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Lucas the Spy Cat
A Children's Mystery Adventure with Creativity and Imagination Boosting Activities
by Samantha Shannon
This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
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Pub Date Oct 05 2022 | Archive Date Dec 19 2023
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Description
No one knows where Lucas goes each night,
but we think he might be a superhero or a spy.
What happens when we do some spying of our own?
Will we finally find out what he does away from home
Lucas is no ordinary cat!
Though the family suspects, they don't truly know where it is their cat Lucas really goes. He walks out the door at night, with a gravely meow "good-bye", and doesn't come home till the morning light. Lucas' family is determined to find out where their cat goes and what he does, so they attach a spy camera to Lucas' collar, hoping to find out the truth about his secret identity.
Mysteries & Capers
Wherever he goes and whatever he does, his family is sure that Lucas and his forest pals are solving mysteries of all shapes and sizes!
Children will love following along with Lucas and his pals as they keep their neighborhood safe a sound. Who will they save next, or what mystery will they solve? The mysteries will be surprising and, best of all, fun! Join the fun as some animals need rescuing, while others need a friend or learn how to dance.
Superheroes and Superfans
Kids will love becoming superfans by picking out their favorite colorful characters in Lucas' first tale, part of the award-winning, Jake the Growling Dog children's picture book series. These superheroes and spies help other forest creatures and neighbors with feats of strength, wit, problem-solving, giving a hand (or paw), and showing kindness to all creatures, great and small.
For the Love of all Critters!
Do you have a little one who loves animals of all kinds? Lucas' books highlight all sorts of animals kids love, including bugs, frogs, snakes, bats, deer, raccoons, opossums, owls, cats, dogs, turtles, and many more! Your children will have a hard time deciding who their favorite is, and they can even create their own in the activity pages.
Looking for Ways to Boost Creativity & Imagination?
Lucas and his friends love telling stories, but they also want their young readers to create their own fun. After the fun-loving story, kids and families will enjoy a hide-and-seek page, making their superhero or spy, learning about ways to encourage creativity and imagination, writing a mystery, and much more! Don't forget to visit jakethegrowlingdog.com for more additional coloring pages and activities.
Beautifully Illustrated
Lucas the Spy Cat lives in a colorful, magical neighborhood where animals help each other save the day. Young readers will enjoy colorful pages full of exciting critters like owls, bats, deer, dogs, cats, snakes, frogs, and more, all in a natural forest setting under the moonlight. Each page is beaming with bright colors, which kids will love.
Perfect Gifts for Home, Classroom, and Offices
Licensed educational counselor and top-selling children's book author Samantha Shannon builds upon her world for Jake the Growling Dog with a new spin-off book for Lucas the Spy Cat. While this fun-loving book is full of humor and colorful capers, it also includes activities and conversation starters that are sure to spark creativity and imagination in your kiddos and students. Perfect for children readers ages 4-10 or Pre-K-5th grade, but babies and toddlers will love the cute, colorful pictures, finding lighten bugs and other hidden critters, and being read this charming story.
(American, children's picture book Author, Samantha Shannon, is not the UK-based, fantasy author, Samantha Shannon).
Advance Praise
STEPHEN S.
5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging and Colorful Animal Story with A Great Lesson
Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2023
My girls have loved all of the Jake-series books by Samantha Shannon so it's no surprise that this adorable and colorful story was also a charmer (and maybe even an ultimate favorite). We were captured by the creative plot line in the book and how the elusive Lucas is so loveable and mysterious. As with all of this author's children's books, besides being entertaining, the best part is how each one teaches a valuable lesson and even includes discussion points and actionable activities. As if reading to your kiddos didn't feel good enough -- this book will make the experience even better with teaching tools and more. Grab a copy and enjoy!
Available Editions
ISBN | 9781734744750 |
PRICE | $8.99 (USD) |
PAGES | 45 |
Links
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
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I’ve never found myself so invested in finding out what a cat gets up to at night! This is an interesting story, and Lucas
Is a character that I want to read more about! I loved the activities included with the book.
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📱E-Book Review📱
Lucas, The Spy Cat
Samantha Shannon
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
This is a brilliant little quick read that also encourages interactivity too.
Anyone who owns a cat must, like me, have wondered what on earth they get up to when they slip through that cat flap and into the night.
In this book, the owners have come up with their own theories about all the exciting things Lucas does while he's out and can't wait to find out, when they pop a little camera on his collar.
What will they discover?.....
I loved this book - I always come up with super exciting theories about what our cat is doing out there all night - when most probably, he's wandering the gardens and snoozing !?
This story is entertaining and funny and I think children will enjoy following Lucas on his journey time and time again.
This rhymes which makes it the perfect story to be read aloud as it flows beautifully as you read.
I also love the really bright and colourful images that follow on each page of the story.
These are quite busy so great for smaller children to be drawn to while you read to them, and great to pause and discuss throughout the story.
At the end of the book there are also some brilliant puzzle pages for the older children to do - this would be brilliant if you have more than one child and are reading to them together.
Although to be honest - I loved doing them myself too!
A great book for any cat lovers and a lovely addition to any children's bookshelf or library. I loved this!
💕Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my ARC copy - this is my honest review 💕
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This would be a good way to encourage children to write their own stories. First an adult could read the book aloud to motivate young writers to come up with their stories about what happens at night while they’re asleep. Thinking creatively about what a family pet does at night provides a simple outline for a child’s imagination to take off.
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Fun children’s picture story book! For parent and young child to read together. For older young children to read and fill in the ‘to do’ pages at the end. For Adults to enjoy the humour. For cat lovers. For cat wonderers. For tech loving children. For using your imagination. For everyone to enjoy! Thank you to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.
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“Lucas the Spy Cat” explores what Lucas does when he leaves home each night. His human family, in an attempt to get a definitive answer, outfits Lucas’ collar with a camera. Lucas’ family speculates that he gathers with the forest animals to solve mysteries and help creatures in need. The book is delightfully illustrated by Lei Yang.
Author Samantha Shannon includes suggestions for kids and adults to get creative juices flowing (just like those of Lucas’ family as they imagine what Lucas does at night).
This story reminds me a lot of “The Cat at Night,” though Lucas is imagined to have a good relationship with all manner of forest creatures, including those he might normally consider prey.
“Lucas the Spy Cat” is great for kids who like cats and mysteries. This story would also be great to encourage imagination.
I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley and BooksGoSocial, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
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Lucas the Spy Cat is a cute story about a cat and his secret nightly adventures in the wild. It is out there in the wild that Lucas meets up with his forest friends to help solve the problems of the day.
The books is just one of a teaching series that provides life lessons in a fun and entertaining way. With cute and colorful illustrations, the book is sure to please any kindergartner or pre-schooler. The fun and interactive activities at the end of the book is a wonderful bonus that will make learning fun and enjoyable. Five stars.
I received a DRC from BooksGoSocial through NetGalley. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.
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We don't actually own a cat but we have two cats that visit us each day - one is a black cat just like Lucas so this book was already a hit with my 6 year old daughter as soon as she saw the cover!
We have often said we wonder where Rambo goes (he does have a name tag) when he goes off on his travels after his visits to us in the morning and evening as we have seen him at the bottom of our estate but we do know that he lives in a house on a different road, as he used to have the address and phone number on his tag - not great if he is a spy cat too!
The book is a great way to start a conversation about what might happen, and for children to use their imaginations. It is 4 stars from me for this one, highly recommended and certainly a hit in our house!!
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My daughter and I chose this book because we have a black cat… and guess what his name is? Lukas! My daughter was ecstatic when she saw a cat that looked like our own with the same name.
This was a quick, fun read. We both really enjoyed it. My daughter is now convinced that we need. To put a camera on our cat to see what he does while we are away throughout the day.
This book had great illustrations and a cute message. Don’t ever give up on your dreams! We loved the activities at the end of this book and will probably purchase it for ourselves given our connection to the main character. Thank you for providing us this free arc and finding us our new favorite book!
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Lucas leaves the house each night and no one knows where he goes. The family attaches a video camera to his collar so that they can record his adventures. This book has great illustrations and includes a wide variety of animals many of which seldom appear in children’s books. I especially liked that the author included suggestions for extension activities both in the preface and the appendix of the book. This would be a great addition to a preschool classroom or a home library. I thank NetGalley and Books Go Social for the opportunity to read this ARC.
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This was a cute book. I loved the pictures, very detailed picture book. I also enjoyed the real life picture of the cat at the back of the book. I think that helps make it seem more real and grabs the kids attention as well.
The author tried really hard to rhyme throughout the entire book, so much that some sentences seemed lobbed off to fit the rhyme. A little wordy for kids but did not take away from the story.
Thank you for the ARC in return for my review.
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I read this with my daughter. She is an animal lover, so she was very excited to see what a spy cat does.
The wording was at a good level for a young child and was fun and rhymed.
We loved seeing all of Lucas's friends and what they could be doing at night. The idea of placing a spy camera on a cat had my daughter laughing, and now she is very invested in trying it.
My daughter loved the extra content at the back of the book with creating own adventures and word search. I loved the suggestions for ways adults can foster imagination.
The illustrations were very cute and very detailed, which helped build the story.
Will be a hit with any child who loves adventure or animals.
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I really liked this children's book! I loved all the illustration and that there were activities at the end of the book!
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Lucas the cat loves to go out every night and meet up with his friends and his family is curious about where he goes and what he does with those friends. They attach a special camera on his collar to find out. This is a very fun picture book that includes games and puzzles at the end. Highly recommend!
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This is a fun little story about a family who tries to figure out what their cat may be up to during his nightly adventures. It is written in a loose rhyming pattern, and the illustrations are awesome!
While the story is fun for kids, my favorite part as an adult are the activities and creativity tips at the end of the book. I think these are a fantastic way to engage kids while also providing their grown-ups with ideas on how to help their child learn and play in a way that will spark creative thinking and imagination.
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I absolutely love the cover of this book & the art - so cool & fun! I'm sure kids would be obsessed with it. I'm sure all cat owners wonder where their cats go during the day, I sure do! A great story with lots of fun & illustrations that are detailed & endless.
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The colorful illustrations in this book are amazing! So vibrant and detailed, ready to leap off the page.
My cat obsessed 2nd grader picked this book for us to read. The reading level was perfect for her to be able to read or sound out most of the words herself, and the rhyming scheme, which she loved, helped her to be able to guess words she was unfamiliar with or unsure of. I hope there will be more Lucas the Spy Cat books in the future, we would buy them all!
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A wonderful story of imagination. The first thing that drew me to this book was the cat on the cover. Lucas looks regal and the illustrations are on point. As a child I was curious and had a vivid imagination. I worry the digital age will hamper imagination. This is a wonderful read aloud book and I think it would spark imagination in the minds of children. As a child I would continue to think of the many adventures of Lucas on his nightly excursions.
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I think all cats are like Lucas. Curious and love adventure. And use the spy camera is a way to check out how our cats are doing especially when night is come.
Thanks to @netgalley and the publisher for fun earc. I give 4 ⭐️
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Every pet owner wonders what their furbaby gets up to at night and this cute story filled with imagination and wonder is the answer to that.
My kids loved the detailed and colourful illustrations and all the extra activities at the end of the book made it so much more fun!
Thank you Netgalley for the review copy.
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This is a fun children’s book about Lucas the spy cat who goes on adventures at night time and spends time with lots of other animals and nature.
The illustrations are cute, great for fans of cats and animals. There is a word search and fun games at the end of the book.
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This was so funny and cute. I love how clever this cat was! I also enjoyed the illustrations and the rhyming. Yes i would recommend
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My thanks to BooksGoSocial for a review copy of this book via NetGalley.
Written in simple verse and with vivid and appealing artwork, Lucas the Spy Cat (2022) is a picture and activity book by Samantha Shannon and illustrated by Lei Yang.
The books opens with the story of Lucas, whose human sisters are interested to know what adventures he goes on when he steps out each night. They decide to find out by fitting a spycam in his collar, but before the ‘results’ come in, indulge in a little imagination, trying to think up what kinds of things Lucas might be getting up to—solving cases perhaps, or problems other animal friends have? Or even curing some animal pals who are hurt? But in the end the girls assume, the animals most certainly have a party—and as current-day animals, with music, dancing and taking selfies! When Lucas actually returns, the girls are excited to see the truth, but a surprise awaits them and us!
This is a cute little story about something anyone with cats (those that are allowed out or ‘escape’ sometimes) are sure to wonder—what do they get up to when they’re out and about? The author has included both scenarios from the children's imaginations and what really turns out—both great fun.
The verse format is enjoyable to read and fast-moving, and the artwork is lovely and colourful with not only Lucas and the girls but also an assortment of animal friends he might meet out on his adventures. I especially loved that photographs of the real-life Lucas and his (cat) sister, Nemo were included at the end.
After the story are also activity pages including a word-finding puzzle, hidden images, counting the cats, and space for the kids to create their own adventure with Lucas, pages children can spend a fair bit of time with after they’ve finished reading or between reads. There are also some helpful tips for teachers and adults working with children for activities to help increase creativity, the key to developing different ways of thinking and much problem solving across one’s life.
A great book for the intended audience for both the story and the many other fun activities (on the pages and which teachers/parents can have them do with the prompts given) it will allow them to enjoy.
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Lucas the Spy Cat is chaotic, imaginative, and absolutely hysterical. The art work adds another layer of comedy to each page, every square inch of each page has a new fun thing to notice.
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I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are my own opinions.
I very much enjoyed joining Lucas and his friends on their adventure. Although I would be iffy reading this to a classroom for the sole fact that it's illegal to have roaming cats in my city, the story is too cute not to share. I like the tips to encourage creativity as well. It's, quite frankly, the perfect children's book.
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Very cute little story about a cat's adventures. The rhymes are not quite as tight as some of my favorites are but the whimsical pictures offer a lot for a child to explore on a bedtime adventure.
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This was a fun read. Mainly because the illustrations were so awesome. I loved reading the adventures of Lucas, the cat. I mean, I often wondered about the things in the book and that's why it was such fun to see what Lucas was up to in the book.
It is very cute and lovable story. I love Lucas so much. The captivating illustrations just add to the awesome plot and make it so interesting that I wanted to read it again and again.
Thank you Netgalley for the copy of such an awesome book!
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I thought this was an adorable children’s book with wonderful illustrations! This book encourages imaginative thinking and includes activities at the end to help build on those skills. I enjoyed reading this book and would read it to young children!
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What a cute book. A short and interesting adventure to read to your young ones before bed. Imagine what our furry friends do when we are not around.. I found this to be entertaining and quick.
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Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Kids books usually make me feel warm and fuzzy and working in youth services at a library really allows me to explore new kids books. Also, this cat looks super rad and I feel like a spy theme should be playing when it's being read.
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Lucas is a mystery loving cat with a great sense of adventure as he embarks on meeting with new forest friends and solving problems. Great interactive book my daughters loved. The illustrations were beautiful and grabbed your attention.
Thank you Netgalley for this copy for my honest review.
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