trenches of the Somme. One hundred years on, ensure that we remember the fallen. - Fact driven and fully researched to give readers an accurate impression of life in wartime. - Ties in with history curriculum and the current centenary of the Great War. - The cat protagonist provides an impartial viewer of the fighting. - Contains educational glossary and afterword. - Inspired by tales such as Blitzcat by Robert Westall and The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips by Michael Morpurgo- Provides a view of war from the point of view of an innocent bystander like Fireweed by Jill Paton Walsh.