Pete the Cat <small>by Eric Litwin</small>

I’m a librarian. I’m supposed to know children’s books, especially the ones that are really great for read-alouds. So I really have to wonder how I missed this one. Pete the Cat by Eric Litwin was brought to my attention by my sister-in-law when she mentioned it was one of her favorite books. I’d never heard of it. And then I forgot about it for a while until my mother bought the book to read to my son. My son loved it. He loved it so much that he had the darned thing memorized after just two readings. He loved it enough that I went and bought a copy of the cotton-picking thing. And then I wondered how I’d ever missed this gem of a picture book.

It’s about Pete the Cat, obviously. Pete’s an anthropomorphic cool black cat with a penchant for wearing shoes. Pete starts out wearing white shoes and singing a song about them. But when he steps in a pile of strawberries . . . they aren’t white shoes anymore. But our prosaic cat doesn’t even whimper. He keeps walking along and singing his song. After going through several colors and then getting washed white again (although now they’re wet) the author offers the moral of the story: no matter what you step in, keep walking along and singing your song. Because its all good.

So what does this picture book have going for it? First off, it’s simply told. Not too much text on a page and most of the words repeat. Young listeners from 2-5 are quickly going to grasp the story and not have long blocks of text to sit through. Secondly, it’s repetitive. The main idea of the story repeats with only changes in color, while most of the call and response remains the same. Kids will be able to anticipate what’s going to happen pretty quickly. Thirdly, It’s fun! This doesn’t feel particularly babyish or sweetly sing-song like some books—it’s almost jazzy! Kids can join in the song “I love my white shoes . . . I love my white shoes . . . I love my white shoes!” Fourthly, the artwork is fabulous in depicting Pete, our cool and groovy cat. In a casual paint style these drawings come to life—perfect for a large read aloud audience. Finally, this book addresses the concept of color, the progression of events and even has a palatable moral that makes sense given what happens in the book.

Check on the publishers website for an audio version of the story, and on Youtube for some cute video renditions by young fans of the book. This has become a regular part of my reading arsenal at the library and a favorite read at home. Really, as Pete says, “it’s all good.”

Happy Reading! ^_^ Shanshad

PETE THE CAT: I LOVE MY WHITE SHOES
Accelerated Reading Info: generic 2
Pete discovers the library, the lunchroom and other cool places.