{"id":3080,"date":"2012-10-30T09:26:18","date_gmt":"2012-10-30T13:26:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/?p=3080"},"modified":"2021-08-14T16:01:20","modified_gmt":"2021-08-14T20:01:20","slug":"millions-of-cats-billions-of-cats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/millions-of-cats-billions-of-cats\/","title":{"rendered":"Cats: History, Science, and Story"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Cats! Lewis Carroll had the grinning and vanishing Cheshire Cat; Beatrix Potter had Tom Kitten, and Ginger and Pickles. Mother Goose\u2019s cat played the fiddle; the Kilkenny Cats obliterated each other. Puss in Boots and Dick Whittington\u2019s cat made their owners\u2019 fortunes. T.S. Eliot\u2019s cats made it to Broadway. Ursula LeGuin\u2019s cats had wings. Holly Golightly, in Truman Capote\u2019s <em>Breakfast at Tiffany\u2019s<\/em>, wouldn&#8217;t give her cat a name.<\/p>\n<p>And there&#8217;s much much more&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Also see <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/woof-all-about-dogs\/\">All About Dogs<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 ez-toc-wrap-left counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-transparent ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a1eece82dbec\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a1eece82dbec\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/millions-of-cats-billions-of-cats\/#CAT_STORIES\" >CAT STORIES<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/millions-of-cats-billions-of-cats\/2\/#BAD_CATS\" >BAD CATS<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/millions-of-cats-billions-of-cats\/2\/#WARRIOR_CATS_WINGED_CATS_VAMPIRE-HUNTING_CATS%E2%80%A6\" >WARRIOR CATS, WINGED CATS, VAMPIRE-HUNTING CATS\u2026<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/millions-of-cats-billions-of-cats\/3\/#CATS_AND_PEOPLE\" >CATS AND PEOPLE<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/millions-of-cats-billions-of-cats\/3\/#CATS_AT_SEA\" >CATS AT SEA<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/millions-of-cats-billions-of-cats\/4\/#FOLKTALE_CATS\" >FOLKTALE CATS<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/millions-of-cats-billions-of-cats\/4\/#HISTORY_AND_CATS\" >HISTORY AND CATS<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/millions-of-cats-billions-of-cats\/5\/#HALLOWEEN_CATS\" >HALLOWEEN CATS<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/millions-of-cats-billions-of-cats\/5\/#TRAVELING_CATS\" >TRAVELING CATS<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/millions-of-cats-billions-of-cats\/6\/#Poetry_with_Cats\" >Poetry with Cats<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/millions-of-cats-billions-of-cats\/7\/#ART_CRAFTS_CATS\" >ART! CRAFTS! CATS!<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/millions-of-cats-billions-of-cats\/8\/#MATH_WITH_Millions_of_CATS\" >MATH WITH (Millions of) CATS<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/millions-of-cats-billions-of-cats\/8\/#THE_SCIENCE_OF_CATS_Purrs_Laps_Pounces_and_Meows\" >THE SCIENCE OF CATS: Purrs, Laps, Pounces, and Meows<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"CAT_STORIES\"><\/span><strong>CAT STORIES<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15539\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-the-cat-252x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"252\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-the-cat-252x300.jpg 252w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-the-cat.jpg 550w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 252px) 100vw, 252px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Mo Willem\u2019s <em>Cat the Cat, Who Is That?<\/em> (Balzer + Bray, 2010) is a charmingly illustrated series of interlocking hellos, as Cat the Cat meets Mouse the Mouse (\u201cHello there\u201d), Duck the Duck (\u201cA pleasure, as always\u201d), Fish the Fish (\u201cHey, dude\u201d), and eventually a stranger, who turns out to be a new friend. For ages 2-5.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><\/td>\n<td>How do <em>you<\/em> say hello? Check out <a href=\"http:\/\/pocketcultures.com\/2008\/10\/30\/say-hello-in-20-languages\/\">How to Say Hello in 20 Different Languages<\/a>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/language\/phrases\/hello.htm\">Omniglot<\/a>\u00a0teaches the useful word \u201chello\u201d in over 150 different languages, with audio clips.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15597\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/three-little-kittens-pinkney-298x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"298\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/three-little-kittens-pinkney-298x300.jpg 298w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/three-little-kittens-pinkney-1016x1024.jpg 1016w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/three-little-kittens-pinkney-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/three-little-kittens-pinkney-768x774.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/three-little-kittens-pinkney-1524x1536.jpg 1524w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/three-little-kittens-pinkney-2032x2048.jpg 2032w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 298px) 100vw, 298px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Jerry Pinkney\u2019s <em>Three Little Kittens<\/em> (Dial Books, 2010) is a retelling of the traditional nursery rhyme about the trio of mitten-losing cats, with wonderful detailed illustrations. For ages 2-5.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15580\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/paper-mittens-300x189.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"189\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/paper-mittens-300x189.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/paper-mittens.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/www.allkidsnetwork.com\/crafts\/winter\/mittens-craft.asp\">Mittens Craft<\/a> has instructions for making (symmetrical) paper mittens, a project suitable for ages 3 and up.\u00a0You\u2019ll need construction paper, paint, and pieces of yarn.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15561\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Kittens-First-Full-Moon-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Kittens-First-Full-Moon-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Kittens-First-Full-Moon-1024x1022.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Kittens-First-Full-Moon-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Kittens-First-Full-Moon-768x767.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Kittens-First-Full-Moon.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>In Kevin Henkes\u2019s,\u00a0<em>Kitten\u2019s First Full Moon<\/em>\u00a0(Greenwillow Books, 2004), Kitten is convinced that the moon is a bowl of milk in the sky and is determined to get it. She fails time and again (\u201cPoor Kitten!\u201d) and finally tumbles into a pond chasing the moon\u2019s reflection. Wet, tired, and hungry, Kitten returns home &#8211; to find a comforting bowl of milk waiting for her on the porch. For ages 2-5.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15582\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/pete-the-cat-235x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/pete-the-cat-235x300.jpg 235w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/pete-the-cat.jpg 352w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 235px) 100vw, 235px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>James Dean\u2019s navy-blue Pete of <em>Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes<\/em> (HarperCollins, 2010) strolls down the street, singing a (downloadable) song (\u201cI love my white shoes\/I love my white shoes\u201d). Then he squashes through a mountain of strawberries (shoes turn red), blueberries (shoes turn blue), mud (brown), and finally a helpful puddle (white again, but wet). There are several more song-supplemented books starring the tuneful Pete. For ages 2-6.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/top-cat-173x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"173\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/top-cat-173x300.jpg 173w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/top-cat-590x1024.jpg 590w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/top-cat-768x1334.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/top-cat-884x1536.jpg 884w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/top-cat.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 173px) 100vw, 173px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>In Lois Ehlert\u2019s <em>Top Cat<\/em> (Sandpiper, 2001), Top Cat is thoroughly upset when a box arrives with a new striped kitten inside. And he certainly doesn\u2019t want to share his stuff, especially not his bright-red toy mouse \u2013 but by the end of the book he\u2019s discovered that it\u2019s fun to have a friend. For ages 3-6. See <a href=\"http:\/\/www.toddlerapproved.com\/2012\/09\/top-cat-mask-craft.html\">Top Cat Mask Craft<\/a> for instructions for making a great mask based on Ehlert&#8217;s book.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15591\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/splat-the-cat-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/splat-the-cat-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/splat-the-cat-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/splat-the-cat.jpg 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>By Rob Scotton, author\/illustrator of the wonderful <em>Russell the Sheep<\/em>, <em>Splat the Cat<\/em> (HarperCollins, 2008) features a fuzzily adorable black kitten who sets off for his first day at Cat School with (disastrously) his pet mouse Seymour concealed in his lunchbox. Many sequels. For ages 3-6.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15526\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-in-the-hat-218x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"218\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-in-the-hat-218x300.jpg 218w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-in-the-hat-745x1024.jpg 745w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-in-the-hat-768x1056.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-in-the-hat.jpg 873w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 218px) 100vw, 218px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>In Dr. Seuss\u2019s rhyming <em>The Cat in the Hat<\/em> (Random House Books for Young Readers, 1957), it\u2019s a wet dull day for Dick and Sally until an enormous cat in a red-and-white-striped hat shows up and creates mayhem. For ages 3 and up.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/www.makinglearningfun.com\/themepages\/CatintheHatPrintables.htm\">Making Learning Fun<\/a>\u00a0has a wealth of activities to accompany <em>The Cat in the Hat<\/em>, including art, math, and reading projects. Included are printable templates, game cards, manipulatives, and cupcake toppers.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15523\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-at-night-221x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"221\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-at-night-221x300.jpg 221w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-at-night.jpg 465w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 221px) 100vw, 221px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Dahlov Ipcar\u2019s <em>The Cat at Night<\/em> (Islandport Press, 2009) is a simple story of a farm cat taking a night-time stroll through the surrounding countryside. The stylized artwork is wonderful, contrasting what people see at night (black silhouettes against a deep-blue sky) with what cats see (the same scene in a riot of pink, aqua, yellow, and green). For ages 3-6.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><\/td>\n<td>So what do cats REALLY see? Actually they\u2019re colorblind. Check out <a href=\"http:\/\/webecoist.momtastic.com\/2009\/01\/14\/animal-vision-color-detection-and-color-blindness\/\">Views Through the Eyes of 7 Animals<\/a>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15609\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/widget-300x297.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"297\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/widget-300x297.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/widget-1024x1014.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/widget-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/widget-768x760.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/widget.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>In Lyn Rossiter McFarlan\u2019s <em>Widget<\/em> (Square Fish, 2006), a small shaggy stray dog wanders into a household of hostile cats and does the only thing he can think of that will allow him to stay: he pretends to be a cat. He meows, purrs, pounces, and hisses, until Mrs. Diggs, his kindly owner, falls down, and Widget saves the day by barking for help. For ages 3-6.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15583\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/pretend-youre-a-cat-237x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"237\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/pretend-youre-a-cat-237x300.jpg 237w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/pretend-youre-a-cat.jpg 395w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 237px) 100vw, 237px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Pair <em>Widget<\/em> with Jean Marzallo\u2019s <em>Pretend You\u2019re a Cat<\/em> (Puffin, 1997), a collection of 13 little rhymes that encourage kids to take on the roles of different animals. (\u201cCan you hiss?\/Can you scat?\/Can you purr\/Like a cat?\u201d) For ages 3-6.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15544\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/church-cat-abroad-300x251.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"251\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/church-cat-abroad-300x251.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/church-cat-abroad.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Graham Oakley\u2019s wonderful British picture-book Church Mouse series \u2013 starting with <em>The Church Mouse<\/em> (Kane\/Miller Book Publishers, 2010) \u2013 also features Sampson, the long-suffering orange church cat. (As befits a church cat, Sampson has given up eating mice.) There are many titles, all well worth tracking down. (Especially popular here: <em>The Church Mice and the Moon<\/em>, in which mice Humphrey and Arthur are kidnapped by the incompetent scientists of the Wortlethorp Space Program.) Recommended for ages 4 and up, but all ages will all laugh themselves silly.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15528\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/catkin-246x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"246\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/catkin-246x300.jpg 246w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/catkin.jpg 390w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 246px) 100vw, 246px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>In Antonia Barber\u2019s magical <em>Catkin<\/em> (Candlewick, 1996), illustrated with exquisite watercolor paintings, young Carrie has been stolen from her parents by the Little People, and her tiny cat, Catkin, is determined to get her back. To do so, he must answer three riddles, the answer to one of which will trap him under the hill forever \u2013 but the Wise Woman proposes a compromise, in which Carrie and Catkin will spend winters with the Little People and then return home each spring. A lovely story for ages 4 and up.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15543\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/chester-257x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"257\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/chester-257x300.jpg 257w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/chester.jpg 428w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 257px) 100vw, 257px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Melanie Watt\u2019s <em>Chester<\/em> (Kids Can Press, 2009) is a gem. In fact, Chester, a large spotted cat \u2013 shown on the cover, clutching a red magic marker \u2013 is co-author of the book, busily correcting Melanie\u2019s text to suit himself. Tandem writing at its finest for ages 4-8.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\">\n<div class=\"nJGrxf FnqxG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15538\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-tale-218x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"218\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-tale-218x300.jpg 218w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-tale-742x1024.jpg 742w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-tale-768x1059.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-tale.jpg 870w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 218px) 100vw, 218px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Michael Hall\u2019s <em>Cat Tale<\/em> (Greenwillow, 2012) is a zany rhyming wordplay adventure starring three blocky bright-colored cats (Lillian, Tilly, and William J.) \u201cThey pack some books and kitty chews. They choose a spot. They spot some ewes.\u201d Or try this: \u201cThey flee a steer. They steer a plane. They plane a board. They board a train.\u201d Homonyms and homographs galore for ages 4 and up.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<h4><strong>BAD CATS<\/strong><\/h4>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15587\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/rotten-ralph-300x280.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"280\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/rotten-ralph-300x280.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/rotten-ralph.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Ralph, the very bad, bright-red cat of Jack Gantos\u2019s <em>Rotten Ralph<\/em> (Sandpiper, 1980), is perpetually in trouble, but his loyal owner, Sarah, loves him anyway. There are several sequels in all of which Ralph behaves badly, among them\u00a0<em>Worse Than Rotten, Ralph<\/em> and <em>Happy Birthday, Rotten Ralph<\/em>. The bright stylized illustrations by Nicole Rubel are terrific. For ages 4-8.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15527\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-jumped-in-235x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-jumped-in-235x300.jpg 235w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-jumped-in.jpg 392w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 235px) 100vw, 235px\" \/><\/td>\n<td>In Tess Weaver\u2019s <em>Cat Jumped In!<\/em> (Clarion Books, 2007), the cat \u2013 a black-and-white stray \u2013 leaps in a window and wreaks messy havoc. There\u2019s a lot of repetition of OOPS and OUT! and a happy ending. For ages 3-7.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15601\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/tumford-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/tumford-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/tumford-1024x1020.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/tumford-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/tumford-768x765.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/tumford.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>In Nancy Tillman\u2019s <em>Tumford the Terrible<\/em> (Feiwel &amp; Friends, 2011), pudgy black-and-white Tumford, who lives in a tiny cottage in the village of Sweet Apple Green, is always in trouble: he smashes teacups, tramples the garden, tracks dirt in the house, spills paint, and stubbornly refuses to apologize. He hides instead. For ages 4-8.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15513\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/bad-kitty-233x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"233\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/bad-kitty-233x300.jpg 233w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/bad-kitty-796x1024.jpg 796w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/bad-kitty-768x987.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/bad-kitty-1195x1536.jpg 1195w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/bad-kitty.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 233px) 100vw, 233px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>In Nick Bruel\u2019s hysterical and wittily alphabetical <em>Bad Kitty<\/em> (Roaring Brook Press, 2005), Kitty throws fits when she discovers that all that\u2019s left to eat in the house are healthy foods: Asparagus, Beets, Cauliflower, Dill (etc.). In retaliation, she \u201cAte my homework, Bit Grandma, Clawed the curtains, Damaged the dishes\u2026.\u201d \u2013 and only when a more acceptable array of foods arrives (Assorted Anchovies, Buffalo Burritos, Chicken Cheesecake\u2026) does Kitty finally Apologize. There are many Bad Kitty sequels, all hilarious, in both picture book versions recommended for ages 5 and up, and chapter books for ages 7 and up.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15586\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/red-cat-blue-cat-235x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/red-cat-blue-cat-235x300.jpg 235w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/red-cat-blue-cat-803x1024.jpg 803w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/red-cat-blue-cat-768x980.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/red-cat-blue-cat-1204x1536.jpg 1204w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/red-cat-blue-cat.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 235px) 100vw, 235px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Jenni Desmond\u2019s <em>Red Cat, Blue Cat<\/em> (Blue Apple Books, 2012) is a tale of envy and competition: Red Cat wants to be smart like Blue Cat; Blue Cat wants to be \u201cfast and bouncy\u201d like Red. To accomplish this, they try to change colors: Blue Cat eats red food (a crab, cherries, and rose petals); Red chows down on blue (blueberries, bluebells, a blue fish, and a blue pudding). Finally, as the wildly escalating conflict seems about to resolve itself with the two cats realizing it\u2019s best to accept themselves just as they are, a new yellow cat comes along, and the cycle begins again. For ages 4-7.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15590\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/skippyjon-300x257.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"257\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/skippyjon-300x257.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/skippyjon-1024x878.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/skippyjon-768x659.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/skippyjon.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>In Judy Schachner\u2019s <em>Skippyjon Jones<\/em>, Skippyjon \u2013 an imaginative and hyperactive Siamese kitten with simply enormous ears \u2013 wakes up in a bird\u2019s nest, which does not please his mother at all. \u201cGet yourself down here right now, Mr. Kitten Britches,\u201d says his mother, who sends him off to his room to think about what it means to be a Siamese cat and <em>not<\/em> a bird. Irrepressible Skippyjon instead bounces on the bed and pretends to be a sword-fighting, cape-wearing Chihuahua. Many sequels. For ages 4-8.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15562\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/klawde-218x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"218\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/klawde-218x300.jpg 218w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/klawde-745x1024.jpg 745w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/klawde-768x1055.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/klawde-1118x1536.jpg 1118w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/klawde-1491x2048.jpg 1491w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/klawde.jpg 1581w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 218px) 100vw, 218px\" \/><\/td>\n<td>Johnny Marciano&#8217;s hysterical <em>Klawde: Evil Alien Warlord Cat<\/em> (Penguin, 2019), is the first of a series featuring Klawde, High Commander of the planet Lytterbox, exiled to Earth, where he plots return and revenge while living with new friend Raj Banerjee. Narration alternates between the perspectives of Klawde and Raj. A hoot for ages 8-12.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15574\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Mrs-Frisby-and-the-Rats-of-NIMH-childrens-books-199x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"199\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Mrs-Frisby-and-the-Rats-of-NIMH-childrens-books-199x300.jpg 199w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Mrs-Frisby-and-the-Rats-of-NIMH-childrens-books-680x1024.jpg 680w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Mrs-Frisby-and-the-Rats-of-NIMH-childrens-books-768x1156.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Mrs-Frisby-and-the-Rats-of-NIMH-childrens-books-1021x1536.jpg 1021w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Mrs-Frisby-and-the-Rats-of-NIMH-childrens-books-1361x2048.jpg 1361w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Mrs-Frisby-and-the-Rats-of-NIMH-childrens-books.jpg 1661w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>In Robert O\u2019Brien\u2019s Newbery-winning <em>Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH<\/em> (Aladdin, 1986), the widowed mouse Mrs. Frisby\u2019s little son Timothy is desperately ill, so she seeks help from the brilliant colony of ex-lab rats (they read, write, and build machines) who live beneath the rosebush on the Fitzgibbon farm. A villain of the piece is the fearsome Fitzgibbon cat, Dragon \u2013 who, it turns out, was the killer of Mrs. Frisby\u2019s husband, Jonathan. A wonderful read for ages 9-12.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15589\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/secret-of-nimh-movie-220x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"220\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/secret-of-nimh-movie-220x300.jpg 220w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/secret-of-nimh-movie.jpg 367w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 220px) 100vw, 220px\" \/><\/td>\n<td>Don Bluth\u2019s movie version of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0084649\/\"><em>The Secret of NIMH<\/em><\/a> (1982) is beautifully done, though Mrs. Frisby\u2019s name has been changed to Brisby (due to a perceived trademark infringement with the Frisbee toy). Dragon, however, is still Dragon. Rated G.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15572\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/mossflower-183x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"183\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/mossflower-183x300.jpg 183w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/mossflower.jpg 623w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 183px) 100vw, 183px\" \/><\/td>\n<td>In Brian Jacques\u2019s <em>Mossflower <\/em>(Firebird, 2002), second book in the Redwall series and a prequel to <em>Redwall<\/em>, the gallant mouse Martin the Warrior and friends struggle to defeat the evil wildcat Tsarmina and followers. A wonderful caste of characters, a stirring story, and a really nasty cat for ages 10 and up.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h4><strong>WARRIOR CATS, WINGED CATS, VAMPIRE-HUNTING CATS\u2026<\/strong><\/h4>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><strong><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15558\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/jenny-and-cat-club-194x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"194\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/jenny-and-cat-club-194x300.jpg 194w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/jenny-and-cat-club.jpg 322w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 194px) 100vw, 194px\" \/><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Esther Averill\u2019s <em>Jenny and the Cat Club<\/em> (New York Review Children\u2019s Collection, 2003) is a collection of stories first published in the 1940s about orphaned black cat Jenny Linsky who lives in New York City with an old sailor, the kindly Captain Tinker (who knitted Jenny her signature red scarf). In the title tale, Captain Tinker has urged Jenny to find some friends, and she longs to belong to the neighborhood Cat Club \u2013 a sort of Algonquin Round Table for cats \u2013 but she feels too timid and untalented. Ultimately, however, Jenny finds her talent \u2013 and joins the Club, bringing two fellow strays along with her. There are many Jenny stories and they\u2019re all great. For ages 5 and up.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Make yourself a scarf just like Jenny&#8217;s! See <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=UHlsW0wI144\">How to Knit a Scarf for Absolute Beginners<\/a>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><strong><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15521\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/carbonel-183x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"183\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/carbonel-183x300.jpg 183w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/carbonel.jpg 304w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 183px) 100vw, 183px\" \/><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>In Barbara Sleigh\u2019s <em>Carbonel: The King of Cats<\/em> (New York Review Children\u2019s Collection, 2004), originally published in 1955, Rosemary \u2013 with an eye toward cleaning houses and earning some money to help her mother \u2013 buys a broom and a cat from a peculiar old lady in the marketplace. She gets far more than she bargained for: the old lady is a witch; the broom can fly; and the cat, Carbonel, a royal feline with a high opinion of himself, needs Rosemary\u2019s help to be liberated from a magic spell before he can regain his rightful place as King of the Cats. There are two sequels: <em>The Kingdom of Carbonel<\/em> and <em>Carbonel and Calidor<\/em>. For ages 5-12.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><strong><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15541\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/catwings-212x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"212\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/catwings-212x300.jpg 212w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/catwings.jpg 540w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 212px) 100vw, 212px\" \/><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>In Ursula LeGuin\u2019s <em>Catwings<\/em> (Scholastic, 2003), Mrs. Jane Tabby\u2019s four kittens are born with wings. Life is too dangerous for these odd-looking kittens in the city, so as soon as they\u2019re old enough to fend for themselves, Mrs. Tabby sends them off to find a safe home, far from the urban slums. Roger, James, Thelma, and little Harriet cope with danger and hunger, and eventually find a loving home with children on a farm. Sequels include <em>Catwings Return<\/em>, <em>Wonderful Alexander and the Catwings<\/em>, and <em>Jane on Her Own<\/em>. For ages 7-10.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><strong><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15566\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/martins-mice-204x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"204\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/martins-mice-204x300.jpg 204w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/martins-mice-696x1024.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/martins-mice-768x1129.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/martins-mice-1045x1536.jpg 1045w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/martins-mice-1393x2048.jpg 1393w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/martins-mice.jpg 1556w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 204px) 100vw, 204px\" \/><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>In Dick King-Smith\u2019s <em>Martin\u2019s Mice<\/em> (Yearling, 1998), Martin \u2013 a kitten \u2013 is sneered at by the other kittens for his soft-hearted affection for mice. He even manages to capture a pregnant female mouse, Drusilla, whom he keeps as a pet in a discarded bathtub in the barn. He\u2019s devastated when Drusilla and family \u2013 who don\u2019t enjoy being pets \u2013 escape, and only comes to understand their point of view when he\u2019s taken away from the farm to be a pet in a city apartment. When he himself finally escapes and makes his way home again, he\u2019s able to forge a true friendship with Drusilla and to win the respect of his father, the big tomcat Pug. For ages 7-10.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><strong><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15524\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-diaries-203x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"203\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-diaries-203x300.jpg 203w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-diaries-692x1024.jpg 692w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-diaries-768x1137.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-diaries-1038x1536.jpg 1038w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-diaries-1384x2048.jpg 1384w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-diaries.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 203px) 100vw, 203px\" \/><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>By Betsy Byars, Betsy Duffey, and Laurie Myers, <em>Cat Diaries: Secret Writings of the MEOW Society<\/em> (Henry Holt and Company, 2010) is a collection of eleven short stories all purporting to be from the diaries of cats. (MEOW stands for \u201cMemories Expressed in Our Writing.\u201d) Among the tales: \u201cRama, the Gypsy Cat,\u201d \u201cLibrary Cat,\u201d \u201cWhiskers and the Parachute,\u201d \u201cMiu: The Great Cat of Egypt,\u201d and \u201cPirate Cat, Treasure Hunter.\u201d There\u2019s also a counterpart: <em>Dog Diaries: The Secret Writings of the WOOF Society<\/em> (2007). For ages 7-10.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>For another take on a cat\u2019s diary and a contrasting dog\u2019s diary, see the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.goodeatsfanpage.com\/humor\/otherhumor\/dog_cat_diary.htm\">Good Eats Humor Page<\/a>. (Dog: \u201cDog food! My favorite thing!\u201d Cat: \u201cThe only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape.\u201d)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><strong><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15519\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/bunnicula-1-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/bunnicula-1-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/bunnicula-1-682x1024.jpg 682w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/bunnicula-1-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/bunnicula-1-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/bunnicula-1-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/bunnicula-1.jpg 1666w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Chester the cat is a key player in James Howe\u2019s <em>Bunnicula<\/em> (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2006) \u2013 told from the point of view of Harold, the dog \u2013 in which the Monroe family brings home a baby rabbit, found on a seat in the movie theater during a showing of <em>Dracula<\/em>. Chester \u2013 literate, sensitive, and prone to panic \u2013 becomes convinced that the bunny, now named Bunnicula, is a vampire, especially when sucked-dry white vegetables start showing up in the kitchen. Several sequels. For ages 8 and up.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><strong><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15542\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Cheshire-Cheese-Cat-96dpi-221x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"221\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Cheshire-Cheese-Cat-96dpi-221x300.jpg 221w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Cheshire-Cheese-Cat-96dpi.jpg 568w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 221px) 100vw, 221px\" \/><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>In Carmen Agra Deedy and Randall Wright\u2019s <em>The Cheshire Cheese Cat<\/em> (Peachtree Publishing, 2011), Skilley, an alley cat, has found a home at the Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, an inn frequented by Charles Dickens, who is struggling to find a first line for his new novel. (\u201cThe times were cruel. <span style=\"text-decoration: line-through;\">Appalling<\/span>. <span style=\"text-decoration: line-through;\">Ghastly<\/span>. I think I\u2019ll just jump in the Thames. Or become a chimney sweep. Anything but a writer.\u201d) Skilley \u2013 whose dreadful secret is that he prefers cheese to mice \u2013 cuts a deal with the resident mice (he leaves them in peace, they bring him cheese), and makes a particular friend of Pip, a mouse with a startlingly large vocabulary, who can read and write (with his tail). Together they manage to defeat Pinch, a vicious ginger cat, and, with some help from Queen Victoria, restore a wounded raven, Maldwyn, to his home in the Tower of London. And Pip provides the struggling Mr. Dickens with his essential first line. Clever and delightful for ages 8 and up.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>See <a href=\"http:\/\/suzyred.com\/2012_The_Cheshire_Cheese_Cat_A_Dickens_of_a_Tale.html\">Kids Wings<\/a>\u00a0for assorted research links related to <em>The Cheshire Cheese Cat<\/em>, among them information on the real Olde Cheshire Cheese inn (a historic landmark in London), Charles Dickens, <em>A Tale of Two Cities<\/em>, Queen Victoria, and the ravens of the Tower.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><strong><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15540\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-who-went-to-heaven-202x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"202\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-who-went-to-heaven-202x300.jpg 202w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-who-went-to-heaven-690x1024.jpg 690w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-who-went-to-heaven.jpg 728w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 202px) 100vw, 202px\" \/><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>In Elizabeth Coatsworth\u2019s Newbery-Medal-winning <em>The Cat Who Went to Heaven<\/em> (Aladdin, 2008), originally published in 1930, a poor Japanese artist is appalled when his housekeeper spends their few coins on a little cat instead of much-needed food.\u00a0 The cat, Good Fortune, however, lives up to its name: the artist soon receives a commission from the monks of a nearby temple to paint a picture of the Buddha\u2019s death, with all the earth\u2019s animals gathered around him to bid him farewell. According to Buddhist legend, the cat, who refused to pay homage to the Buddha, is forever barred from heaven \u2013 but the artist, who loves his little cat, includes a cat in the painting. The monks are furious and announce their intention to have the painting burned \u2013 but in the morning they find that a miracle has occurred. The painting has altered: now the little cat sits beside the Buddha, who is reaching out his hand to it in blessing. For ages 8 and up.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><strong><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15595\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/TheFamiliars-FINAL-199x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"199\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/TheFamiliars-FINAL-199x300.jpg 199w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/TheFamiliars-FINAL-678x1024.jpg 678w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/TheFamiliars-FINAL-768x1160.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/TheFamiliars-FINAL.jpg 844w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px\" \/><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>In Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson\u2019s <em>The Familiars<\/em> (HarperCollins, 2011), the first of a series, Aldwyn, an alley cat, escapes from a bounty hunter by ducking into a peculiar pet shop \u2013 one that specializes in familiars \u2013 and is purchased by Jack, an eleven-year-old wizard-in-training. In company with two other familiars \u2013 Skylar, a know-it-all bluejay, and Gilbert, a tree frog \u2013 Aldwyn must come to the rescue when Jack and two other young apprentices are kidnapped by an evil witch. For ages 8-11.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><strong><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15605\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/varjak-paw-300x205.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"205\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/varjak-paw-300x205.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/varjak-paw-768x524.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/varjak-paw.jpg 773w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>In SF Said\u2019s <em>Varjak<\/em> <em>Paw<\/em> (Yearling, 2005), Varjak is a pedigreed Mesopotamian Blue, descendant of the fabled Jalal the Paw, a great hunter and fighter, who could make himself invisible and talk to dogs. Varjak and his family have lived in comfort for generations in the home of the Contessa, never venturing into the frightening Outside. Then a Gentleman moves in, with two vicious black cats, and Varjak flees to the city, looking for help. There he links up with alley cats Holly and Tam, and battles the frightening gang leaders Ginger and Sally Bones. When Tam suddenly Vanishes, he, Holly, and the dog Cludge return to the Contessa\u2019s house to save his family, and in doing so solve the mystery of the Vanished cats as well. For ages 9-12.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><strong><strong><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15606\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/warriors-202x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"202\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/warriors-202x300.jpg 202w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/warriors-689x1024.jpg 689w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/warriors-768x1142.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/warriors.jpg 850w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 202px) 100vw, 202px\" \/><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Erin Hunter\u2019s Warriors series is a fantasy featuring four clans of wild forest cats, the ThunderClan, ShadowClan, RiverClan, and WindClan. In the first of the series, <em>Into the Wild<\/em> (HarperCollins, 2004), young Rusty, a house cat or \u201ckittypet,\u201d joins the ThunderClan, is renamed Firepaw, and begins training as an apprentice warror. A good bet for fans of Redwall. For ages 10 and up.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><strong><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15604\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/underneath-231x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"231\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/underneath-231x300.jpg 231w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/underneath-788x1024.jpg 788w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/underneath-768x997.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/underneath.jpg 924w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 231px) 100vw, 231px\" \/><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Kathi Appelt\u2019s Newbery Honor book <em>The Underneath<\/em> (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2010) is a complex, painful, magical, and wonderful tale (told in many brief chapters) of an unlikely friendship between an abandoned pregnant calico cat and Ranger, an old hound dog chained beneath the porch of a shack in the East Texas bayou and abused by his owner, Gar Face. The adventurous kitten Puck, who leaves the safety of the Underneath, triggers a tragedy and a cascade of events involving the monstrous King Alligator (Gar Face\u2019s white whale) and shape-shifting Grandmother, an ancient water moccasin trapped in a buried pottery jar. For ages 10 and up.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><strong><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15610\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/wild-road-195x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"195\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/wild-road-195x300.jpg 195w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/wild-road.jpg 410w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 195px) 100vw, 195px\" \/><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Gabriel King\u2019s <em>The Wild Road<\/em> (Del Rey\/Ballantine, 1998) is high fantasy for cat lovers. The hero, a kitten named Tag, is sent on a quest by the mysterious one-eyed black cat, Majicou: He must find the king and queen of cats and bring them to Tintagel in Cornwall before the spring equinox. Majicou, it turns out, is the keeper of\u00a0 the wild roads, ancient energy paths used by animals to travel through time and space. The villain is the evil Alchemist, who is trying to gain control of the roads, and the cat queen (Pertelot Fitzwilliam) is central to his plan. Tag is supported in his task by a raft of helpers, among them a cockney cat, Mousebreath, a magpie, One for Sorrow, and a fox, Loves a Dustbin. The story continues in <em>The Golden Cat<\/em>.\u00a0 For ages 12 and up.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h4><!--nextpage--><\/h4>\n<h4><strong>CATS AND PEOPLE<\/strong><\/h4>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15550\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/do-you-have-a-cat-300x295.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"295\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/do-you-have-a-cat-300x295.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/do-you-have-a-cat-1024x1006.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/do-you-have-a-cat-768x754.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/do-you-have-a-cat-1536x1509.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/do-you-have-a-cat-2048x2012.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Eileen Spinelli\u2019s <em>Do You Have a Cat?<\/em> (Eerdmans, 2010) is a rhyming picture-book survey of famous historical figures and their cats, from Cleopatra to Queen Victoria, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Calvin Coolidge, and Albert Schweitzer. For ages 4-7.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><\/td>\n<td>Visit <a href=\"http:\/\/user.xmission.com\/~emailbox\/cat_lovers.htm\">A Few Famous Cat Lovers<\/a> for a long alphabetical annotated list. Among the featured cat lovers: Winston Churchill, Charles Dickens, Ernest Hemingway, Charles Lindbergh, and Sir Isaac Newton (who invented the cat flap).<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15570\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/minettes-feast-1-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/minettes-feast-1-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/minettes-feast-1-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/minettes-feast-1-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/minettes-feast-1-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/minettes-feast-1.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Gourmet chef Julia Child had a cat. Susanna Reich\u2019s <em>Minette\u2019s Feast<\/em> (Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2012) tells Julia\u2019s story through the eyes of her little French cat, Minette, who \u2013 though she loves the delicious smells and wonderful recipes emanating from Julia&#8217;s kitchen \u2013 much prefers raw mouse. The text is sprinkled with Child quotes and the end notes include a photograph of Julia with Minette. For ages 4-8.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15549\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/dick-whittington-and-cat-228x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"228\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/dick-whittington-and-cat-228x300.jpg 228w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/dick-whittington-and-cat.jpg 456w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 228px) 100vw, 228px\" \/><\/td>\n<td>Marcia Brown\u2019s <em>Dick Whittington and His Cat<\/em> (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 1988) is the picture-book story of the homeless orphan who \u2013 with the help of his extraordinary cat \u2013 became Lord Mayor of London. (Three times.) For ages 5-9.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><\/td>\n<td>For more information on Dick Whittington, including the myth, the real story, and historical images, visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.purr-n-fur.org.uk\/fabled\/whittington.html\">Purr \u2018n\u2019 Fur Fabled Felines<\/a>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15607\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/whittington-204x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"204\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/whittington-204x300.jpg 204w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/whittington-696x1024.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/whittington-768x1129.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/whittington-1045x1536.jpg 1045w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/whittington-1393x2048.jpg 1393w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/whittington.jpg 1556w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 204px) 100vw, 204px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>In Alan Armstrong\u2019s <em>Whittington<\/em> (Yearling, 2006), a Newbery Honor book, Whittington (a.k.a. Bent Ear) is a battered tomcat who, evicted by his owners, comes to live in the barn at Bernie\u2019s farm. There he tells the story of his illustrious ancestor, Dick Whittington\u2019s famous cat, to an assembly that includes other adopted animals and Bernie\u2019s orphaned grandchildren, Abby and Ben. For ages 9-12.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15602\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/two-bobbies-253x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"253\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/two-bobbies-253x300.jpg 253w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/two-bobbies-863x1024.jpg 863w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/two-bobbies-768x911.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/two-bobbies.jpg 1264w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 253px) 100vw, 253px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>In Kirby Larson\u2019s <em>Two Bobbies<\/em> (Walker Children\u2019s Books, 2008), the two are Bobbi, a dog, and Bob, a cat, both abandoned in New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The two survived together for four months before animal rescuers took them to a shelter, where Bob the cat was found to be blind. The two friends were eventually adopted (together) into a happy home. A wonderful tale of friendship and a nice plug for animal shelters. Pair this one with a field trip. For ages 5-8.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15537\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cats-to-rescue-212x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"212\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cats-to-rescue-212x300.jpg 212w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cats-to-rescue.jpg 353w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 212px) 100vw, 212px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Marilyn Singer\u2019s <em>Cats to the Rescue<\/em> (Henry Holt and Company, 2006) is a collection of stories about heroic, helpful, and inspirational cats, with catchy notes on cat history and behavior. Featured cats include Dick Whittington\u2019s cat; Scarlett, the cat who saved her kittens from a Brooklyn fire; Paisley, elected as mayor of Guffey, Colorado; and Simon, who received a war medal from the British Navy. For ages 8-12.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15535\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cats-of-roxville-196x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"196\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cats-of-roxville-196x300.jpg 196w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cats-of-roxville-669x1024.jpg 669w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cats-of-roxville-768x1176.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cats-of-roxville-1004x1536.jpg 1004w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cats-of-roxville-1338x2048.jpg 1338w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cats-of-roxville.jpg 1519w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 196px) 100vw, 196px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>In Jean Craighead George\u2019s <em>The Cats of Roxville Station<\/em> (Puffin, 2010), Rachet, an abused orange kitten, is tossed off a bridge and left to drown by a lady in a fur coat. Rachet survives, and gradually is accepted by the feral cats who live around the Roxville train station as she learns to cope with other wild animals and survive in the outdoors. She\u2019s also befriended by Mike, a boy who lives with his foster mother (who hates cats). Mike and Rachet form a bond \u2013 they\u2019re both, Mike says, survivors. The story integrates and explains real behaviors of cats, which adds to the interest. For ages 9-12.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><\/td>\n<td>Also see <a href=\"http:\/\/www.teachervision.fen.com\/tv\/printables\/penguin\/cats_of_roxville_dg.pdf\">The Cats of Roxville Station Discussion Guide<\/a>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15576\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/one-eyed-cat-203x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"203\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/one-eyed-cat-203x300.jpg 203w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/one-eyed-cat.jpg 337w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 203px) 100vw, 203px\" \/><\/td>\n<td>In Paula Fox\u2019s complex and compelling <em>One-Eyed Cat<\/em> (Aladdin, 2000), set in the 1930s, eleven-year-old Ned Wallis shoots a forbidden gun at a moving shadow. Later, when a wounded one-eyed feral cat shows up, Ned is convinced that this is his doing. Food for discussion for ages 10 and up.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h4><strong>CATS AT SEA<\/strong><\/h4>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15564\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/lighthouse-cat-206x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"206\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/lighthouse-cat-206x300.jpg 206w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/lighthouse-cat.jpg 446w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 206px) 100vw, 206px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>In Sue Stainton\u2019s <em>The Lighthouse Cat<\/em> (Katherine Tegen Books, 2004), a lonely lighthouse keeper, whose task is to keep the lights burning in the lighthouse\u2019s 24-candle lantern, adopts a stray cat named Mackerel. When a gale blows the candles out and a fishing boat is lost at sea, Mackerel summons eleven cats from the village and together their glowing eyes light the boat safely home. For ages 4-7.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><\/td>\n<td>Why do cats\u2019 eyes shine in the dark? Find out <a href=\"https:\/\/carnegiemnh.org\/meowfest-why-do-cat-eyes-glow-in-the-dark\/\">here<\/a>, with an accompanying experiment.<a href=\"http:\/\/www.enotes.com\/science\/q-and-a\/why-do-cats-eyes-shine-dark-286306\"><br \/>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15573\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/mousehole-cat-209x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"209\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/mousehole-cat-209x300.jpg 209w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/mousehole-cat.jpg 310w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 209px) 100vw, 209px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>In Antonia Barber\u2019s beautifully illustrated <em>The Mousehole Cat<\/em> (Walker Books, 1993), the great Storm-Cat, howling outside the little village of Mousehole, has trapped the fishing fleet in the harbor and food is running low. Finally old Tom heads out to fish in the teeth of the storm, so that the children of the village will not go hungry on Christmas Day \u2013 and his cat Mowzer goes along to protect Tom (her pet) from the fearsome Storm-Cat. Mowzer\u2019s purring soothes the storm; and Tom comes safely home with enough fish for a holiday feast. For ages 5-8.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15599\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/titanicat-247x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"247\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/titanicat-247x300.jpg 247w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/titanicat-842x1024.jpg 842w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/titanicat-768x934.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/titanicat.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 247px) 100vw, 247px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Marty Crisp\u2019s <em>Titanicat<\/em> (Sleeping Bear Press, 2011) is the story of young Jim Mulholland, cabin boy on the <em>Titanic<\/em>, charged with caring for the ship\u2019s cat and her new family of kittens. When the cat leaves the ship, taking her kittens with her, she leaves one behind. Jim, worried, takes the abandoned kitten ashore to find its family, and in doing so misses the ship\u2019s sailing. He\u2019s devastated \u2013 until, a few days later, he learns how lucky he was. Based on a true story. For ages 5-8.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15560\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaspar-the-titanic-cat-199x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"199\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaspar-the-titanic-cat-199x300.jpg 199w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaspar-the-titanic-cat.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>In Michael Morpurgo\u2019s <em>Kaspar the Titanic Cat<\/em> (HarperCollins, 2012), the elegant Kaspar is the former cat of opera singer Countess Kandinsky, adopted by Johnny Trott, a bellboy at the Savoy Hotel, after the Countess is killed by a bus. Kaspar and Johnny become friends with eight-year-old Lizziebeth, daughter of rich American parents staying at the hotel, and they follow along when Lizziebeth and family board the <em>Titanic<\/em> and sail with her as stowaways. Then the unsinkable ship hits an iceberg. For ages 9-12.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15520\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/capt-kidds-cat-198x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"198\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/capt-kidds-cat-198x300.jpg 198w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/capt-kidds-cat.jpg 314w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 198px) 100vw, 198px\" \/><\/td>\n<td>In the spirit of <em>Ben and Me<\/em> and <em>Mr. Revere and I<\/em>, Robert Lawson\u2019s <em>Captain Kidd\u2019s Cat<\/em> (Little, Brown, 1984) is the \u00a0story of the famous pirate William Kidd as told by his ship\u2019s cat, McDermot, who, in true pirate fashion, wears a ruby earring in one ear.\u00a0 This is out of print; check used-book suppliers and public libraries. For ages 8-12.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-17368\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/mrs-chippy-197x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"197\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/mrs-chippy-197x300.jpg 197w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/mrs-chippy-672x1024.jpg 672w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/mrs-chippy-768x1170.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/mrs-chippy.jpg 893w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 197px) 100vw, 197px\" \/><\/td>\n<td>Caroline Alexander\u2019s <em>Mrs. Chippy\u2019s Last Expedition<\/em> (Harper Perennial, 1999) is the story of Ernest Shackleton\u2019s Antarctic expedition as recounted in the diary of the (very articulate) ship\u2019s cat. For teenagers and adults.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><\/td>\n<td>For biographies of famous (real) ship\u2019s cats,\u00a0see <a href=\"http:\/\/user.xmission.com\/~emailbox\/cats_ships.htm\">The Cats Who Sailed on Ships<\/a>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<h4><strong>FOLKTALE CATS<\/strong><\/h4>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15559\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/just-so-stories-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/just-so-stories-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/just-so-stories.jpg 304w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>The story of \u201cThe Cat Who Walked By Himself\u201d is one of Rudyard Kipling\u2019s <em>Just-So Stories<\/em>, along with such perennial favorites as \u201cHow the Camel Got His Hump,\u201d \u201cHow the Rhinoceros Got His Skin,\u201d \u201cThe Elephant\u2019s Child,\u201d and \u201cThe Butterfly That Stamped.\u201d Originally written in 1902, the book is now available in many editions. The text is also available <a href=\"http:\/\/www.gutenberg.org\/ebooks\/2781\">online<\/a>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><\/td>\n<td>Write a Just-So story of your own? <a href=\"http:\/\/www.readwritethink.org\/classroom-resources\/lesson-plans\/pourquoi-stories-creating-tales-324.html\">Pourquoi Stories: Creating Tales to Tell Why<\/a>\u00a0has a book list and helpful reading and writing worksheets. The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.marilynkinsella.org\/Workshop%20papers\/How%20to%20write%20a%20Pourquoi.html\">How and Why of Writing a Pourquoi<\/a>\u00a0also has instructions and suggestions.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15577\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/on-stage-300x241.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"241\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/on-stage-300x241.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/on-stage.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>\u201cThe Cat Who Walked By Himself\u201d in the form of a children\u2019s play is included in Lisa Bany-Winters\u2019s <em>On Stage: Theater Games and Activities for Kids<\/em> (Chicago Review Press, 2012).<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15592\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/tama-lucky-cat-243x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"243\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/tama-lucky-cat-243x300.jpg 243w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/tama-lucky-cat.jpg 486w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 243px) 100vw, 243px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Wendy Henrichs\u2019s <em>I Am Tama, Lucky Cat<\/em> (Peachtree Publishers, 2011) is a picture-book version of the Japanese legend of Maneki Neko, the Beckoning Cat, in which a little cat is taken in and cared for by a poor monk. Eventually the cat saves the life of a samurai warrior (by beckoning him out of the path of a falling tree), for which good deed both cat and monk are generously rewarded. Images of a beckoning cat are therefore said to bring good fortune. For ages 4-8.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15565\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/maneki-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/maneki-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/maneki-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/maneki.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Other picture-book versions of the Japanese Lucky Cat tale are Susan Lendroth\u2019s <em>Maneki Neko: The Tale of the Beckoning Cat<\/em> (Shen\u2019s Books, 2010) and Koko Nishizuka\u2019s <em>The Beckoning Cat<\/em> (Holiday House, 2009).<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15522\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-and-rat-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-and-rat-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-and-rat-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-and-rat.jpg 498w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Ed Young\u2019s <em>Cat and Rat<\/em> (Square Fish, 1998) is a beautifully illustrated tale of the Chinese zodiac. The Emperor holds a race among all the animals, announcing that the names of the first twelve to cross the finish line will be given to a year in the Chinese calendar. Rat cheats, which is why Rat and Cat are enemies to this day. For ages 5-8.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15518\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/boy-who-drew-cats-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/boy-who-drew-cats-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/boy-who-drew-cats-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/boy-who-drew-cats.jpg 498w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>\u201cThe Boy Who Drew Cats\u201d is a traditional Japanese folktale in which a young artist, training to be a priest, insists on drawing pictures of cats on the walls and screens of the temple. Sent away by his frustrated teacher, the boy shelters in an abandoned temple overnight \u2013 but not before he covers the walls with pictures of cats. He then goes to sleep in a cabinet, but wakes to the sound of a terrible battle. In the morning a demonic Goblin Rat lies dead on the floor and the mouths of the painted cats are wet with blood. A picture-book version of the tale, Margaret Hodges\u2019s <em>The Boy Who Drew Cats<\/em> (Holiday House, 2002) is shamefully out of print, but can be found in public libraries and through used-book suppliers. For ages 5-8.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/www.surlalunefairytales.com\/pussboots\/index.html\">T<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.surlalunefairytales.com\/h-r\/puss-boots\/puss-boots-tale.html\">he Annotated Puss in Boots\u00a0<\/a>has an annotated version of Charles Perrault\u2019s classic fairy tale in which a miller\u2019s youngest son inherits a very clever cat and ends up rich and married to a princess. The website includes a history of the story, multicultural versions of the tale, and a <em>Puss in Boots<\/em> book and movie list.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15585\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/puss-in-boots-252x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"252\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/puss-in-boots-252x300.jpg 252w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/puss-in-boots.jpg 420w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 252px) 100vw, 252px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Among these are Philip Pullman\u2019s <em>Puss In Boots: The Adventures of That Most Enterprising Feline <\/em>(Knopf Books for Young Readers), Paul Galdone\u2019s <em>Puss in Boots<\/em> (Sandpiper, 1983), and Charles Perrault\u2019s <em>Puss in Boots<\/em> (Square Fish, 2011), a Caldecott Honor Book, gorgeously illustrated by Fred Marcellino.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h4><strong>HISTORY AND CATS<\/strong><\/h4>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><strong><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15533\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cats-in-krasinski-300x251.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"251\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cats-in-krasinski-300x251.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cats-in-krasinski-768x643.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cats-in-krasinski.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Karen Hesse\u2019s picture book\u00a0<em>The Cats in Krasinski Square<\/em> (Scholastic, 2004) is a gently told story of the Jewish resistance in Warsaw during World War II. A young girl who has befriended the city\u2019s abandoned pet cats comes up with a scheme to use the cats to distract the Nazi dogs, thus allowing her older sister and friends to smuggle supplies through the wall into the ghetto. A ray of light in a dark time. For ages 7-10.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><strong><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15532\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cats-in-doll-shop-230x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"230\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cats-in-doll-shop-230x300.jpg 230w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cats-in-doll-shop-786x1024.jpg 786w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cats-in-doll-shop-768x1001.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cats-in-doll-shop.jpg 862w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 230px) 100vw, 230px\" \/><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Yona Zeldis McDonough\u2019s <em>The Cats in the Doll Shop<\/em>\u00a0(Puffin, 2012) \u2013 a sequel to <em>The Doll Shop Downstairs<\/em> (2011) \u2013 takes place during the early days of World War I in New York City, where eleven-year-old Anna, her sisters, and parents live above the family business, Breittlemann\u2019s Doll Repair Shop. Challenges in this book involve Tania, a withdrawn and unhappy young cousin from Russia, and a family of mistreated stray cats. For ages 8-12.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><strong><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15508\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/adolphus-tips-198x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"198\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/adolphus-tips-198x300.jpg 198w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/adolphus-tips-675x1024.jpg 675w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/adolphus-tips-768x1164.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/adolphus-tips-1013x1536.jpg 1013w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/adolphus-tips-1351x2048.jpg 1351w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/adolphus-tips.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 198px) 100vw, 198px\" \/><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Michael Morpurgo\u2019s <em>The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips<\/em> (Scholastic, 2006) is told through a letter to a twelve-year-old grandson, written by his grandmother Lily, and telling of her experiences as a young girl on a farm in Britain during World War II. In 1943, Lily\u2019s life has been changed by the war: evacuees are billeted in the village; Lily\u2019s father is with the army in Africa; her teacher, Mrs. Blumfeld, is a Dutch Jew who fled the Nazi occupation of Holland; and American soldiers (Lily\u2019s grandfather calls them \u201cruddy Yanks\u201d) are everywhere. Then the announcement comes that the entire village is to be evacuated so that the army can practice landing maneuvers for D-Day. The problem: Lily\u2019s beloved cat, Tips, insists on returning to the danger zone. Tips is finally recovered, with the help of a young black G.I., Adolphus (Adie), who has become Lily\u2019s close friend. The heartwarming conclusion returns to the present: Lily has traveled to the United States and found Adie, and the two have just married. For ages 9-13.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><strong><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15506\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/100-cats-196x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"196\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/100-cats-196x300.jpg 196w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/100-cats.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 196px) 100vw, 196px\" \/><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Sam Stall\u2019s <em>100 Cats Who Changed Civilization<\/em> (Quirk Books, 2007) groups famous felines under \u201cScience and Nature, \u201cHistory and Government,\u201d \u201cArt and Literature,\u201d \u201cPopular Culture,\u201d and \u201cProfiles in Courage.\u201d Among the cats: Unsinkable Sam who went down with the <em>Bismarck<\/em>, only to be rescued by the British Navy; CC, the world\u2019s first cloned cat; Felix, the first cat in space; Mrs. Chippy, who accompanied Ernest Shackleton to Antarctica; and Charles Dickens\u2019s cat, who helpfully snuffed the author&#8217;s candles. Also see Stall\u2019s <em>100 Dogs Who Changed Civilization<\/em>. For ages 12 and up.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><strong><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15505\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/99-lives-275x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"275\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/99-lives-275x300.jpg 275w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/99-lives.jpg 436w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 275px) 100vw, 275px\" \/><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Howard Loxton\u2019s <em>99 Lives: Cats in History, Legend, and Literature<\/em> (Chronicle Books, 1998) is a lushly illustrated 144-page compendium of fascinating facts about cats, from church cats and heraldic cats to ship\u2019s cats, artist\u2019s cats, and psychic cats. For all ages.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<h4><b>HALLOWEEN CATS<\/b><\/h4>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15507\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/a-dark-dark-tale-242x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"242\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/a-dark-dark-tale-242x300.jpg 242w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/a-dark-dark-tale-825x1024.jpg 825w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/a-dark-dark-tale-768x953.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/a-dark-dark-tale-1238x1536.jpg 1238w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/a-dark-dark-tale-1651x2048.jpg 1651w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/a-dark-dark-tale.jpg 2015w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 242px) 100vw, 242px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Ruth Brown\u2019s <em>A Dark Dark Tale<\/em> (Puffin, 1992) opens on a dark, dark moor on which sits a dark, dark forest in which there is a dark, dark house. Readers are shepherded by a black cat through this shivery story until finally \u2013 in the dark, dark box in a dark, dark cupboard \u2013 they find (!) a mouse.\u00a0 A fun and not-too-scary tale for preschoolers. (But it only works once.)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15584\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/pumpkin-cat-235x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/pumpkin-cat-235x300.jpg 235w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/pumpkin-cat.jpg 550w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 235px) 100vw, 235px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>In Anne Mortimer\u2019s <em>Pumpkin Cat<\/em> (Katherine Tegen Books\/HarperCollins, 2011), Cat, with the help of knowledgeable friend Mouse, learns how pumpkins grow. Together they plant seeds, tend plants, harvest their pumpkin, and carve a beautiful jack-o\u2019-lantern.\u00a0 Included are pumpkin-growing instructions. For ages 3-5.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-15571\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/moonlight.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"224\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/moonlight.jpg 224w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/moonlight-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 224px) 100vw, 224px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>In Cynthia Rylant\u2019s <em>Moonlight: The Halloween Cat<\/em> (HarperCollins, 2009), a lovely little black cat prowls softly through the night, watching glowing jack-o-lanterns, trick-or-treating children, a friendly scarecrow, porch-visiting raccoons, and a big full moon. A gentle Halloween night for ages 3-6.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15588\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/scary-scary-halloween-300x291.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"291\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/scary-scary-halloween-300x291.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/scary-scary-halloween.jpg 419w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Eve Bunting\u2019s <em>Scary, Scary Halloween<\/em> (Sandpiper, 1998), with illustrations by Jan Brett, is narrated in rhyme by a green-eyed black cat, as she and her kittens watch a skeleton, a ghost, witches, goblins, a devil, and a mummy parade down the road \u2013 all really children in Halloween costumes. (\u201cI peer outside, there\u2019s something there\/That makes me shiver, spikes my hair.\/It must be Halloween.\u201d) For ages 3-6.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15553\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/hoodwinked-233x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"233\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/hoodwinked-233x300.jpg 233w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/hoodwinked.jpg 389w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 233px) 100vw, 233px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>In Arthur Howard\u2019s <em>Hoodwinked<\/em> (Sandpiper, 2005), Mitzi, a small witch in a purple hat, likes creepy things \u2013 spiders, monster-faced bedroom slippers, skull-shaped breakfast cereal \u2013 but she can\u2019t seem to find an appropriately creepy pet. That is, until a dismayingly cute and cuddly kitten shows up at her door. For ages 4-7.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15548\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/curious-demise-300x219.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"219\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/curious-demise-300x219.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/curious-demise.jpg 499w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>In Lynne Berry\u2019s Gorey-esque <em>The Curious Demise of a Contrary Cat<\/em> (Simon &amp; Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2006), Witch is throwing a party, and Cat is being no help whatsoever. (\u201cCat,\u201d said Witch, \u201cfetch me a hat!\u201d But Cat was busy chasing Rat.) Finally, after just one GRRR too many from uncooperative Cat, frustrated Witch turns Cat into a toad. For ages 4-7.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15608\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/who-stole-halloween-206x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"206\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/who-stole-halloween-206x300.jpg 206w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/who-stole-halloween-703x1024.jpg 703w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/who-stole-halloween-768x1119.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/who-stole-halloween.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 206px) 100vw, 206px\" \/><\/td>\n<td>In Martha Freeman\u2019s <em>Who Stole Halloween? <\/em>(Holiday House, 2008 ), eleven-year-old sleuths Alex and Yasmeen solve an October mystery involving serial cat-nappings and a 100-year-old murder. (First cat to disappear is the neighbor\u2019s aptly named Halloween.) For ages 9-12.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><\/td>\n<td>Read Edgar Allan Poe\u2019s classic horror story \u201cThe Black Cat,\u201d originally published in 1843, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.gutenberg.org\/ebooks\/2148\">online<\/a>.\u00a0The text can also be found at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.teachervision.fen.com\/theater\/printable\/3148.html\">Teacher Vision<\/a>, along with a reader\u2019s theater version of the story, a vocabulary list, and discussion questions. For ages 12 and up.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h4><strong>TRAVELING CATS<\/strong><\/h4>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15556\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/incredible-journey-199x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"199\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/incredible-journey-199x300.jpg 199w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/incredible-journey-678x1024.jpg 678w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/incredible-journey-768x1160.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/incredible-journey-1017x1536.jpg 1017w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/incredible-journey-1356x2048.jpg 1356w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/incredible-journey.jpg 1655w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>In Sheila Burnford\u2019s <em>The Incredible Journey<\/em> (Yearling, 1997), a trio of pets \u2013 Luath, a Labrador retriever, Bodger, an elderly bull terrier, and Tao, a Siamese cat \u2013 are stranded in a cabin three hundred miles from home, and to rejoin their owners, must make a dangerous trek across the Canadian wilderness. For ages 9 and up.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15552\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/homeward-bound-217x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"217\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/homeward-bound-217x300.jpg 217w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/homeward-bound-740x1024.jpg 740w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/homeward-bound-768x1063.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/homeward-bound.jpg 1084w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 217px) 100vw, 217px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>A true-to-the-book film version of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0057180\/\">The Incredible Journey<\/a> (Walt Disney, 1963) is set in Canada; in a 1993 version, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0107131\/\">Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey<\/a>, the animals \u2013 renamed Shadow, Chance, and Sassy \u2013 travel from a California ranch to find their owners in San Francisco.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15568\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/milo-and-otis-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/milo-and-otis-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/milo-and-otis.jpg 560w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>In the movie <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0097050\/\">The Adventures of Milo and Otis<\/a> (1986), made in Japan and adapted for an American audience, Milo, a cat, and Otis, a dog, raised together, are best friends. When Milo is swept down the river in a box, Otis goes after her, and the two have separate adventures (variously with bears, owls, pigs, birds, snakes, and tough terrain) before being happily reunited. Rated G.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15546\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cross-country-cat-235x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cross-country-cat-235x300.jpg 235w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cross-country-cat.jpg 550w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 235px) 100vw, 235px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>In Mary Calhoun\u2019s <em>Cross-Country Cat<\/em> (Mulberry Books, 1986), Henry, a very resourceful Siamese cat, is left behind at a vacation ski lodge \u2013 so he makes himself a pair of skis and sets off, with his purple-yarn mouse, on a cross-country trip home. There are several sequels, among them <em>Hot-Air Henry<\/em>, <em>High-Wire Henry<\/em>, and <em>Henry the Sailor Cat<\/em>. For ages 4-8.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15598\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/time-cat-191x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"191\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/time-cat-191x300.jpg 191w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/time-cat.jpg 317w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 191px) 100vw, 191px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Where do cats go when you\u2019re looking for them, but can\u2019t find them? <em>They time travel.<\/em> In Lloyd Alexander\u2019s <em>Time Cat<\/em> (Square Fish, 2012), Jason\u2019s orange-eyed cat Gareth can both talk and time travel \u2013 that is, in lieu of nine lives, Gareth can visit nine different lives, anywhere, any time, and what\u2019s more, he can take Jason with him. Off the pair go on a chronological series of adventures, in ancient Egypt, Roman Britain, Saint Patrick\u2019s Ireland, imperial Japan, Renaissance Italy, Germany (during a witch hunt), and colonial America. For ages 8-12.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<h4><strong>Poetry with Cats<\/strong><\/h4>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><strong><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15536\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cats-sleep-anywhere-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cats-sleep-anywhere-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cats-sleep-anywhere-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cats-sleep-anywhere.jpg 498w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Eleanor Farjeon\u2019s <em>Cats Sleep Anywhere<\/em> (Frances Lincoln Children\u2019s Books, 2010), illustrated by painter Anne Mortimer, is a lovely simple poem (\u201cCats sleep\/Anywhere\/Any table\/Any chair\u201d). For ages 3-6.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><strong><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15529\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-on-may-is-flat-199x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"199\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-on-may-is-flat-199x300.jpg 199w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-on-may-is-flat.jpg 398w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px\" \/>\u00a0<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Andy Griffiths\u2019s <em>The Cat on the Mat is Flat<\/em> (Square Fish, 2009) is a collection of nine zany illustrated rhymes, the first of which involves a cat, a mat, a rat, and a baseball bat. A hoot for ages 4-9.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><strong><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15578\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/owl-and-pussycat-255x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"255\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/owl-and-pussycat-255x300.jpg 255w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/owl-and-pussycat-869x1024.jpg 869w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/owl-and-pussycat-768x905.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/owl-and-pussycat-1304x1536.jpg 1304w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/owl-and-pussycat.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 255px) 100vw, 255px\" \/><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>In Edward Lear\u2019s <em>The Owl and the Pussycat<\/em> (Puffin, 1996), illustrated by Jan Brett, the famous couple\u2019s pea-green boat floats through the clear waters of the Caribbean beneath which \u2013 right along with the Owl and the Pussycat \u2013 a pair of yellow fish are also falling in love. For ages 3 and up.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><strong><strong> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15579\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/owl-and-pussycat-jorisch-178x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"178\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/owl-and-pussycat-jorisch-178x300.jpg 178w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/owl-and-pussycat-jorisch.jpg 296w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 178px) 100vw, 178px\" \/><\/strong><\/strong><\/td>\n<td>As illustrated by Stephane Jorisch, <em>The Owl and the Pussycat<\/em> (Kids Can Press, 2007) in the Visions in Poetry series features an upper-class business-man-like Owl and a free-spirited Pussycat who run away from it all and live happily ever after. All ages.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><strong><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15547\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/curious-collection-of-cats-238x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"238\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/curious-collection-of-cats-238x300.jpg 238w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/curious-collection-of-cats.jpg 549w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 238px) 100vw, 238px\" \/><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Betsy Franco\u2019s <em>A Curious Collection of Cats<\/em> (Tricycle Press, 2009) contains 34 delightful and brightly illustrated concrete poems in a range of styles from haiku to limerick. (Also, just to be fair, see Franco\u2019s <em>A Dazzling Display of Dogs<\/em>.)\u00a0For ages 4-8.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><strong><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15517\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/bow-wow-meow-Florian-300x295.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"295\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/bow-wow-meow-Florian-300x295.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/bow-wow-meow-Florian.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Douglas Florian\u2019s <em>Bow Wow Meow Meow: It\u2019s Rhyming Cats and Dogs<\/em> (Harcourt Children\u2019s Books, 2003) is a collection of 21 illustrated humorous poems, variously celebrating cats and dogs, as well as the wolf, the leopard, the lion, the ocelot, the black panther and the cheetah. For ages 5-10.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><strong><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15530\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-poems-crawley-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-poems-crawley-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-poems-crawley-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-poems-crawley.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Dave Crawley\u2019s <em>Cat Poems<\/em> (Wordsong, 2005) is an illustrated collection of \u2013 yes \u2013 24 cat poems, among them \u201cPlayground Cat,\u201d \u201cFinicky Felicia,\u201d \u201cMixed-Up Max,\u201d and the poignant \u201cTandy Is Twenty.\u201d Try this snippet: \u201cMy cat can\u2019t read, can\u2019t read a word\/(To think he could would be absurd)\/Yet every time I read a book,\/he scrambles up to take a look.\u201d Crawley is also the author of <em>Dog Poems<\/em> (2007). Both for ages 6-9.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><strong><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15611\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/won-ton-208x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"208\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/won-ton-208x300.jpg 208w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/won-ton-710x1024.jpg 710w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/won-ton-768x1107.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/won-ton-1065x1536.jpg 1065w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/won-ton-1420x2048.jpg 1420w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/won-ton.jpg 1734w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 208px) 100vw, 208px\" \/><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Lee Wardlaw\u2019s <em>Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku<\/em> (Henry Holt and Company, 2011) is a clever and heartwarming tale of a blue-eyed shelter cat and his adoption by a boy, related in haiku (well, senryu). The action begins in the Shelter (\u201cNice place they got here.\/Bed. Bowl. Blankie. Just like home!\/Or so I\u2019ve been told.\u201d) and ends with the little cat happily settled in his new home, where he finally tells the boy his real name. It\u2019s not Won Ton; it\u2019s Haiku. For ages 4-8.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><strong><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15512\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ate-that-cat-202x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"202\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ate-that-cat-202x300.jpg 202w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ate-that-cat.jpg 336w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 202px) 100vw, 202px\" \/><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>In Sharon Creech\u2019s <em>Hate That Cat!<\/em> (HarperCollins, 2010), a sequel to the wonderful <em>Love That Dog<\/em>, Jack and his perceptive teacher Miss Stretchberry return for more poetry and self-exploration. Jack deals with a hateful black neighborhood cat, his critical and opinionated Uncle Bill, his feelings for his deaf mother, and his love for his new Christmas kitten \u2013 which disappears, only to be safely returned by the now-no-longer-hateful black cat. Featured poems are by Edgar Allan Poe, T.S. Eliot, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, William Carlos Williams, Valerie Worth, and Walter Dean and Chris Myers. Jack\u2019s poem in imitation of Poe\u2019s \u201cThe Bells,\u201d \u201cThe Yips\u201d (\u201cHear the dogs with their yips\/Squeaky yips\u201d) is priceless. For ages 9-12.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><strong><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15575\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/old-possum-1-199x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"199\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/old-possum-1-199x300.jpg 199w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/old-possum-1.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px\" \/><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>T.S. Eliot\u2019s poetic celebration of cats, <em>Old Possum\u2019s Book of Practical Cats<\/em> (Harcourt, Brace &amp; Company, 1982), is available in several editions, but my favorite is this one, with wonderful pen-and-ink illustrations by Edward Gorey. The poems include \u201cThe Naming of Cats,\u201d\u201dGrowltiger\u2019s Last Stand,\u201d \u201cThe Song of the Jellicles,\u201d \u201cOld Deuteronomy,\u201d and \u201cMacavity: The Mystery Cat.\u201d Originally written in the 1930s, this book was the inspiration for Andrew Lloyd Webber\u2019s popular musical <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0173714\/\">Cats<\/a>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><strong><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15511\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/archy-and-mehitabel-1-178x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"178\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/archy-and-mehitabel-1-178x300.jpg 178w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/archy-and-mehitabel-1.jpg 373w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 178px) 100vw, 178px\" \/><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>In Don Marquis\u2019s classic <em>archy and mehitabel<\/em> (Anchor Books, 1987), originally published in 1916, Archy \u2013 poet and cockroach \u2013 communicates with the author by leaping on the keys of his typewriter. (No capital letters; Archy can\u2019t use the shift key.) The book is a wonderful collection of free-verse stories about Archy\u2019s world and friends, among them Mehitabel, a personality-laden alley cat, whose motto is \u201ctoujours gai.\u201d For teenagers and adults.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><strong><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15596\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/the-great-cat-203x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"203\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/the-great-cat-203x300.jpg 203w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/the-great-cat.jpg 405w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 203px) 100vw, 203px\" \/>\u00a0<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Edited by Emily Fragos, <em>The Great Cat<\/em> (Everyman\u2019s Library, 2005) is a 256-page anthology of cat and cat-related poems by such poets as William Blake, Edward Lear, Oscar Wilde, W.B. Yeats, Emily Dickinson, Pablo Neruda, William Shakespeare, and Mother Goose. For teenagers and adults.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/www.squidoo.com\/poemsaboutcats\">Poems About Cats<\/a>\u00a0is\u00a0an illustrated collection, among them \u201cThe Cat and the Moon\u201d by William Butler Yeats, \u201cSee the Kitten on the Wall\u201d by William Wordsworth, \u201cThe Naming of Cats\u201d by T.S. Eliot, \u201cCat Math\u201d by Ruth Berman, and more.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>In Carl Sandburg&#8217;s poem <a href=\"http:\/\/www.poetryfoundation.org\/poem\/174299\">Fog<\/a>, \u201cThe fog comes\/on little cat feet.\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>See Christopher Smart&#8217;s 18th-century cat poem, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.poetryfoundation.org\/poems\/45173\/jubilate-agno\">For I Will Consider My Cat Jeoffrey.<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Eugene Field\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bartleby.com\/102\/231.html\">The Duel<\/a> describes the epic battle between the gingham dog and the calico cat.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>See <a href=\"http:\/\/wordsmith.org\/words\/kilkenny_cats.html\">Wordsmith<\/a>\u00a0for background and a limerick about the battling Kilkenny cats. (&#8220;There once were two cats of Kilkenny\/Who thought there was one cat too many&#8230;&#8221;)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<h4><strong>ART! CRAFTS! CATS!<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>\u200b<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15516\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/bijou-bonbon-284x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"284\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/bijou-bonbon-284x300.jpg 284w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/bijou-bonbon.jpg 474w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 284px) 100vw, 284px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Joan Sweeney\u2019s <em>Bijou, Bonbon, and Beau: The Kittens Who Danced for Degas<\/em> (Chronicle Books, 2002) is the story of three mischievous kittens adopted by a ballet theater in Paris where artist Edgar Degas comes to sketch the dancers. Illustrations are Degas-style impressionist pastels. For ages 2-6.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15545\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cool-cat-300x243.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"243\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cool-cat-300x243.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cool-cat-1024x828.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cool-cat-768x621.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cool-cat-1536x1242.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cool-cat-2048x1656.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Nonny Hogrogian\u2019s <em>Cool Cat<\/em> (Roaring Brook Press, 2009) is a wonderful wordless picture book in which a black cat with a paint box arrives in a desolate vacant lot and proceeds to transform it. In each double-page spread, a new helper arrives to wield a paintbrush, and by the end of the book, the lot has become a flower-filled meadow with a pond. For ages 3-6.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15603\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/uncle-andy-cats-233x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"233\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/uncle-andy-cats-233x300.jpg 233w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/uncle-andy-cats-796x1024.jpg 796w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/uncle-andy-cats-768x988.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/uncle-andy-cats-1194x1536.jpg 1194w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/uncle-andy-cats-1593x2048.jpg 1593w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/uncle-andy-cats.jpg 1944w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 233px) 100vw, 233px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>James Warhola&#8217;s <em>Uncle Andy&#8217;s Cats<\/em> (G.P. Putnam&#8217;s Sons, 2009) tells the story of artist Andy Warhol&#8217;s 25 cats &#8211; beginning with the first little blue cat named Hester. Illustrations include images of the artist&#8217;s paintings and of Warhol at work. For ages 4-8.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15593\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/the-cat-and-the-bird-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/the-cat-and-the-bird-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/the-cat-and-the-bird-770x1024.jpg 770w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/the-cat-and-the-bird-768x1022.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/the-cat-and-the-bird.jpg 799w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Geraldine Elschner\u2019s <em>The Cat and the Bird<\/em> (Prestel Publishing, 2012) \u2013 inspired by and illustrated in the style of artist Paul Klee \u2013 is the tale of a little cat who, despite a lovely home filled with toys, envies the freedom of the bird. Then one day the bird manages to set the cat free, and at the end the cat is dancing joyfully on the roof in the moonlight. For ages 5-8.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-20608\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/Screen-Shot-2015-09-13-at-4.30.43-PM-232x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"232\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/Screen-Shot-2015-09-13-at-4.30.43-PM-232x300.png 232w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/Screen-Shot-2015-09-13-at-4.30.43-PM.png 703w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 232px) 100vw, 232px\" \/><\/td>\n<td>Deep Space Sparkle Art Lessons for Kids has a wonderful <a href=\"https:\/\/www.deepspacesparkle.com\/paul-klee-art-lesson\/\">Paul Klee art lesson<\/a> featuring <em>The Cat and the Bird<\/em>. Kids make gorgeous multicolored castles.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15563\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/klee-venezia-236x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"236\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/klee-venezia-236x300.jpg 236w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/klee-venezia.jpg 394w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 236px) 100vw, 236px\" \/><\/td>\n<td>Also see Mike Venezia\u2019s <em>Paul Klee<\/em> (Children\u2019s Press, 1991), a delightful 32-page biography in the \u201cGetting to Know the World\u2019s Greatest Artists\u201d series. For ages 5-9.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15569\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/mimis-dada-250x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/mimis-dada-250x300.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/mimis-dada.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Shelley Jackson\u2019s <em>Mimi\u2019s Dada Catifesto<\/em> (Clarion Books, 2010), a marvelously illustrated m\u00e9lange of collage, drawings, newspaper clippings, and eccentric typefaces, is the story of a creative alley cat who finds a home with the absurdist Mr. Dada, an imaginative off-the-wall artist who is clearly Mimi\u2019s kindred spirit. An author\u2019s note explains \u2013 or at least attempts to explain \u2013 the Dada movement. (\u201cDada is anything silly and surprising.\u201d) For ages 6-9.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><\/td>\n<td>Check out this <a href=\"http:\/\/members.peak.org\/~dadaist\/Art\/index.html\">gallery of Dadaist artworks<\/a>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15514\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/benj-west-and-grimalkin-219x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"219\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/benj-west-and-grimalkin-219x300.jpg 219w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/benj-west-and-grimalkin-749x1024.jpg 749w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/benj-west-and-grimalkin-768x1051.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/benj-west-and-grimalkin-1123x1536.jpg 1123w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/benj-west-and-grimalkin.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 219px) 100vw, 219px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Marguerite Henry\u2019s <em>Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin<\/em> (Beautiful Feet Books, 2008) is a lightly fictionalized 156-page biography of the Pennsylvania Quaker who grew up to become the \u201cfather of American painting\u201d and the only American ever to become president of the British Royal Academy. As a boy, Benjamin was so passionate about painting that he made his own paints from clay and devised brushes with fur from his pet cat\u2019s tail. For ages 9-12.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/mymodernmet.com\/cat-art-history\/\">Cats in Art<\/a>\u00a0is a virtual exhibit of cats in art, arranged in chronological order from antiquity to the present.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15551\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/draw-50-cats-236x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"236\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/draw-50-cats-236x300.jpg 236w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/draw-50-cats.jpg 472w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 236px) 100vw, 236px\" \/><\/td>\n<td>Lee J. Ames\u2019s <em>Draw 50 Cats<\/em> (Watson-Guptill, 2012) is a 64-page step-by-step guide to drawing house cats, wild cats, and cartoon cats. For ages 9 and up.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15594\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/the-cat-lovers-coloring-book-original-imafyh38jhygrstz-228x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"228\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/the-cat-lovers-coloring-book-original-imafyh38jhygrstz-228x300.jpg 228w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/the-cat-lovers-coloring-book-original-imafyh38jhygrstz.jpg 465w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 228px) 100vw, 228px\" \/><\/td>\n<td>Ruth Soffer\u2019s <em>The Cat Lovers\u2019 Coloring Book<\/em> (Dover Publications) has 30 ready-to-color illustrations of the world\u2019s top cat breeds, among them Burmese, Siamese, Persian, and Maine Coon cats.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><\/td>\n<td>DLTK&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dltk-kids.com\/animals\/pets-cats.html\">Cat Activities<\/a>\u00a0include coloring pages, instructions for a cat paper bag puppet and a cat shapes project (make a cat from circles and triangles), cat mini-books and writing paper, and more. For ages 2 and up.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><\/td>\n<td>First School\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.first-school.ws\/theme\/animals\/pets\/cat.htm\">Cat Theme<\/a> has printable alphabet pages (C for cat; K for kitten) and worksheets, links to fairy tales, fables, and nursery rhymes featuring cats, online cat jigsaw puzzles, cat papercrafts, and more.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/childfun.com\/index.php\/activity-themes\/animals\/121-cat-and-kitten-activity-theme.html?start=1\">ChildFun<\/a> has a list of creative cat activities: for example, kids make wallpaper calico cats, handprint cats, cat collages, and potato-print pawprints.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/www.enchantedlearning.com\/crafts\/cat\/\">Enchanted Learning<\/a>\u00a0has patterns and instructions for cat puppets, cat greeting cards, and a black cat hat.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><\/td>\n<td>From Artists Helping Children, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.artistshelpingchildren.org\/cats-crafts-ideas-activities.html\">Cat Crafts for Kids<\/a>\u00a0has dozens of cat-based crafts, among them cat masks, cat Christmas ornaments, a striped-cat craft stick refrigerator magnet, cat bookmarks, origami cats, and more.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<h4><strong>MATH WITH (Millions of) CATS<\/strong><\/h4>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15567\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/millions-of-cats-300x207.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"207\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/millions-of-cats-300x207.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/millions-of-cats-768x529.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/millions-of-cats.jpg 871w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>In Wanda Gag\u2019s classic <em>Million of Cats<\/em> (Puffin, 2006), a lonely old man and woman decide they would like to have a cat, so the old man sets out to find the prettiest cat of all. He finds not just one, but \u201chundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions and billions and trillions of cats.\u201d Ultimately the cats, all insisting that they\u2019re the prettiest, have a massive fight, leaving behind only a scrawny little black kitten, whom the old couple pronounce the prettiest of all. For ages 4-8.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15554\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-is-a-million-241x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"241\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-is-a-million-241x300.jpg 241w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-is-a-million-768x956.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-is-a-million.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 241px) 100vw, 241px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Good books to accompany <em>Millions of Cats<\/em> include David Schwartz\u2019s <em>How Much Is a Million?<\/em> (HarperCollins, 2004), in which a Mathematical Magician introduces kids to the concept of a million with many creative analogies (a goldfish bowl big enough for a million goldfish could hold a blue whale; a stack of a million kids could reach all the way to the moon) and <em>On Beyond a Million<\/em> (Dragonfly Books, 2001), in which Professor X and a spouting popcorn machine provide a kid-friendly explanation of scientific notation and increasingly enormous numbers (up to a googol).<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15510\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/a-million-dats-284x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"284\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/a-million-dats-284x300.jpg 284w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/a-million-dats.jpg 473w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 284px) 100vw, 284px\" \/><\/td>\n<td>See just what a million looks like (and learn a lot of fascinating facts along the way) with Andrew Clements\u2019s picture book <em>A Million Dots<\/em> (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2006).<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15534\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cats-night-out-242x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"242\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cats-night-out-242x300.jpg 242w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cats-night-out.jpg 403w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 242px) 100vw, 242px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>\u201cIn the city\/windows light.\/How many cats\/will dance tonight?\u201d Caroline Stutson\u2019s rhyming <em>Cat\u2019s Night Out<\/em> (Simon &amp; Schuster\/Paula Wiseman Books, 2010) is an exercise in dance and counting by twos, as multiplying pairs of gorgeously outfitted cats samba, boogie, tango, tap, twist, and form a conga line on a clothesline. For ages 4-8.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15581\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/penrose-256x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"256\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/penrose-256x300.jpg 256w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/penrose.jpg 506w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 256px) 100vw, 256px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>In Theoni Pappas\u2019s <em>The Adventures of Penrose, the Mathematical Cat<\/em> (Wide World Publishing\/Tetra, 1997), Penrose investigates pancake world, meets a fractal dragon and a Fibonacci rabbit, discovers infinity and Mobius strips, learns about tessellation, and more. For ages 7-12.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15531\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cats-cradle-300x183.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"183\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cats-cradle-300x183.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cats-cradle.jpg 485w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Anne Akers Johnson\u2019s <em>Cat\u2019s Cradle: A Book of String Figures<\/em> (Klutz, 2009) has clear instructions for five traditional string figures: Cat\u2019s Cradle, Cup and Saucer, Witch\u2019s Broom, Jacob\u2019s Ladder, and Eiffel Tower. Nice heavy-duty colored string is included with the book. For ages 6 and up.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><\/td>\n<td>Cat\u2019s cradle and math? (Absolutely.) James R. Murphy\u2019s <em>Murphy\u2019s String Figures: Teaching Math With String Figures<\/em> (CreateSpace, 2008) provides instructions for making many different figures and discusses how Murphy used string figures as a means of teaching math to math-hating high-school students. For more information, see Murphy&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.torusflex.com\/\">website<\/a>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h4><strong>THE SCIENCE OF CATS: Purrs, Laps, Pounces, and Meows<\/strong><\/h4>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15525\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-eyewitness-233x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"233\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-eyewitness-233x300.jpg 233w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cat-eyewitness.jpg 465w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 233px) 100vw, 233px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>Juliet Clutton-Brock\u2019s <em>Cat <\/em>(Dorling Kindersley, 2004) in the DK Eyewitness series is a lavishly illustrated survey of cat physiology and behavior, breeds, relatives, myths and legends, history, famous cats, and how to care for pet cats.\u00a0 Each double-page spread is devoted to a separate topic. For ages 8 and up.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15555\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-to-talk-to-your-cat-turtleback-school-library-binding-original-imaeb7hgspmyecqw-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-to-talk-to-your-cat-turtleback-school-library-binding-original-imaeb7hgspmyecqw-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-to-talk-to-your-cat-turtleback-school-library-binding-original-imaeb7hgspmyecqw-1019x1024.jpg 1019w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-to-talk-to-your-cat-turtleback-school-library-binding-original-imaeb7hgspmyecqw-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-to-talk-to-your-cat-turtleback-school-library-binding-original-imaeb7hgspmyecqw-1529x1536.jpg 1529w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-to-talk-to-your-cat-turtleback-school-library-binding-original-imaeb7hgspmyecqw.jpg 1656w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"rg_ilmbg\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>How to say \u201chello\u201d in cat? Rub heads. Jean Craighead George\u2019s <em>How to Talk to Your Cat<\/em> (HarperCollins, 2003) gives readers the scoop on cat communication, including tail and ear signals, purring, and 19 different kinds of meows. For ages 7 and up.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><\/td>\n<td>Who\u2019s smarter: cats or dogs? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/science\/which-are-smarter-cats-or-dogs-we-asked-a-scientist\">See what science says<\/a>.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.msnbc.msn.com\/id\/38433950\/ns\/technology_and_science-science\/t\/how-science-measures-cats-dogs\/\"><br \/>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-20734\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/British-Shorthair-Wild-Type-And-Dilute-600px-300x177.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"177\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/British-Shorthair-Wild-Type-And-Dilute-600px-300x177.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/British-Shorthair-Wild-Type-And-Dilute-600px-768x454.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/British-Shorthair-Wild-Type-And-Dilute-600px.jpg 1015w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/td>\n<td>What color is a cat? <a href=\"http:\/\/catdnatest.org\/pdf\/understanding-cat-colors.pdf\">Understanding the Basic Genetics of Cat Colors<\/a> is an illustrated explanation of the genetics of fur color and pattern in cats. It turns out that there are really only two colors of cats: red and black.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/www.smithsonianmag.com\/history-archaeology\/brief_cats.html\">A Brief History of House Cats<\/a> from <em>Smithsonian <\/em>magazine\u00a0is the story of the domestication of the cat. Our house pets, scientists believe, originated from a Middle Eastern wildcat, and first linked up with humans about 12,000 years ago.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><\/td>\n<td>From Scientific American, see <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article\/the-taming-of-the-cat\/\">The Evolution of House Cats<\/a>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-20735\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/BYdYeqtXxBqWdkzYt4txuf-300x188.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"188\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/BYdYeqtXxBqWdkzYt4txuf-300x188.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/BYdYeqtXxBqWdkzYt4txuf.jpg 650w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/td>\n<td>How cats lap: it\u2019s more complicated than it looks. Read all about it <a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2010\/11\/11\/AR2010111104952.html\">here<\/a>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><\/td>\n<td>Cat physics! Find out <a href=\"http:\/\/www.animalplanet.com\/pets\/why-do-cats-land-on-their-feet\/\">why cats always land on their feet<\/a>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><\/td>\n<td>Why do cats purr? Nobody quite knows. See <a href=\"http:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article.cfm?id=why-do-cats-purr\">here<\/a>\u00a0for science\u2019s best suggestions.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15557\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/in-search-of-schrodinger-s-cat-quantam-physics-and-reality-original-imafyh26sfvuwfbu-191x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"191\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/in-search-of-schrodinger-s-cat-quantam-physics-and-reality-original-imafyh26sfvuwfbu-191x300.jpg 191w, https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/in-search-of-schrodinger-s-cat-quantam-physics-and-reality-original-imafyh26sfvuwfbu.jpg 389w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 191px) 100vw, 191px\" \/><\/td>\n<td>John Gribbin\u2019s <em>In Search of Schrodinger\u2019s Cat<\/em> (Bantam Books, 1984) covers the history and physics of quantum theory (including Erwin Schrodinger\u2019s famous cat-in-a-box thought experiment) for a popular audience. For teenagers and adults.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-20609\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/download-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"259\" height=\"194\" \/><\/td>\n<td>See this short straightforward summary (with videos) of the famous <a href=\"http:\/\/dipless.hubpages.com\/hub\/Quantum-Physics---Schrodingers-Cat\">Schrodinger\u2019s Cat thought experiment<\/a>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 300px;\"><\/td>\n<td>From the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.philosophersguild.com\/Schrodingers-Cat-Finger-Puppet.html\">Unemployed Philosophers Guild<\/a>: a Schrodinger\u2019s Cat Finger Puppet.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cats! Lewis Carroll had the grinning and vanishing Cheshire Cat; Beatrix Potter had Tom Kitten, and Ginger and Pickles. Mother Goose\u2019s cat played the fiddle;&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17588,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[774],"tags":[271,267,259,263,270,273,258,678,261,260,264,269,268,265,272,274,266,262],"class_list":["post-3080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-animals","tag-cat-arts-and-crafts","tag-cat-folktales","tag-cat-lesson-plans","tag-cat-lovers","tag-cat-poetry","tag-cat-science","tag-cats","tag-cats-teaching-resources","tag-cheshire-cat","tag-childrens-books-about-cats","tag-dick-whittington","tag-halloween","tag-halloween-cats","tag-history-of-cats","tag-math-and-cats","tag-schrodingers-cat","tag-ships-cats","tag-t-s-eliot"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3080"}],"version-history":[{"count":65,"href":"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3080\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20736,"href":"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3080\/revisions\/20736"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}