Litwin, Eric, Ills. James Dean. Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes. HarperCollins. 2011.
The team of Eric Litwin and illustrator James Dean returns with Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes, another installment in the popular Pete the Cat series.
This time, Pete is headed to school in red shoes. Pete goes through his day, riding the bus, eating lunch, going to the library, and more, all the while singing that he is “rocking in my school shoes.”
The repetition of these lines in the book will help young readers with learning words and becoming more comfortable reading. This is reinforced with the recording of the song that readers can access online. Not only is the song a fun feature to go along with the book, it also will assist children with reading by allowing them to follow along in the book to the words of the song.
Dean’s artwork is endearing, showing scenes from “Cat Town” and especially Pete’s school. Who can resist a drawing of a bus full of cats? Though the pictures are simple and have a childlike quality, it is clear what each picture is showing (library, classroom, cafeteria, etc.) and therefore they serve the added purpose of showing children what a day at school is like. This may ease anxieties about going to school by giving children a non-threatening example to look to.
Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes fills a variety of needs for young readers, helping them both with reading and starting school.
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