LORD CLAUDE
(Illustrated Children's Book)
"This is the story of Lord Claude, a fearless and surprisingly different aristocat who has no choice but to use every sense at his disposal to rescue his best friend Horatio. Based on a True Cat."
The idea for the concept arises in the combined veterinary and medical knowledge of my friend and author, Dr Lydia Tong, and I. We recognise that many medical conditions and differences in ability that can affect people can also affect animals. In this book (and series hopefully), we aim to familiarise and destigmatise such differences through stories about fabulous and capable animals and their adventures, who happen to have differences. The book was originally inspired by the antics of one of Lydia’s two disabled rescue pets- Claude.
The intended audience is roughly 4-8 years of age. The story features a fantastic animal rescue story, with a twist.
BIOGRAPHIES:
Author: Dr Lydia Tong is a zoo and forensic vet pathologist at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo, and trained to be a vet at the University of Cambridge. She has worked in Borneo, Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, South Africa, East Timor, Vanuatu, Tonga, the UK and Australia. In her work, Lydia must identify diseases and differences in a vast range of species, from Chimpanzees to Komodo Dragons. Being immersed in this constant comparison between species led her to realise that animals of all kinds experience so many of the same challenges that humans do.
Protagonist & Muse: Claude Monet is a congenitally blind rescue cat. He is exceptionally well travelled, and is a revered café and babychino critic in Eastern Sydney. He has extraordinary capabilities, despite having eyes that don’t work. See some of his antics at @lordclaudetheblindcat (Instagram).