Cats' Night Out: 04/13/12

Cats' Night Out by Caroline Stutson was one of my daughter's favorite books when she going through her cat story phase. Over the course of a night, ten pairs of well dressed cats come out to dance to night-time jazz melodies along Easy Street.

It is a counting book, a dancing book and an eye-spy style book. Each page spread has an even number cats to count and a hidden number to find. The rhymes are in keeping with the jazzy music the cats are said to be listening to. Children can learn to count by twos and will be introduced to different names of dances. Klassen's illustrations uses black and white and earth tones to give a sense of night while relying heavily on patterns and repetition. It's eye catching but good for hiding the number.

As the cats are drawn wearing 1920s/1930s style clothing the dances included in the book are in keeping with the era. There is no mention of modern dance or music styles. Teachers or parents could expand on the book by asking children what dances, costumes and music could go together for a modern day dance night. Finally children can be asked to describe the different costumes the cats are wearing. They can compare and contrast the cats and put them into groups

Four stars.

Comments (2)

Comment #1: Sunday, April 15, 2012 at 11:06:02

jenn aka the picky girl

Ok, you're killing me with all these great picture books. I LOVE the cover of this one.

Comment #2: Monday, April 16, 2012 at 14:34:54

Pussreboots

Cats' Night Out has the same delightful illustrations all the way through. It's worth a read just for the artwork!