Litwin, E. (2008). Pete
the cat: I love my white shoes. New York: HarperCollins.
ISBN: 978-0-06-190622-0
This book is about a cat named
Pete. Pete is walking down the street in his new, white shoes. As he is
walking, he is singing about how much he loves his shoes. Throughout the book,
Pete walks through several obstacles that change the colour of his shoes. He
walks through strawberries and that turns his shoes red, blueberries that turn
his shoes blue, mud that turns his shoes brown and water that turns his shoes
white again. Pete teaches the readers that whatever you “walk into” in life, it
is always all good.
Pete the Cat is suitable for three
to five year olds for several reasons. The book offers a song and this can be
appealing and fun for children. There is also a pattern in this book and the
story becomes predictable for the children. These reasons provide opportunities
for audience participation and this can be exciting. Along with these reasons
and a simple vocabulary in the book, it is likely that children will be able to
read Pete the Cat themselves and this will add confidence to their literacy
skills. The only word in the book that I can predict I might have to explain to
the children is “moral”. I would explain that this is another word for
“meaning”.
The illustrations in this book
are simple and “imperfect”. These qualities make the illustrations look real
and drawn by children, which could appeal to children. The pictures are rough
with great emphasis on lines and white space with the colouring and use of
watercolours. Even though Pete the cat is not drawn with a smile, the
illustrations evoke a happy mood.
Provocations:
To provoke interest for the
children, provocations will start five days before reading the story. On the
first day, I will place a pair of white shoes in an area that I know all the
children will pass through and hopefully notice. On the second day, I will
replace the white shoes with a bowl of strawberries. On the third day, the
strawberries will be replaced with a bowl of blueberries. On the fourth day,
the blueberries will be replaced with a bucket of mud. On the fifth day, the
bucket of mud will be replaced with a bucket of water.
Another way to provoke interest
for the children will also start five days prior to reading the story. On the
first day, I will place a pair of white shoes in an area that I know the
children will pass through and hopefully notice. On the second day, a pair of
red shoes will be placed beside the whites shoes. On the third day, a pair of
blue shoes will be added. On the fourth day, a pair of brown shoes will be
added. On the fifth day, a pair of white shoes in a clear bucket of water will
be added.
Presentations of the story:
1) Felt board story
To present Pete the Cat as a felt
board story, I will need to make several felt pieces. I will make:
-
Pete the Cat
-
2 pairs of white shoes
-
2 pairs of red shoes
-
2 pairs of blue shoes
-
2 pairs of brown shoes
-
2 pairs of white/blue shoes to appear wet
-
A pile of strawberries
-
A pile of blueberries
-
A mud puddle
-
A bucket of water
-
Music notes to signal the song
As I am telling the story, I will place the felt pieces onto
the felt board. I will be careful to hide the pieces not being used behind the
felt board to not reveal any surprises and keep the felt pieces in order for a
smooth story. When the music notes go up on the felt board, it is time to sing
the song.
2) Audience participation
In order to incorporate audience
participation in this story, I will give each child either a white, red, blue,
brown or a white shoe with cut-out water droplets glued to it. I will explain
to the children that when it is time for the song, the children with the red
shoes will sing “I love my red shoes,” the children with the blue shoes will
sing “I love my blue shoes” and so on. I would also encourage the children to
join in and yell “Goodness no!” when it comes to that part in the book. I would
bring in a guitar or a ukulele to play some chords when it is time for the
song.
3) Prop story
To present Pete the Cat as a prop
story, I will need to obtain several items. I will need:
-
A cat doll
-
Red shoes
-
Blue shoes
-
White shoes
-
Brown shoes
-
Toy strawberries
-
Toy blueberries
-
Mud puddle
-
Bucket of water
-
A sidewalk for Pete to walk on
I will use the props as I am telling the story. I would be
careful to hide the props not being used in a box to not reveal any surprises.
4) Clothesline story
To present Pete the
Cat as a clothesline story, I will need to print out several images from the
book and laminate them. In addition to the images I will list below, I will
also need string and clothespins. I will need:
-
Pete the cat with white shoes
-
Pete the cat with red shoes
-
Pete the cat with blue shoes
-
Pete the cat with brown shoes
-
Pete the cat with “wet” shoes
-
A pile of strawberries
-
A pile of blueberries
-
A mud puddle
-
A bucket of water
-
Speech bubbles with “Goodness no!”
-
Music notes
I will tie the string to two objects or get two teachers to
hold the string to support the story. I will pin the images to the clothesline
as I am telling the story. I would make sure I have a pocket or carry a bag
that I can easily take out the images to pin them on the string. I would keep
the different Petes with different coloured shoes on the clothesline and just
continue to add new Petes with new colours to create a nice flow to the
clothesline story. When I place the music notes on the clothesline, it is time
to sing the song.
Extensions:
1)
I will create an art project by giving each
child a white shoe to decorate. The children can paint the shoe, colour them,
glue materials on and ultimately create their own “white” shoe that they can
love, like Pete.
2)
The children and I could come up with a full-length
song of “I love my white shoes”. We could keep “I love my white shoes” and the
corresponding phrases with the different colours as the chorus and create
several verses by brainstorming to create the song. The class can use instruments
from the music prop box and I can also bring in a guitar and we could
incorporate the instruments into the song. We could record the song with the
class singing and playing the instruments.
3)
The class can create their own “I love my white
shoes” book. Take pictures of all the children and get them to create their own
page for the book. Each child will have a page with their picture, their name,
their favourite colour of shoes and they can decorate their page. Bind all the
pages to create a book and title it, for example, “Vanessa’s Preschool class: I
Love My White Shoes”
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