Parent's Guide to Story Reading Sanity
Story by Eric Litwin / Created and Illustrated by James Dean
Recommended ages: 4-10
I’m a bit of a sucker for Pete the Cat books. The art is vivid and quirky. The fonts are fantastic (sometimes they are really big, giving permission for the reader to yell). The writing is clever . . . AND the story is PUNCTUATED WITH SINGING!! Does it get any better than that?
Parents will enjoy this book because . . . it takes us back to the hippy era with the VW van and words like “groovy.” The vibe is a little bit surfer, and that is super cool. As a parent, it’s really nice to feel cool while hanging out with the kids. Something I get a kick out of with Pete the Cat books, is the expression on Pete’s face never changes. He has this deadpan gaze no matter what. Kind of cracks me up. I appreciated the poetry. Sometimes when I read a kids books that rhymes, I can tell the rhyme manipulated the story, rather the the author having a great command over the words and the way they were used. Eric Litwin plays with words like toys and it’s a really fun read.
Children will enjoy this book because . . . it’s a really unique and creative variation on a theme. The story starts, “Twas the day before Christmas,” playing on a classic Christmas story that is probably very familiar to kids, and maybe even a little bit boring. But that is where the similarities end. This twist is all fun. Another thing kids will love, is Pete has to come to Santa’s rescue - and as Pete says, “although I am small, at Christmas we give, so I’ll give it my all.” What kid can resist a story where the little guy triumphs? There is also a yellow duck somewhere on each page - sort of a subtle hide-and-seek-if-you-noticed-it-at-all kind of game you can play with your kids.
CONCLUSION: Pete the Cat Saves Christmas gets 4 kids thumbs up, 1 Dad thumbs up, and 2 definite Songs & Stories with Heidi thumbs up!