This Is NOT a Cat!

by David LaRochelle, Mike Wohnoutka (Illustrator)

Overview

Welcome to Sunny Hills Mice School where the first lesson is recognizing DANGER! And that means CAT. So Miss Mouse shows her students pictures of things that are, and are not, a kitty. But the kids are a bit restless . . . until something enters the classroom that makes them all sCATter. But, is their unwelcome guest really a cat?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781454915744
Publisher:	Union Square Kids
Publication date:	08/09/2016
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	BR (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 18 Years

About the Author

A former elementary school teacher, David LaRochelle has been writing for children since 1988 and has won numerous awards, including the Sid Fleischman Humor Award, the SCBWI Golden Kite Honor Award, and the Minnesota Book Award. His previous books for Sterling were 1+1=5 and Other Unlikely Additions, illustrated by Brenda Sexton, and Arlo's ARTrageous Adventure, which he both wrote and illustrated. He lives in White Bear Lake, MN. Find out more about David at davidlarochelle.com.
 
Mike Wohnoutka wrote and illustrated Little Puppy and the Big Green Monster (Holiday House) and Dad's First Day (Bloomsbury). He was also the illustrator of Sterling’s The Twelve Days of Christmas in Minnesota (one of our top sellers in the Twelve Days of Christmas regional series at 44K). Mike’s previous collaboration with David LaRochelle, Moo! (Bloomsbury), was an ALA Notable Book, a Junior Library Guild Selection, a CBC Blue Ribbon Book, and the recipient of several state awards. Mike currently resides in Minneapolis, MN, with his wife and two children. Learn more about him at mikewohnoutka.com.

Editorial Reviews

12/01/2016
PreS-Gr 1-From the author/illustrator team behind Moo! comes another delightful story in which the pictures provide more information than the text. The opening spread shows three young mice heading to a one-room schoolhouse carrying, instead of apples, cheese gifts for the teacher. Lurking behind a tree is what appears to be a rat, licking his chops at the thought of a cheesy lunch. Once in class, the teacher, on a series of spreads, explains what is and isn't a cat, until suddenly a feline appears in the room (eagle-eyed readers will see it slinking in through the window). The mice are forced to flee outside to safety. But is their unwelcome visitor really a cat? The text repeats only a few phrases but invites kids to emphasize certain words for a lively read-aloud. Children will enjoy looking at Wohnoutka's cartoon illustrations and discovering details that tell the rest of the tale. Storytime providers and parents will find this a great way to promote both print awareness and narrative skills by pointing out the repeated words and generating discussion with young listeners. VERDICT A necessary purchase for most library collections serving young children and families. This one will be a hit both in storytime and in one-on-one sharing.-Mary Kuehner, Arapahoe Library District, CO

School Library Journal

2016-06-28
Is the cat really a cat?A large rat lurks behind a tree, spying on three anthropomorphic mice children as they scamper to their one-room schoolhouse, each carrying a block of cheese for their teacher. As the teacher instructs them in “Today’s Lesson: Recognizing DANGER”—in this case, recognizing cats—the students look respectively bored, surprised, and worried. Only several beats after the figure of a cat creeps through the window of the schoolroom does the teacher relinquish the lesson to chaos, shouting “A CAT!” and fleeing the scene in distress along with the students. As the “cat” turns its zippered back to readers, the text asks a good question: “IS this a cat?” Readers who remember the rat will know the answer. Only when an actual cat makes a cameo at the end is there any hint of a true surprise, but it is unclear if readers are meant to laugh at or be alarmed by the implication that the cat has consumed the rat, who only ever wanted cheese in the first place. The clear lines, bright colors, and cartoonish feel of the illustrations may appeal to at least some of the book’s intended audience, but the gag is both drawn out too long and not particularly funny. Moreover, for readers who must endure heightened school security against violent intruders, the attempt at comedy may fall particularly flat. A stale, unfunny tale of duped mice unprepared for a world with predators. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews