Two New Pete the Cat Releases: Pete's Big Lunch & Play Ball!

     Inspired by this love of all things feline, artist James Dean published his first book, The Misadventures of Pete the Cat in 2006.  He later decided to bring this character to a young audience, and in 2008, he illustrated his first self-published children's book, Pete the Cat:  I Love My White Shoes.  Many children in our school are drawn to this popular series, and I was recently delighted to receive two new, "I Can Read-Shared My First Reading books" that are devoted specifically to this very cool kitty to review.
     

In our first selection, Pete the Cat:  Play Ball!, Pete the Cat is still one cool cat who loves to play baseball--despite not always being able to hit the ball or arrive safely at home plate.  With every attempt that Pete makes, as his team, the "Rocks", plays against the "Rolls", he isn't always successful.  But he doesn't let this get him down, as Dean explains, "...Pete is not sad.  He did his best."  With a simple underlying message that sports should be more about having fun and displaying good sportsmanship, Pete the Cat:  Play Ball!  is a winner in my eyes!
    

Pete's  stomach is growling with hunger in our next selection, Pete the Cat: Pete's Big Lunch, and he sets out to stop the noise and satisfy his tummy.  But, there is no way that this out-of-the-ordinary cool cat is going to make some boringly typical sandwich!  When Pete finishes creating his culinary masterpiece (practically emptying the entire contents of his refrigerator in the process!) he soon finds that it's just way too big for him to eat by himself.  Will he find a solution to his dining dilemma? 
     Pete the Cat: Pete's Big Lunch is not only an appropriate choice for a read aloud in any PreK to First Grade classes, but it is also a fine choice to teach little ones those early learning concepts of sequence---for example, "What happened first to Pete the Cat?" and "What did Pete the Cat do next?"  The "I Can Read" series of books published by HarperCollins have always been such a suitable choice for finding  reading comprehension leveled appropriate books for teaching young children beginning sight words.  While some may feel that the flow of the stories is not entirely reflected of the previous Pete the Cat books, this is only due to the fact that the story lines have been condensed to meet the "I Can Read" standards where children will hopefully become more confident in their growing reading skills.

Pete the Cat:  Play Ball!  and Pete the Cat:  Pete's Big Lunch (I Can Read-Shared My First Reading)
Created by James Dean
Publisher:   Harper (an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers) 2013
Website:  www.harpercollinschildrens.com
Both books retail each for $16.99 (Hardcover)
Pete the Cat:  Play Ball ISBN: 978-0-06-211067-1
Pete the Cat:  Pete's Big Lunch ISBN: 978-0-06-211067-1
For ages 4 thru 8