Young Children

The bookstore cat is an adorable . . .
bossy . . .
cuddly cat.
He is everything from intelligent and loyal to naughty and vocal! But most of all, the bookstore cat is a well-loved (and well-read) kitty. Follow his funny antics from A to Z through a day in his bustling, book-filled shop.

A unique take on the classic alphabet book that doesn’t use the word Xylophone for the letter X.

The bookstore cat gets cuter and cuter with each picture. He looks so chubby and sweet that I wanted to reach into the book and cuddle him.

The illustrations are so detailed that you’ll find something new to look at with each go-through.

I learned from the back of the book that this story was inspired by a Victorian parlor game, The Minister’s Cat. In the game, the players try to think of adjectives to describe the minister’s cat in alphabetical order while sitting in a circle and establishing a clapping rhythm. If a player cannot think of an adjective, they are “out,” The next player must assume that letter and quickly think of an adjective. If a player cannot keep the rhythm or clapping pattern, they are also declared “out.” This would be a great game to play with kids to help them learn the alphabet and build their vocabulary. If they can memorize all the adjectives in the story, they can just use them in the game.

I found a Storytime Read Aloud with the author Cylin Busby on YouTube. If you want to watch the video, click on the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAyFFTaOT18