Lionboy: a novel by

In this first book of the trilogy, Charlie Ashanti is the son of two scientists who are kidnapped as the result of a dramatic discovery they have made. Ten-year-old Charlie decides to go in search of them, and uses his ability to speak Cat to gain helpful information.

Charlie Ashanti is the son of two scientists who are kidnapped as the result of a dramatic discovery they have made (the cure for asthma, which is rampant in this near-future world). Ten-year-old Charlie decides to go in search of them, and uses his ability to speak Cat (which he¿s had ever since he was scratched by a leopard as a baby) to gain helpful information. The local cats of London point him in the right direction and even deliver messages from him to his parents and back. When Charlie finds himself aboard a floating circus thats heading to Paris, he befriends the circus lions, who become his further accomplices. He will help them escape the circus as this first book in a trilogy draws to a close.