The Bakery Cats Cat Diaries: A Family Reading Guide to All 7 Stories

Alongside its 23 free comics, Bakery Cats Co writes Cat Diaries: short stories on the official blog, each following one cat through one day in the bakery, hour by hour. There are 7 so far, all free to read on bakerycats.co.uk/blog. Each one is roughly 300 words, which is a few minutes read aloud, and every diary ends the same way, with the cat's own verdict on the day. That makes them a handy bedtime story, a calm-down read after school or a starting point for a bit of writing practice.

This guide puts all 7 in a family-friendly reading order, starting with Croissantcat, the founding cat. It also pairs each diary with the free printable comic starring the same cat and suggests a few things to do once the story's finished.

Comics or Cat Diaries: what's the difference?

• The comics are single A4 pages of panels with a printable PDF each, full of slapstick: seagulls, cheese-rolling, a very sticky leaf pile. Our comics reading order covers all 23.
• The Cat Diaries are quieter. They're short prose stories you read on the website, set inside the bakery, and they're mostly about small, cosy things: a warm spot by the oven, a rainy window seat, a friend who needs cheering up.

Every diary pairs naturally with a comic, because all 23 Bakery Cats now star in a comic of their own. A good pattern is the diary at bedtime and the matching comic printed out for the next morning.

All 7 Cat Diaries at a glance

Listed in our suggested reading order. Dates are the official publication dates.

Our suggested reading order

1. Start where it all began: Croissantcat

Read Croissantcat, Where It All Began first. It opens, "Before there were ten Bakery Cats, or a Halloween squad, or a single Christmas cat, there was Croissantcat," and introduces several of the cats who come back in later diaries: Pretzelcat, Bagelcat, Pancakecat and Browniecat. A nice question to ask afterwards: Croissantcat says the bakery began "Small. Warm. Just one cat and a good idea." What would your bakery look like on day one? (For the full hour-by-hour walk-through, see our Meet Croissantcat article.) Then print Comic No. 1, A Flaky Day Out, where the same cat gets mistaken for a snack by the seagulls.

2. Toastcat, the second cat ever made

Toastcat's Golden Breakfast Morning (2 November) follows straight on. At 10am Croissantcat strolls over for "the morning catch-up, the way the two of them have done since the very first day", so younger readers get to spot a friend from the first story. Toastcat waits "nearly four minutes" by the toaster without fuss, "because Toastcat is never in a hurry", which is a gentle one for impatient breakfast-eaters.

3. Pretzelcat untangles everything

In Pretzelcat and the Great Box-String Tangle, Wafflecat's attempt to help leaves the cake-box string "round the scales, under the till, twice round the rolling pin and halfway to the door". Pretzelcat's answer, "Leave it with me," and the patient untangling that follows make a good talking point about sticking with a tricky job. Pair it with Comic No. 2, Knot a Problem.

4. Piecat on a rainy day

Piecat's Rainy Window Seat is the kindest of the seven. When Muffincat comes in soaked and grumpy, Piecat simply shuffles up on the cushion: "That is what Piecat does on a bad day: sits with you until it isn't one." It's a lovely way to talk about looking after a friend, and there's a secret surprise picnic that Piecat's grin gives away. Pair it with Comic No. 4, Best in Show.

5. Browniecat and the clocks going back

Browniecat and the Extra Hour was published the weekend the clocks went back. Browniecat, the bakery's night owl, stays up to watch it happen: "At two o'clock the hands went back to one." If your child has ever asked why it's suddenly dark at teatime, this is a friendly way in. It ends with a hot chocolate, two blankets and a book, which makes it our pick for bedtime. The matching comic, No. 8, The Beast in the Woods, is a camping story with a spooky fright, so save that one for braver readers or daytime.

6 and 7. The Christmas countdown: Gingerbreadcat and Candycanecat

Both Christmas diaries were published on 25 October, and both count down to December. In Gingerbreadcat Lights the First Fire of the Season, the show-off of the Christmas cats polishes its sweetie buttons, talks everyone into putting up the little tree ("Yes, it is October. No, Gingerbreadcat does not care.") and falls asleep describing the perfect Christmas jumper. In Candycanecat's Very Early Tree Practice, Candycanecat trains on the bakery tree and sings the same carol eleven times in a row. The bakery record is fourteen. Pair them with Comic No. 14, Picture Perfect and Comic No. 15, Hooked on Christmas, or print all five Christmas comics (Nos. 14 to 18) as a little December comic book.

Things to do after reading

• Write your own Cat Diary. Every diary follows the same simple shape: a short opening, then a run of paragraphs that each start with a time of day (6am, 10am, 4pm...) and one small thing that happens, and a one-line verdict at the end. Pick a bake, turn it into a cat, and write its day. It's a good, short structure for practising times and paragraphs.
• Spot the guest stars. 16 different cats turn up across the 7 diaries. Ask who's visiting before you reveal the "Also in it" column above. Pancakecat is the busiest guest, visiting 3 diaries.
• Tell the time with the cats. Read a diary and ask what time each thing happened, or what the cat was doing at 10am. Browniecat's 1.55am start is a fun one.
• Find the cat's comic. Every diary star has its own free comic, listed in the table above. Print it on A4 to colour in the margins or stick on the fridge.
• Meet the cat properly. Each cat has a lore page on the hub (Meet the cats) with what it's made of and its favourite spot, or take the Which Bakery Cat are you? quiz.

Good to know

Sources: the 7 official Cat Diaries, the comics page and the cat profiles on bakerycats.co.uk, all read on 4 November 2026. Quotes are from those pages. The reading order, "good for" notes and activities are the fan hub's own suggestions. This guide is written by a fan site supported by Bakery Cats Co.