Liam's Library : They All Saw A Cat

I love reading to my boys and think that sharing a love of books and reading is one of the greatest gifts I can give them. I am always looking for new favorite books and happy to share my recommendations. In an effort to share the book love, I've included links in this post that are Amazon Affiliate links, which means I receive a small kickback if you make a purchase using the links.

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They All Saw A Cat by Brendan Wenzel 

Stop what you're doing and get this book. I casually grabbed this book off the shelf because it was about a cat and Liam loves cats. The minimalist illustration on the cover also drew me in .. yes I judged this book by its cover. Hard. I'm always drawn to books with hand drawn illustrations and this book goes far beyond my expectations. 

They All Saw A Cat is about a cat walking through the world, meeting other animals. There is plenty of repetition and a simple sentence structure. An early reader could easily work his way through this book. Even a nonreader like Liam can quickly catch on and know what words to expect. I love these types of books for working on sight words, and the varied text formatting and capitalization in this story make it so simple. 

After pointing out " A CAT" in the title to Liam, we talked about the letters and what they spelled. Then we read through the book, pointing as we read, and I allowed Liam to finish the sentences reading "A CAT." Now, I know he's merely spitting back the words I told him to say, but I hope it is creating a good foundation for when he does start reading.

Let's talk illustrations! As the cat encounters new animals, the pictures reflect how that animal views the cat. Some of the animals see in black and white, others are blurry, and as Liam excitedly noticed, the bee views the cat as "polka dots!" With every new page, it's exciting to see who the cat will run into next and how their views of the cat vary.

In its simplest form, They All Saw A Cat is a cute story about a cat and the animals in its world. But there is so much more to this book: animal habitats, predator versus prey, or how our perceptions of the world can be so different. The illustrations are gorgeous and engaging, the story is simple, and we could easily spend a week studying the book and find something new to talk about every day. A+

What's your favorite children's book this week?