Cat Got a Lot

Reviewed by: Deidre Walsh - Goodall Memorial Library, Sanford, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: December 8, 2015

Review

Cat lives in an apartment in the city. Many other creatures live in the same building. Cat also loves fish. So one day he goes on a shopping trip to buy fish and some other items. He walks through a community full of diverse creatures and he visits many stores. He comes back with many things. But only the fish is for him. He got everything else for the other creatures in the building just to make them happy. Dog got a book. Bird got art supplies. Elephant got a horn. An so on. This is such a beautifully simple story about being kind and thoughtful. It would be perfect for a kindergarten unit on kindness and community, paired with "Have You Filled a Bucket Today" by Carol McCloud and "Think Happy" by Nancy Carlson. This title is part of the I Like to Read series. And it also makes a wonderful beginning reader for prek & k, as well as struggling firs graders. Sentences are only 3-4 words long and include only simple words. The words and sounds are repeated often. And most, if not all, words are familiar to pre-k & K beginning readers. This book is perfect for brand new readers as well as slightly more experienced to help build confidence. The illustrations are wonderful in this book as well. They are done in watercolor, gouache ink. They are full of detail and are very clear, bright and happy looking. Children will have fun pouring over the details in the illustrations as well as enjoying the story. Needless to say, the text and illustrations work very well together. The only weakness I found was at the very beginning. It went from "Cat liked fish", to "He went down" (the stairs). That was a little abrupt. A segue into why cat is going down the stairs would have been nice. Otherwise, a wonderful title. For most public library shelves.

Overall Book Score: excellent