Book: What Cat Is That? By Tish Rabe

Illustrated by Aristides Ruiz and Joe Mathieu

This fun book is from the Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library—a series of nonfiction children’s books inspired by the work of Dr. Seuss. These books are meant as an introduction to the world of nonfiction for young readers, keeping the easy reading rhymes of Seuss, but pairing it with real world information. It’s a great way to introduce the concept of “reading to learn,” while still maintaining the fun aspects of many of the books children are used to when they are learning to read. I was not familiar with the series until I was gifted this book, but cannot help thinking there is a stroke of genius here.

In this book, the Cat in the Hat returns to visit the children from his original story, taking them on an adventure in his Kitty-Cat-Copter to see as many cats as possible. Then they are off to explore a wide array of cats, from the famous big cats to the different types of house cats. It also manages to include a variety of cat facts, while maintaining the ABCB rhyming pattern throughout and even includes a visit from Thing 1 and Thing 2! The illustrations are a really interesting mix—there is enough detail to show the differences in many cat types and breeds, while still maintaining elements readers will recognize from classic Seuss works. The colors are more realistic, of course, but the overall look is very similar.

Although this is the only book I have read from the Learning Library, I think these would be a great fit for kids around Second to Third Grade. This would be around the age when school begins to focus less on the foundations of reading, to working on comprehension and using books to find information. This is a entertaining transitional book that kids can still get excited about, rather than viewing it as purely informational.

Minka’s Thoughts: “That cat is this cat! This cat is me cat! All the cats; all the paws!”