Barney Willow thinks life couldn't get any worse. He's weedy, with sticky-out ears. Horrible Gavin Needle loves tormenting him - Barney has no idea why. And headteacher-from-hell Miss Whipmire seems determined to make every second of Barney's existence a complete misery!

Worst of all, Dad has been missing for almost a year, and there's no sign of him ever coming home.

Barney just wants to escape. To find another life...Being a cat, for example. A quiet, lazy cat. Things would be so much easier - right? Barney's about to discover just how wrong he is. Because he's about to wake up as a cat - and not just any cat.

Gavin Needle's cat...This is a fast, exciting story from the winner of the Gold Smarties Award, with illustrations from the brilliantly dark and mischievous Pete Williamson.