Tag Archives: cats

Cat Wishes

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Cat is very hungry as he wanders around the woods and catches a snake. This snake is magical, though, and offers Cat three wishes if he releases the snake. Cat doesn’t believe in wishes, but lets the snake go. He is still hungry and wishes for a fish, which he catches. Still skeptical, he wishes for a house when he becomes cold and wet in the rain. A lovely, warm house with a cushion for him to lie appears before him. He still doesn’t believe in wishes, but as darkness falls he wishes for a friend and a little girl quietly enters the room. She describes a wiggly snake that granted her three wishes – a picnic basket, a coat and a friend, the Cat.

Gentle illustrations accompany spare text to make this fairy tale come a sweet story to share with young students. This a great addition to your library.

Flubby is NOT a Good Pet

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Flubby is a cat. He won’t sing like a bird, fetch like a dog or jump like a frog, because he’s a cat. And, cats do what they want to do. Does that make him a bad pet? His owner wonders about that until a thunderstorm comes and Flubby and his owner realize that they need each other. That’s what pets and their owners do, right?

Sentences are short and illustrations are cartoon-like with a mixture of full page and comic book style panels. The simple drawings do a nice job of conveying the characters’ emotions. Flubby looks bored (mostly) and his owner looks happy, sad, frustrated and scared, depending on the current actions (or inaction) of the pet in question. Readers will enjoy this simple book about a very normal pet cat.

The Missing Word

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Cris and his cat, Crat, introduce some BIG new works in five small stories. Each story is stand-alone and uses a new big word, with pronunciation (and excitement) given by the ‘sprinklers’ who are assistants to the ‘sprinkle fairy’. Cris like things to move along in an orderly fashion while his cat, Crat, certainly does not. That is why we see words like bamboozle and discombobulate introduced.

The artwork is simple with a lot of white space, much like Elephant & Piggie books, although the text isn’t nicely confined to colored word bubbles. Although this book doesn’t have the giggle-inducing humor of the aforementioned E & P, it is a rather fun way to learn some awesome new words. additional purchase

Mr. Pants Trick or Feet!

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Mr Pants TrickThird in the series of Mr. Pants books, Trick or Feet is as funny and entertaining as the other books.

It’s Halloween and all Mr. Pants and his siblings, Foot Foot and Grommy, want is to get lots of candy and play zombie tag. But their plans are ruined when they get stuck in the airport because of bad weather. All is not lost when Mom saves the situation and hilarity ensues.

From an elementary school librarian’s point of view, this is a book series that will be destroyed from overuse – a very good thing.  Children will identify with the antics of the three siblings. For readers who want chapter books (but who may not be ready for the “real thing”) these books will be a good transitional choice.

 

Bottom line: full color, engaging, humorous and worth buying the series for your young readers.

Binky: License to Scratch

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Binky the cat and Gordie the dog are panicked as their humans pack suitcases for a trip.  Suitcases can only mean one thing – their humans are leaving them behind!  They are told not to worry, that they’ll be in a pet hotel and their friend Gracie the cat will be with them.  But, horror of horrors,  the pet hotel turns out to be boarding at the vet clinic!   The trio hatch a plan of escape only to tumble into trouble with Professor Tuffy – a cat who has a grudge against humans and a plan to get even with them.

This graphic novel is drawn in muted tones, is easy for young readers to follow the sequence of panels and is a fun read. The addition of many different sound effects will have readers giggling as they read and the story line will make them read without wanting to put this book down.

This is book five in the Binky Adventure series.  Spires nails the cat-titude that every cat lover will be able to identify with.

Tabby McTat: The musical cat

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Synopsis:  Fred the street singer and musician and his cat Tabby McTat are purr-fectly happy singing or “busking” for tips in the town square.  One day while the cat is roaming, Fred is robbed of his money and chases the thief, breaks his leg and ends up in the hospital.  When Tabby returns Fred is gone.  Tabby finally wanders away and finds a new home with a family, but he never forgets Fred.

What I liked about it and who would like it:   This a lovely story about a long lasting friendship.  Scheffler’s illustrations have great appeal, especially the cat and kitten faces.  Also look for interesting detail in drawings and the clever “cat” endpapers that look like they are stamped on the book!  On a whole this is a very enjoyable story and cleverly illustrated.