Six Dinner Sid: A Highland Adventure

Six Dinner Sid #2

by Inga Moore

Six-Dinner Sid has been settled at Pythagoras Place for some time - but what happens when all his six owners decide to go on vacation at the same time? How will Sid get his six dinners a day?
Illustrated in Inga Moore's fine, classic watercolor style, and told with gentle humor, this brand-new Sid adventure, is destined to join the original story to become a much-loved classic picture book.

Genres: Cats, Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction

32 pages, Paperback

Published September 9, 2010

About the author

Inga Moore is a distinguished author and illustrator of children’s books whose illustrated titles include acclaimed versions of THE SECRET GARDEN and THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS. She lives in England.

Reviews

[Jan-Maat]

As I my have mentioned, I was obliged to read Six Dinner Sid this summer, since then my niece has come into possession of it's sequel -note not called Seven Dinner Sid or Son of Sid. The niece has reached a stage in her development that makes me laugh until I cry - the liberal use of the word 'no', so when I suggested to her that we read some stories, her answer was 'no, stories!' instead she preferred to watch me brush my teeth, I had never considered that me brushing my teeth would be more interesting than reading a story, but there you go - it is not like I have one tooth like a Narwhal that requires careful and attentive cleaning.

Anyhow because I am a wicked Uncle who is quite happy to teach the niece to drink alcohol free beer, or to take great bites out of her rice cakes (blurgh), I read her picture book anyway just on my own, soon I was daydreaming about endless sequels until Sid became obese and had to attend Food Addicts Anonymous - there were six addicts in Sid's group. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. And Sid. Meow.

I was very surprised to note that this book was published in 2010, the clothes of the inhabitants of Pythagoras spell check knows how to spell Pythagoras - which is more than I can do Place, suggests an earlier era, specifically the children's books I recall from the 1980s, perhaps Inga Moore was inspired by Shirley Hughes? Or is this another nod to the unconventional behaviours of Pythagorians?

In this adventure the denizens of Pythagoras Place determine to go on holiday, as the title implies to the Scottish Highlands, in the era of cheap flights and expensive rail travel this struck me as a curious choice, but just possibly these feline adventures are not strictly part of the social realist canon, unlike Harry the Dirty Dog, The Snail and the Whale, or The Tiger who came to Tea (damned Tigers coming round here drinking all the water out of the pipes are getting to be a real problem, I blame global warming, or lax security in zoos, or something of that ilk).

In a nice touch, the Pythagorians settle in a neat terrace of holiday chalets, Sid ventures forth in search of additional dinners and meets a local. The story explains, implicitly, how Scottish wildcats have come to be extinct - not the fake news version that they have become genetically indistinguishable from the adjacent domestic cats due to excessive fraternisation after Ceilidhs, but because of their dining habits - I feel obliged to warn the gentle readers that this particular Sid instalment is red in tooth and claw. Sid resolves a sticky situation and them begins to seduce another holidayer into the Pythagorian lifestyle. And so life's rich tapestry continues, one dinner at a time.

[Alex Sarll]

Last weekend I realised that the original Six Dinner Sid was a poly allegory explaining that if you're not naturally monogamous, it's far better to be open about that than cheat. I also learned that there are sequels. So what's the message here? Well, first of all there's the scheduling issues, particularly since this was written pre-Google Calendar, which are resolved by all Sid's people going on holiday together. But Sid being Sid, once they get to the Highlands he goes for a wander, and meets a Scottish wildcat (called, inevitably, Jock), and tries to get some more dinners. I think his efforts at fishing may represent the difficulty of the poly person attempting to pull in a more traditional environment, and his fight with the lobster obviously represents Jordan Peterson and the spectre of enforced monogamy, but then he ends up riding an eagle and at that point I've got nothing, because I'm too distracted by the spectacle of a cat riding a bloody eagle.

[Gabriella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. I really enjoyed this book. I think it would be great as a class read or during the shared reading time. I think children will find the story-line humorous and funny with the quantity of dinner Sid has and his mishaps at the vets. I think the book will keep children engaged in all the activities he has to do and all the names he has to remember. The illustrations are fantastic and really portray the character Sid's emotions and expressions, through framing. I think this book could be understood just through the illustrations if younger children want to look at it independently or in a pair. I would definitely recommend this book to children.

[Kathleen Dixon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't imagine any set of neighbours actually going off on a holiday together, and especially not in order to keep their shared cat happy. But then, we regularly enjoy suspending disbelief so why not in this case?! And, who knows, maybe the children having this book read to them will grow up believing it's possible ...!

Six Dinner Sid is just as delightful in this book as in the first, and on top of that he has a city-lad-in-the-country adventure. I love the text, I love the illustrations - what a great little book.

[Jenna Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun

[Freddie D · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favourite cat takes a vacation. This was, unfortunately, always going to fall short of the original, Six-Dinner Sid (which is one of my all time favourite children's books).
I really struggled to suspend disbelief enough to imagine that the occupants of six (otherwise unconnected) households in a street would all cancel their previous plans to go on a trip together purely so they could bring their shared cat along.
All that said, I still enjoyed it and love the illustrations.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Six Dinner Did story enjoyed!!!!

Just like the first we enjoyed this book ....Was nice the owners of six seem like a real community for Sid and have his best interests at heart .....Also a book about being friends even if your from a different place (City cat vs Wild) also about trying new things .....but some daring action and helping a friend ...even a bit of danger ...my son totally enjoyed reading it

[Lynn A. Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sid was a cat who didn't have a home - he had six homes, so therefore had six dinners each day. When his six families all went on vacation at the same time one year, they took Sid with them so he wouldn't be hungry. What an adventure Sid had when he went exploring in the countryside, especially when he got himself into trouble! Great illustrations.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good a story as the first one but well worth reading for the gorgeous illustrations alone.