Before reading

Close your eyes and imagine. You are walking in the rain. You are on a quiet road. Next to you is a bus stop. The bus stop has a wooden bench. Something is under the bench. What do you see?

• Are you freezing, cold, cool, warm, hot or boiling?

• Is it a light or dark? Dawn? Morning? Afternoon? Twilight? Evening? Night?

• What can you hear? Are you alone?

• What can you smell? Is it sweet or sour? Delicate or strong?

• How do you feel? Are you relaxed or scared? Nervous or confident?

Now read the story and do the quiz.

Deep reading: test yourself and think

As you read the story, take the chapter quizzes to test your knowledge, comprehension and memory. Then think about or discuss the story in a deeper way.

Chapter 1: On my way home

1. What did the narrator find under the bench?

  • A. A kitten
  • B. A dog
  • C. A cat
  • D. A bird

2. What did the cat do when the narrator first tried to approach it?

  • A. It purred and came closer.
  • B. It ignored the narrator.
  • C. It hissed and scratched.
  • D. It ran away.

3. Why does the narrator keep coming back to the bench despite the cat’s hostile reactions?

  • A. They want to adopt the cat.
  • B. They feel a sense of responsibility and empathy.
  • C. They are curious about why the cat is there.
  • D. They want to prove that they are a nice person.

Think: Why do you think nobody is looking at the cat?

Chapter 2: Good Girl

4. What did the narrator hear?

  • A. A purr.
  • B. Thunder.
  • C. A bus coming.
  • D. Rain.

5. Why did it get brighter?

  • A. The narrator used their phone as a torch?
  • B. The moon came out.
  • C. A bus was coming.
  • D. The clouds moved.

6. How do you think the boy was feeling as he walked away from the cat?

  • A. Sad to go.
  • B. Worried the cat was following.
  • C. Very happy to have met a lovely cat.
  • D. Scared the cat was going to run into the road.
Why do you think Sarah only used bright colours on the phones?
Chapter 3. Home.

7. What did the cat do with the leaves in the park?

  • A. Ignore them.
  • B. Dance with them.
  • C. Chase them.
  • D. Eat them.

8. What type of pie MIGHT the family eat? Look for a BIG clue.

  • A. Cheese.
  • B. Fruit.
  • C. Meat.
  • D. Vegetable.

9. Who or what is the narrator? (use the illustration to help you)

  • A. A nice person who walked home at the same time every day.
  • B. A ghost who liked cats.
  • C. Another cat.
  • D. A ghost who could leave life now they have helped the cat.

Think quick: Did you guess the narrator was a ghost? What clues can you find? Think about 'touch' and what happens.

Think deep: Look closely at the final illustration. Why does the family have a cat basket if they have no cat? Why might the cat help the family?

After reading

Think about what is would be like to be a ghost. Write down three good things and three bad things.

Reflect: Creative writing

Now try and make these 6 things into a very short story or poem.

Imagine you are waiting at a bus stop in the rain. What are you thinking about? Write down your thoughts.

Do you believe in ghosts? Discuss in class evidence for and against ghosts existing. A ghost is a 'soul'. Do you think people have souls? Do you think an animal can have a soul?

Project: Tell a story

Ghost stories are popular around the world. There have been many movies and TV series based on these stories. If you know a ghost story tell it briefly to your class. If you don't know one, find one and then tell it. But don't read it. Tell the story in your own words.

Sarah, the illustrator says...

This was a challenging one to illustrate. I felt that the story is about people ignoring what is around them. I tried to show that with my second picture and just used colour to show what people were concentrating on. Did you get that? When I first read the story I thought the cat was going to be the ghost. Did you? And I added the photo of the old man and the cat in the final picture because Andy told me that the grandad of the family used to have a cat. But then the grandad and his cat both died and that is why the family have a spare cat basket. I think that is lovely that they can try and fill that loss with the new cat 'Lucky'.

Andy talks about writing the story

Quiz Answers

  • 1. C
  • 2. C
  • 3. B
  • 4. A
  • 5. D
  • 6. C
  • 7. C
  • 8. B
  • 9. D