The Summer Nick Taught His Cats to Read by Curtis ManleyMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
The Summer Nick Taught His Cats to Read
By Curtis Manley
Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Year: 2016
Ages: 4-8
Pages: 32
In her book, Writing Picture Books A Hands-On Guide From Story Creation to Publication, Ann Whitford Paul lays out a few rules for writing a good ending to a children's story. She goes over these in detail in the text. Briefly those rules are:
- The ending must be unpredictable.
- The ending must solve the original problem.
- Everything you write relates to the ending of the story.
- The main character must solve the problem.
- The main character must evolve in some way.
- No lucky coincidences.
- No extra help from new characters.
- All characters introduced in the beginning must play a part in the ending.
- The ending comes at the end. Not the middle.
- No loose ends
- No explicit moral message.
- The ending is happy or at least hopeful.
Paul then gives a few examples of picture books that do this well. Chicken Lily and Sophie's Fish are among them. Also listed was The Summer Nick Taught His Cats to Read By Curtis Manley.
Let’s dissect this charming story and see why it’s ending works so well.
P1: Title Page
P2: Copyright
P3: Nick had two cats, Vern and Stevenson. PT
P4: They spent summers doing everything together.
P5: But when Nick sat down with a book, the cats had their own ideas. PT
Here is the problem that must be resolved at the end of the story. The cats get in the way when Nick tries to read his book.
P6: So Nick decided to teach them to read. He started with easy words.
P7: “Ball!” Said Nick. “B-A-L-L.” But the cats just wanted to play. PT
When you have a hook this good why not make it the title of your book?
P8: At lunchtime Nick pointed at the word food. The cats ignored him.
P9: “Wake up!” Said Nick after they fell asleep. “This is no time for a N-A-P”. His cats did not like that at all. PT
P10: So Nick made new flash cards - and Verne got interested.
P11: But not Stevenson. Stevenson just said “Mrrp,” and crawled under the bed. PT
P12: Nick tried nursery rhymes next. When he read “Three Little Kittens,” Verne searched everywhere for mittens. But not Stevenson.
P13: Then Nick read his favorite books to Verne, who liked stories about cats and stories about fish. Vern loved fish. He followed along as Nick read, learning the sounds of the letters. PT
The simple act of Vern showing interest builds his character.
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| Author Curtis Manley |
He’s no longer just one of the cats. He now has the personality of a youthful more spirited character. Also Nick’s willingness to teach his pets reveals that he is kind and patient - the qualities of a good teacher.
P14: Verne practiced on his own, over and over even after Nick went to bed. Soon he was reading new stories all by itself.
P15: The next morning, Nick tried once more. “F-I-S-H. See? Fish! Verne loves that word. Don’t you?” But Stevenson said “Meow!” And ran under the porch. He hissed at Nick and Verne. PT
ACT II
P16: Verne got his own library card and borrowed so many books that Nick could hardly carry them home.
P17: When they discovered a story they both liked they acted out their favorite scenes. They dug up fish fossils in the flower bed. They bound across the surface of the moon. It was fun, but it would have been more fun with Stevenson. PT
Stevenson represents all kids who struggle to learn something. It feels like the class has moved on. So they brood under the porch and feel biter. To these kids it can feel as though the world will move on and leave them when in truth the world is a better place with their participation. It's up to teachers to help encourage those kids and find ways to help them understand.
This little bit of conflict between Stevenson and the others helps move the story on.
P18:
Then Verne discovered a treasure under the bed. A great stack of Stevenson’s pirate drawings. “Wow!” Nick whispered. “Stevenson drew a story.”
P19:
“We should write the words.” said Nick. Verne helped. PT
This is an interesting twist. Up until now the cats have largely behaved like cats. Even Vern’s interest in words like fish and mice weren’t off putting.
Does this, Stevenson being able to draw, break the "No lucky coincidences that influence the outcome." rule?
However silly this twist is it occurs at the end ACT II and leads to ACT III. So it doesn't feel like cheating. It also fits with what we now see as Stevenson’s personality - of course the grumpy cat is into pirates!
It also shows that maybe Stevenson, or the child he represents, is trying to learn on his own even though he might be struggling. It’s hard to be taught something. We all just want to know it already. Its even harder when our friends pick up on a new skill faster than we do. Perhaps words aren’t the best way to start with him. So Nick, being a good teacher as established by his character, tries another way to teach him.
What do you think? Do you see Stevenson being able to draw as a “lucky coincidence” that pulls you out of the story? Please comment your feelings below.
ACT III
P20:
When they were done, they squeezed under the porch, gave Stevenson an eye patch, and read the The Tale of One-Eyed Stevenson and the Pirate Gold.
Stevenson listened and followed along. He didn’t run away. Or hiss. Not even once.
P21:
So Nick and Verne took him to the library to find more books. PT
P22 - P23
The next morning when Nick woke up, Stevenson already had his whiskers in a book. PT
P24
When Verne and Nick needed help fighting pirates, Stevenson found a sword too.
“Welcome aboard, matey!” Nick yelled “Step lively!”
P25:
Nick and Verne rounded up two scurvy mutineers. And Stevenson held them at bay. PT
P26:
When Nick and Verne climbed the mast and looked out over Treasure Island. When Nick yelled, “Land ho!” Stevenson was right there with them.
P27:
Then they all hurried down and waded ashore - and it was Stevenson who found the buried treasure. PT
Here comes the ending.
Let’s re-visit our check list.
Paul states that the ending should come between pages 28 and 30 with room on pages 31 or 32 for a something quirky, surprising, or funny to end cap. Whatever the end cap is it must be unpredictable!
P28:
Now Nick and his cats hunt for dinosaurs in the lost world behind the garden. They race around the yard in eighty seconds.
P29:
They journey to the center of the basement.
P30:
Sometimes Verne and Stevenson curl up with their own books and sometimes Nick reads to them while they close their eyes and purr.
The main character must solve the problem.
Check: Nick, the main character, has solved his problem.
The original problem must be solved.
Check: The original problem was that the cats would bother Nick while he read. That problem is solved. Also the secondary problem of Stevenson feeling left out is also solved.
The ending must come at the end.
No extra characters aid in the resolution.
Check: the problem is resolved by page 28. The summation leads to the final ending, but does not add more information nor extra characters.
Everything written must relate to the ending.
Check: Curtis Manley stayed focused on Nick's task to teach his cats how to read pretty firmly.
No loose ends
Check: The loose end, that is Stevenson not wanting to participate in learning how to read, is nicely sewn up. Now all three friends are having a good time.
All characters must play an important role.
Check: All three characters played a part in the story. Nick accomplished his goal; Vern helped Stevenson; Stevenson is finally participating!
The main character evolves.
I’m not so sure about this one. If we consider Nick to be the main character, and his name is on the cover so why wouldn’t we, I have to say that he didn’t change much. He had an idea to teach his cats to read and succeeded. If he did change perhaps we can say that he’s gained confidence in his ability to teach?
Comment below what you think.
P31:
But Nick also likes it when someone reads to him.
“Maybe I should teach you how to speak,” he says to his cats. “How hard could that be?”
P32:
“Meow!” Says Stevenson.
The ending must be unpredictable
Check: Well, I for one did not see him succeeding. I especially did not see him suggesting he could teach them to speak as well so that they can read to him sometimes!
If not happy, then at least hopeful.
Check: Since he was able to teach them how to read I’m sure he could pull off teaching them to communicate somehow, maybe not speak but who knows! This kid is awesome and one of his cats already knows how to draw!
No explicit moral
Check: Paul points out in her book that no one states the morals at the end anymore. It’s true that in many of these picture books I've been studying, I didn’t understand the message behind the story until I'd typed it out, or read it out loud to my daughter.
I did not catch that Stevenson represents children who struggle to read, nor did I see how Nick represents good teachers, until I was thinking about their character arcs. The message of being patient and flexible is there but there is no need to beat the readers up with it.
Breakdown
I found this book to be cute and charming. At first I was concerned about a little boy who spends his summers hanging out with a couple of cats, but after doing the break down I realized that was so not the point!
It’s a great book to encourage struggling readers to keep trying. It also encourages someone struggling to teach a child how to read to be patient and flexible. Maybe try some new methods. When it appears that they don’t want to learn, don’t give up on them, everyone processes new skills in their own way.
Bedtime Breakdown
My daughter love love loved this story! She was head over heels for the cats, and felt sorry for Stevenson under the porch.
She didn’t know anything about pirates yet so that was fun to talk about. She loved the idea of taking the cats to the library. She helped me to see the comedy in the story.
We had fun sounding out the words for nap, and food. This was a library book, but perhaps when she’s getting ready to learn how to read I’ll purchase it.
If you liked this book as much we did please consider supporting the writer by purchasing this book from your favorite local book story.
Click here to learn more about Curtis Manley the author of "The Summer Nick Taught His Cats to Read".
I encourage you to read Ann Whitford Paul’s book and any others about writing picture books to improve your skills. Also join me for more picture book breakdowns!
I’m Porsche B. Yeary
And I’ll see you on the next page.