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[The authors] found that 60 percent of the kindergartners in neighborhoods where children did poorly in school did not... More
Summary: Learn more about some of the more common species of cats. Explores some of the more unusual characteristics of 39 cat species with illustrations and short paragraph about each of them. This is a book filled with nonfiction content about a variety of cats.
Type of Reading: family reading, anytime reading, independent reading, read aloud bok
Recommended Age: read together: 4 to 8; read yourself: 8 to 10
Interest Level: 4 to 9
Age of Child: Read with a 5-year-old boy.
Little Kid Reaction: My five-year-old listener was was ambivalent at best about the book. He wasn't really "taken" by the illustrations nor was he that interested in the information.
Big Kid Reaction: Although I thought the "feline facts" the author included were fun and informative, I did not care for the illustrations either. I also felt the basic information on each species was just that - VERY BASIC!
Pros: Readers looking for a cursory overview of cat species will find this a decent place to start.
Cons: The cut-and-paste collage approach to cat illustrations might appeal to some children, but these fanciful, feline "renditions" didn't do much for me.
Borrow or Buy: Borrow. I would borrow this rather than spend my hard-earned money on it. Only after I was sure my child really loved this book would I reach for my wallet.
Educational Themes: Because of the number of cat species described in the book, you can use it as a baseline for contrast-and-compare activities. You might also use the illustrations as an example of a type of art and invite kids to create their own collages.
Notes: Bob Walch, Monterey, California, sent us this review. Bob's reviews appear in the Salinas Californian, Watsonville Register-Pajaronian, Aptos Times, Ride/Western Times and Coast Views Magazine. His online are at MyShelf, Roundtable Reviews, Parent Click, Midwest Book Review, and I Love a Mystery.
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