Cat Crew Read online

  FAVORITES FROM CHRIS GRABENSTEIN

  The Island of Dr. Libris

  No More Naps!

  Shine! (coauthored with J.J. Grabenstein)

  MR. LEMONCELLO’S LIBRARY SERIES

  Mr. Lemoncello’s Very First Game

  Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library

  Mr. Lemoncello’s Library Olympics

  Mr. Lemoncello’s Great Library Race

  Mr. Lemoncello’s All-Star Breakout Game

  Mr. Lemoncello and the Titanium Ticket

  THE SMARTEST KID IN THE UNIVERSE SERIES

  The Smartest Kid in the Universe

  Genius Camp

  DOG SQUAD SERIES

  Dog Squad

  Cat Crew

  WELCOME TO WONDERLAND SERIES

  Home Sweet Motel

  Beach Party Surf Monkey

  Sandapalooza Shake-Up

  Beach Battle Blowout

  HAUNTED MYSTERY SERIES

  The Crossroads

  The Demons’ Door

  The Zombie Awakening

  The Black Heart Crypt

  COAUTHORED WITH JAMES PATTERSON

  Best Nerds Forever

  The House of Robots series

  The I Funny series

  The Jacky Ha-Ha series

  Katt vs. Dogg

  The Max Einstein series

  Pottymouth and Stoopid

  Scaredy Cat

  The Treasure Hunters series

  Word of Mouse

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Text copyright © 2022 by Chris Grabenstein

  Cover art and interior illustrations copyright © 2022 by Beth Hughes

  Mr. Lemoncello’s Very First Game excerpt text copyright © 2022 by Chris Grabenstein.

  All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.

  Random House and the colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.

  Visit us on the Web! rhcbooks.com

  Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at RHTeachersLibrarians.com

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Grabenstein, Chris, author. | Hughes, Beth, artist.

  Title: Cat crew / Chris Grabenstein; with art by Beth Hughes.

  Description: New York: Random House Children’s Books, 2022. | Series: Dog squad; 2 | Audience: Ages 8–12 | Summary: “Fred, a stray dog who became the star of the show Dog Squad, is working on a new show called Cat Crew, but when he notices the felines acting strange, he wonders if the cat crew is being electronically controlled”—Provided by publisher.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2021043970 | ISBN 978-0-593-48087-8 (hardcover) | ISBN 978-0-593-48088-5 (library binding) | ISBN 978-0-593-64487-4 (int’l) | ISBN 978-0-593-48090-8 (ebook)

  Subjects: CYAC: Dogs—Fiction. | Cats—Fiction. | Adventure and Adventurers—Fiction. | Television—Production and direction—Fiction.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.G7487 Cat 2022 | DDC [Fic]—dc23

  Ebook ISBN 9780593480908

  Random House Children’s Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.

  Penguin Random House LLC supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin Random House to publish books for every reader.

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  Contents

  Cover

  Favorites from Chris Grabenstein

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  Chapter 57

  Chapter 58

  Chapter 59

  Chapter 60

  Chapter 61

  Chapter 62

  Chapter 63

  Chapter 64

  Thank You to the Cat Crew Crew!

  Excerpt from Mr. Lemoncello's Very First Game

  About the Author

  FOR J.J., THE CAT WHISPERER, AND OUR CAT CREW, PAST AND PRESENT: JEANETTE, WILLOW, PARKER, TIGER LILLY, PHOEBE SQUEAK, AND LUIGI

  DOG SQUAD

  EPISODE 3.15

  “EIFFEL TERRIBLE”

  SCENE 24

  Ext. the top of the Eiffel Tower.

  THE DIABOLICAL VILLAIN known as Cattywampus has stepped in one too many piles of dog poop on the sidewalks of Paris. It has made his soul bitter. His shoes stinky.

  Cattywampus has vowed to eliminate all the dogs in Paris by turning the sightseeing telescopes on the observation deck of the 1,063-foot-tall iron tower into dog-seeking sizzle guns.

  “It’s time to grill the hot dogs!” he shouts to his minions, a brigade of Parisian alley cats who despise dogs even more than Cattywampus does.

  The cats meow maniacally and leap up to their perches on the high-tech weapons. They wrap their claws around the triggers, awaiting the signal to fire.

  Meanwhile, the Dog Squad—Duke, Nala, and Scruffy—continues its mad dash up the 1,665 steps to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

  “Nothing’s…too…ruff…for…us,” pants Scruffy, the crew’s scrappy, wisecracking terrier.

  “This is pawful, Duke,” says Nala, the world’s bravest and boldest border collie. “Those beams will French-fry every dog on both sides of the Seine!”

  “And we’re dogs!” barks Scruffy. “I don’t want to be fried to a crispity crunch!”

  “Well, mes amis,” says their heroic leader, Duke, his noble head rimmed with golden light, “when trouble calls…”

  The three canine crusaders pause their ascent to proudly proclaim, “It’s Dog Squad to the rescue!”

  Suddenly, a wild-eyed mass of tangled fur leaps out of the shadows with its curled claws extended.

  “Yipes!” yips Scruffy. “Cat attack!”

  “You two deal with these henchcats,” says Duke, hurtling up the staircase. “I’ll deal with Cattywampus on my own!”

  Meanwhile, at the top of the Eiffel Tower…

  The ray guns thrum as they gain power.

  “When do we destroy all the dogs?” hisses an angry cat.

  “Soon, my fine furry friends,” chortles Cattywampus, rubbing his mittened hands together. “Soon!”

  “How do we know we won’t accidentally hurt any cats?” asks a fraidy-cat dangling off one of the weapons.

  “Don’t get hiss-terical, Monsieur Fromage! I have designed these weapons purrfectly. They will target only dogs.”

  “Wait just a doggone minute!” shouts Duke, leaping onto the observation deck.

  “Drat!” snarls the villain in his thick French accent. “It is Duke. The heroic leader of the Dog Squad. He thinks he can save the world! ‘Ha!’ I say. Go home to America, you filthy fleabag!”

  “Sir,” says Duke, “I don’t like your cattitude!”

  Duke races around the deck, barking ferociously, scaring the evil minions, who turn tail and flee. Cattywampus can do nothing but shake his mittened fist at the sky.

/>   As the ray guns power down, the cats seek safety by climbing the tallest thing they can find: the antenna at the peak of the Eiffel Tower.

  Their fur slightly ruffled, Nala and Scruffy join Duke on the observation deck.

  “Looks like you treed those kitties just in time!” says Nala.

  “Guess somebody better call the fire department to come rescue ’em,” cracks Scruffy.

  “No,” says Duke nobly. “We will assist these cats in their descent, just as soon as we deliver Cattywampus to the proper authorities. For they aren’t bad cats. They simply wound up in the wrong furever home.”

  The music swells.

  The scene ends.

  The audience cheers.

  “AND CUT!” CALLED the director. “That’s a wrap for this location and a wrap for Paris. We’re heading home!”

  The film crew applauded and congratulated each other.

  “Good job, mes amis,” said the French actor playing Cattywampus, giving Fred, Nala, and Scruffy each a head pat. “It was an honor to work with you.”

  Fred played Duke, the beloved leader of the number one streaming sensation, Dog Squad. Nala and Scruffy had been with the show from the start. Fred had only joined the cast about six months ago. He took over for the original Duke, who could’ve been Fred’s identical twin (except that the lightning bolts of white fur on their foreheads slashed in opposite directions).

  Sometimes Fred couldn’t believe what an incredible journey his life had been. From an abandoned, unloved stray searching for scraps of food in an alley to a star in less than a year.

  People all over the globe cheered the heart-racing, tail-wagging adventures of Scruffy, Nala, and their fearless leader, Duke.

  But now, when the cameras and lights were off, Fred didn’t feel like Duke. He was just Fred. A dog perched at the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, his legs quivering. He wanted to close his eyes because he was up SOOOO high, and Fred, it turned out, was SOOOO afraid of heights.

  “Hey, Fred,” said Scruffy. “What’s wrong, pal?”

  “I’ve never been up this high before!” Fred admitted.

  “Yes you have,” said Nala. “Yesterday. When we filmed the first half of this sequence.”

  “But yesterday, I was Duke. When I’m pretending to be Duke, I can pretend to be brave. But now? You heard the director. It’s a wrap. We’re all done. I’m not Duke anymore. I’m just Fred.”

  His limbs shook so violently, Fred feared he might rattle the tower’s girders loose and make all their rivets pop out. The whole Eiffel Tower could fly apart and tumble to the ground!

  Eep! He hoped he didn’t faint.

  Jenny Yen, the famous animal trainer who had adopted Fred, Nala, and Scruffy (and more than three dozen other talented dogs), came over with a fanny pack full of treats.

  Scruffy gobbled his down in a flash. Nala sat in a confident pose and waited patiently for Jenny to present the treat in her palm.

  “There is power in pausing,” Nala said calmly. “And wisdom in waiting.”

  Scruffy rolled his eyes. Nala spent her off-seasons herding goats at a goat yoga retreat.

  “You were such a good boy,” Jenny said to Fred, “you deserve two treats.”

  But Fred wasn’t hungry. In fact, just the thought of eating THIS HIGH OFF THE GROUND made his stomach lurch. His tail drooped.

  “Wow,” said Jenny. “Looks like somebody’s pooped.”

  She turned to the crew.

  “You guys? Let’s get these three downstairs. They’re worn out.”

  “No wonder,” said the director. “They were awesome!”

  “No,” said Leo Espinosa, the show’s writer and producer. “They were pawsome!”

  Jenny clipped a leash onto Fred’s collar and led him to the elevator landing. One of her assistants escorted Nala and Scruffy.

  Fred dared to look down. At Paris. The people looked like ants. The cars like beetles. His legs went all wobbly again.

  Fred would need to ride two different elevators to make it down to the street. One from the top to a floor with a restaurant and more panoramic views. Another from that floor to the ground-level exit.

  Both elevator cars were open cages! You could see everything as you flew up or plummeted down.

  Fred closed his eyes.

  And wished he was already home.

  He loved his home at Jenny’s ranch.

  It was the best he’d ever had.

  He’d do anything to keep living there.

  But he’d rather not do any of it 984 feet above the ground.

  PARIS WAS ONE of the dog-friendliest cities in the world.

  Dogs were allowed in almost any store, shop, or restaurant, including the Restaurant Le Bouledogue, the café where the mascot, an elderly French bulldog, greeted Fred, Nala, and Scruffy when Jenny and Mr. Espinosa took them out on the town to “celebrate our Parisian triumph.”

  “Bonjour,” said the gruff little bulldog. “I am, how you say, a very large fan of your work.”

  Then he kiss-licked all three on both cheeks.

  “Um, thanks,” said Fred.

  “Merci,” added Nala.

  “You guys serve that steak with tartar sauce I’ve heard so much about?” asked Scruffy.

  “You mean, of course, the steak tartare. Raw minced beef with onions, capers, and Worcestershire sauce.”

  “Yeah,” said Scruffy. “I’m gonna have some of that. But without any onions, capers, or what’s-this-here sauce. Just gimme the minced beef.”

  Fred was feeling better. For one thing, he was at street level. For another, he was with his best buds and two of his favorite humans in the world.

  It was a beautiful night. Accordion music wafted on the breeze. The streetlights were twinkly. From his seat, Fred could see a TV playing behind the busy bar.

  Escouade des chiens, which was French for Dog Squad, was on the screen. Human actors, of course, always dubbed in the voices for Duke, Nala, Scruffy, and all the other animal characters. Fred smiled. He had never heard himself speaking French before.

  When the garçon (which Fred learned meant “waiter”) came to the table, Jenny (who, of course, only heard barks when the dogs talked) somehow knew to order steak tartare for Scruffy, regular steak for Fred, and a “mélange of three fishes served with steamed seaweed” for Nala. Maybe Jenny’s niece, Abby, got her “pet psychic” mind-reading capabilities from her aunt. Or maybe they both just got lucky sometimes.

  Several other diners recognized the Dog Squad stars and asked for pawtographs, which the three dogs gladly provided. Jenny always packed an ink pad in her bag for just such requests.

  Jenny and Mr. Espinosa clinked glasses filled with a bubbly beverage and congratulated everyone, dogs included, on Dog Squad’s “terrific third season.”

  “Now we get to take a two-month break,” said Mr. Espinosa with a contented sigh. “Any plans?”

  “Just more of the same,” said Jenny. “I’d like to expand the ranch a little so Abby and I can take in even more strays. Help them find their furever homes. Somebody abandoned all those puppies at the shelter during Hurricane Adelaide….”