No Cats in the Library by Lauren EmmonsMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
By: Lauren Emmons
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers 2024
Jacket/ Marketing Synopsis:
Meet Clarisse! She’s a clever cat who loves books. She may not understand the dark, squiggly lines, but she can’t get enough of the pictures.
One day she stumbles upon a magical building where people walk in empty-handed and come out with armloads of books. She has to find a way inside!
There’s just one problem: NO CATS are allowed in the library!
That’s not going to stop clever Clarisse, though. Once she sneaks in, she stumbles upon exciting new stories and even helps a little girl practice reading aloud. But when the librarian comes looking, will Clarisse be allowed to stay?
Vid:
About the Author
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| Simon & Schuster image |
No Cats in the Library is their debut author-illustrated picture book. Lauren has loved libraries since they was a child, and still regularly walks out with their arms full of books. Visit them at laurenemmons.com
Concepts/Lessons
If your child is shy about reading, try encouraging them to read to an animal, or a stuffed friend. As shown in "No Cats in the Library" pets are surprisingly good listeners. And an audience of stuffies can cure stage fright before it begins.
Review:
A curious kitten wonders into the library wondering what all the action is about it. This cat loves books and excited to find a room full of them. But when the librarian kicks the kitty out, it has to get clever to find a way back in. Then it discovers a whole world of worlds, and new friends willing to let it in on the secrets of the library.
This book is charming! I'd recommend it to go libraries and parents who are trying to encourage young readers to read to their level. The idea is build confidence in reading because that will build confidence in all the other subjects as well.
The Art
Illustrations captured this story in charming basic colors. The images have rounded edges keeping this mood of this book smooth, cool, and calm just like in the library. The stakes are low but the charm is high.
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| My cat Savannah |
The over story of a cat who loves books sneaking into a library. I love the idea of libraries have cats for the children to read to, or to keep company with people in quiet study. I also love the idea of a cat just sitting and listening to young readers as they struggle over syllables and vowels, but with the calm patient alertness that only cats have.
What I Liked
I liked how my daughter reacted to this book. The story is imitable and gives kids a solution to a problem most adults might not realize is a problem.
Dislikes: Unrealistic expectations. After reading this my daughter was disappointed that her library doesn't have a cat. Even though I explained that there are people who don't like cats, who are allergic or afraid of cats, she didn't buy it. She still tried to ask the librarians to adopt cats. They of course gave her the same answer. So for kids in a situation were they have no pets, a stuffed animal is just as nice.
Thee is also very little re-readiblity about this book. I don't see a kid wanting to read this book over and over. It's best for a teacher or a librarian during a class reading session. But not great for a bedtime story. I also don't see a kid really picking up this book as much as an adult. Any a kid picking up this book would certainly be expecting humor, and wackiness from a cat sneaking into a library. Instead we have a low stakes lesson giving tips on reading out-loud better. Might be a tad disappointing.
Lessons to Take away
Cats and books go together like pickles and peanut butter. They are just right for each other!
Conclusion:
"No Cats in the Library" just appeared on the first new episode of Reading Rainbow! Let me tell you, I read it to my daughter but she didn't care nearly as much as when Mychal "The Librarian" Threets read it.
"No Cats in the Library" is a clever and cute book that teachers, librarians, and little readers will enjoy. I love it for encouraging confidence in reading and giving a strategy for encouraging little learners to read out-loud. The story is not as wacky as the title may suggest, but it's still worth a trip to the library.
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