Staff Picks Books

The Cat in the Hat

Dr. Seuss

Amazon Price: $8.99 List Price: $8.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Random House - Model: 0394800011 Amazon Marketplace: 781 new & used starting at $0.01

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Subjects -> Children's Books -> Animals -> Cats -> Fiction

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 177 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Two boys' review: Simply, a classic 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I couldn't imagine our children's bookshelf without

The Cat in the Hat
Green Eggs and Ham
The Lorax
How the Grinch Stole Christmas

This silly story centers around self-responsibility. The children panic because they know their mother won't be happy if she comes home and find the house a mess. The fish fluctuates between being an annoyance and a voice of reason.

The story stars a well-meaning cat who tries to release the children from an afternoon of boredom. He brings excitement, which quickly devolves into chaos...or so it seems.

This is a fun bedtime story, nothing more, nothing less. My sons weren't looking for a debate about latch-key children and abandonment. We'll leave those reviews to the sociology graduates.

If your children enjoy this book, I also recommend, "The Cat in the Hat Comes Back."

My First Book 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 3 people found this review helpful.

The Cat in the Hat
By Dr. Seuss

The Cat In the Hat was my first book. I remember reading it to my mom in the kitchen while she cooked dinner.

Any child who has to sit, sit, sit on a rainy day, would enjoy a visit from the cat in the hat. He made a game of balancing on a ball, adding items one by one, until the whole thing was overturned and the cat fell on his head.

The cat brought in a box with Thing one and Thing two, while the fish in a pot warned about the mess, and what their mother would do.

Your children's book collection would not be complete without a copy of The Cat In A Hat.

Jill Ammon Vanderwood, author
Through the Rug
Through The Rug: Follow That Dog (Through the Rug)

Editorial Review:

Description coming soon...

Cat Heaven

Amazon Price: $11.53 List Price: $16.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Blue Sky Press Amazon Marketplace: 55 new & used starting at $5.67

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 62 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

I WOULD GIVE IT 100 STARS IF I COULD 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Although this book is primarily written for a young audience who have lost beloved cats, it is equally comforting to adults. I am 56 years old and with my husband of 31 years, rescue sick and abandoned kittens. Although our intent is to foster them until a good home is found, by the time they are well and old enough to be placed, we are too in love with them to send them away. We have, however, lost cats over the years, and the pain never gets easier. We recently lost a youngster (7 months) to drag racers on the street several blocks away. He was the third one who wandered too far to cross that street. We still have 6 cats (the youngest is 3 years and the oldest is 15 years, so our track record is still pretty good). Each loss is equally heartbreaking, regarldless of cause or age of the cat. A friend of mine from work brought me "Cat Heaven" and after crying my eyes out the first time I read it, I now read it frequently because it brings peace and comfort to me and my family. The illustrations are magical, and the reader will no doubt find a cat in there who looks like a kitty they love. We will not stop rescuing abandoned kitties, and we must accept that some of them will leave us. They joy far outweighes the grief, however. This book will forever comfort us and make it possible for us to continue our rescue work. We believe all the kitties we have lost over the years are all together in cat heaven! God Bless you, Cynthia Rylant.

Editorial Review:

A simply versed companion to Dog Heaven features bold, folk-art illustrations and profiles the special place where all good cats can find an endless supply of catnip, tuna, and warm laps."

Have You Seen My Cat?

Amazon Price: $7.99 List Price: $7.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: INGRAM BOOK & DISTRIBUTOR - Model: ING0689803788 Amazon Marketplace: 66 new & used starting at $0.01

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Features:

• Made with the Best Quality Material with your child in mind.
• Top Quality Children's Item.

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 29 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

My daughter loves this book 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

My daughter who is 6, just adores this book. It's a simple read, and because of that, it gave her much confidence in her reading ability. She rented this book from her school library in September, and has rented it over and over again. Luckily for her, "Santa" brought it on Christmas Day, so she doesn't have to rent it anymore.

If you have a child who loves Cats, and is a beginner reader, this may be the book for her/him.

Great book for both toddler and new reader 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This book has made it back in to the rotation at my house and it's being well loved by both my almost-2 year old son and my very beginning reader (4.5 years). The repetitive and simple text that bores adults is perfect for a new reader. My daughter is so thrilled to be able to read the book herself and she's learned several new words from this book alone. My son loves looking at all the pictures and saying the names of each of the cats and the sounds of any other animals that are feature in the wordly travels. (lion, leopard (in the tree), panther, cougar, tiger, cheetah, Persian if I'm remembering them all correctly). To answer the person who posted about not understanding the story - cats often disappear when they're about to have a littler of kittens.

Editorial Review:

Eric Carle. A little boy encounters a variety of cats while looking for his own. A brilliantly colored picture book filled with the collage art that is the hallmark of Eric Carle's universally acclaimed picture books.

If You Were Born a Kitten

Marion Dane Bauer

List Price: $16.00 By: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 29 new & used starting at $0.01

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

the author has an almost magical way of describing birth. 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 9 people found this review helpful.

With brief, but magical descriptions of the moments of birth for several animals, the author carries you into the special realization of the unique and magical love in human birth. The artist's fantastic pictures bring you into the world of each animal. A beautiful, and gentle introduction into the world of reproduction, without fear or discomfort. Complete innocence left unmarked, but with inspired appreciation for a true miracle.

Editorial Review:

Marion Dane Bauer--a Newbery Honor author and part-time breeder of puppies and kittens--captures the wonder of birth in this poetic, playful picture book about how animals come into being. Each oversized, double-page spread lovingly depicts 12 different types of animal babies, including a human, with a few simple lines such as, "If you were a baby seahorse, you'd pop out of your father's pouch and swim away with hundreds of sisters and brothers." Bauer's tender tone, gracefully infused with intriguing animal facts, makes this an unusual homage to the miracle of life. JoEllen McAllister Stammen's magical, soft pastel illustrations beautifully complement each birth story and pay tribute to the special bond between parents and their babies. Young children will love hearing about how other little ones are born, making this winning book a wonderful, sleepy, educational bedtime read. (Picture book)

Ginger

List Price: $16.99 By: Candlewick Amazon Marketplace: 17 new & used starting at $0.14

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Ginger has a problem. Having lived the luxurious life of a pampered cat, complete with hand-prepared special meals and his own basket, he's suddenly confronted with a kitten in the house. Ginger watches with utter feline disapproval as the kitten leaps out from behind doors, eats his food, and, in a show of phenomenal gall, climbs into Ginger's beautiful basket. Because the little girl who pampers him makes no signs of taking the frenetic little fur ball away, Ginger has no choice but to leave home. The girl retrieves an angry, cold Ginger from under a bush and sadly concludes that the two cats will never be companions. A delightful surprise ending lets us know that there is hope for these two becoming furry friends after all.

Charlotte Voake tells Ginger's story with the pen, paints, and perspective of a keen cat observer. Both the frantic hijinks of the kitten and the dignified disgust of Ginger are perfectly reflected in Voake's enchanting, comical illustrations. Kids will enjoy hearing the simple, lovely story and taking in the captivating, humorous expressions and body language of the cats. Not only is Ginger the cat's meow (one of the best cat books ever!), it also makes the perfect gift for an older sibling having trouble with the arrival of a new "kitten" in the playroom. (Ages 3 to 7)

Chato's Kitchen

Susan Guevara (Illustrator) Gary Soto

Amazon Price: $13.25 List Price: $16.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Putnam Juvenile Amazon Marketplace: 57 new & used starting at $0.57

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

"Chato, a low-riding cat with six stripes, was slinking toward a sparrow when he heard the scrape of tiny feet coming from the yard next door." You get the idea. Chato is a sly, mustachioed "cool cat" from an East Los Angeles barrio. The tiny feet? Those belong to the new mice (ratoncitos) next door--"five mice the color of gray river rock," to be precise. Chato promptly invites them over for dinner, in exactly the sense you might fear.

"That Chato cat seems muy simpatico, very nice, I'm sure," says Papi mouse. The mice (being cheese lovers) spend the day making quesadillas for the fiesta, while Chato and his best friend Novio Boy busily prepare side dishes for a meal con ratoncitos. Instead of the anticipated gruesome ending, a surprise twist is in the works.

Gary Soto, author of Too Many Tamales, is brilliantly witty, and Chato's Kitchen--an ALA Notable Book and a Parents' Choice Award Winner--is truly marvilloso. Susan Guevera's comical, deliciously detailed, richly colored depictions of the creatures are priceless as well, earning her the 1996 Pura Belpre Award for Illustration. A culinary concoction that no youngster (or adult) will be able to resist. (Ages 4 to 8)

Cat and Cat-Face

Chyng Feng Sun

List Price: $14.95 By: Houghton Mifflin Amazon Marketplace: 20 new & used starting at $0.09

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Editorial Review:

Despite their differences, an impulsive cat and a quiet flower become friends. The cat-face flower can't stand the late-night feline concerts that Cat enjoys, while Cat can't understand why Cat-Face goes to bed early. Cat and Cat-Face conveys a very important truth about friendship.

Cat (Eyewitness Books)

Julie Clutton-Brock

List Price: $19.00 By: Knopf Books for Young Readers Amazon Marketplace: 47 new & used starting at $0.10

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A detailed look at the secret lives of cats! 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 5 people found this review helpful.

This is so much more than a reference book on cats. While the American Library Binding makes this book very durable, it could almost be a coffee table book on the life of cats.

Since I adore cats, this book was irresistible. Both wild and domestic cats are pictured in full color. The photographs are superb. Children will get to see a jaguar swimming in the tropical forest rivers and find out why the ancient Egyptians worshiped cats.

Did you know that Tigers actually enjoy swimming? Did you ever wonder if a cat chews its food? Why do cats need whiskers and how do they purr? So, why do cats behave in the ways they do? This book tells all the secrets including why people say a cat has nine lives.

The text is fun to read and little notes about historical details are sprinkled around the pages. The center of attention is definitely the furry felines we have grown to love. A special section of caring for your cat, makes this book the cat's meow!

~The Rebecca Review

>^..^<

Editorial Review:

Full-color photos. Take a look at the evolution, anatomy, and behavior of those fabulous felines--how they were revered by the ancient Egyptians and then reviled during the Middle Ages, why they nearly always land on their feet when they fall, and how the most cuddly house cat resembles its fiercest wild relative.

Bad Kitty Pop-Up

Lynn Chang

List Price: $8.95 By: Chronicle Books Amazon Marketplace: 13 new & used starting at $4.61

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Fantastic Kid's Book 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

I bought this a year ago for my son, then 2 1/2. He still loves this book, and often chooses it at bedtime. He used to love it for the pictures and pop-up gimmicks, and now he's getting into the humor. He even read his first word, 'Bad', off of the cover. We love this book!

Editorial Review:

Whether you love cats or love to hate them, you won't be able to resist Lynn Chang's hilarious book of pop-ups that celebrates the cat's most endearing bad habits. Eight full-color pop-ups.

Babette Cole's Cats

Babette Cole

List Price: $4.95 By: Warner Books Amazon Marketplace: 5 new & used starting at $2.28

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

babette cole's way with words for children 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

My daughter,age 7 loved this book and others wrote by Cole.She loves the rhymning and the colorful pictures that pop up.I would definately recomend these books to other children.

Editorial Review:

Whether it's fearsome fish, clawing cats, perky ponies or dipsy dogs, these titles have you howling with laughter every time you turn a page. Babette Cole has her very own recognisable style to tickle even the trickiest of humours.