Pearl likes cats and swimming and strawberry ice cream, but she definitely doesn't like moving house and starting a new school. The new flat seems 'empty and strange' and Mum's assurance that all will be well doesn't help much. The next morning, Mum suggests they explore, but Pearl feels that explorers need to be brave and she is anything but. However, suddenly an enormous white cat appears at the window, 'huge, fluffy, and as bright as the moon', and when the big cat starts to stalk around the flat, damaging the furnishings, Pearl decides that going out might be best after all. With the cat along (only seen by Pearl) they explore the big city, and Mooncat is always there, just ahead, or on top of a building, or at the swimming pool, and Pearl feels safe. They play imaginative games together too, and by the time they reach home, Pearl is feeling'a little bit bigger, a little bit bolder, and quite a lot braver'. Mooncat comes to the new school next day too, and soon, Pearl finds that with her help, she can make new friends and learn to like tutti fruit ice cream. She doesn't even notice when Mooncat disappears on the way home, but that is okay, because Pearl has found her place in this new and different world, and that night she dreams about her giant cat and knows he is still around. Beautiful, evocative illustrations of buildings at strange angles, dark and light effects, and colourful pictures of the new flat and the classroom add much to the whole, and this is an interesting take on how imagination can help our fears.