The Cat That Changed America

The story of P22 mountain lion

By: Tony Lee Moral

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

What would you say if you saw a mountain lion in your local park?
This imaginative tale is based on the true story of P22 mountain lion who lives in Griffith Park in Los Angeles

P22 mountain lion is born in the beautiful Santa Monica Mountains outside Los Angeles, California. He has a playful childhood, learning how to hunt with his Mama and his brother, and making friends with the local wildlife.. Pen and ink drawings begin each chapter giving readers the chance to visualise each of the characters and the world they inhabit. But there isn't enough space for a young mountain lion in the Santa Monica Mountains and there is the ever present threat of Prime, the dominant lion in the area, who wants P22 dead.

After a close tussle with Prime, P22 decides that his only option is to head east to stake out a new territory of his own in the bright lights of the big city. Along the way, he makes friends as well as enemies, and crosses two dangerous freeways, the 405 and 101, that's ten lanes of traffic each.

The book has an underlying conservation message which will appeal to readers and want them to find out more. As well as crossing two major freeways, P22 has to avoid humans some of whom aren't friendly, and there's the ever present threat of rat poison which works its way up the food chain and casts a shadow on the welfare of all wildlife. At the end of the book there are links for further reading, including the building of a wildlife crossing over the 101 freeway this year, as well as a social diary of P22's exploits based on his real life events.

Keywords: Cats; Cats notebook; Cats journal; Animals; Animals at night; Chapter books; Middle grade books; True Story; Pumas; Cougars; Mountain Lions; California; Parks; Conservation; Wildlife; Children; Kidslit; Kids; Bedtime; Storytime