Lionboy

Charlie Ashanti is ten years old, and one day his parents are taken. He has no idea who is behind it or what they want, but he has no intention of waiting around for answers. Charlie sets out to find them himself.

He has one gift that no one else around him shares: he can talk to cats, and they talk back. Along the way he turns to a whole range of feline allies, from alley cats roaming the city streets to powerful lions kept in cages. Each helps him in their own way as he works out where his parents might be.

With plenty of quick thinking and nerve, Charlie races to reach them before time runs out. The story moves fast and keeps the tension high. It was written by a mother and daughter under the name Zizou Corder, and it is the first book in a trilogy that readers of many ages have enjoyed.