My four year old is really into cats- she actually asked for a mechanical toy cat for Christmas (and got one!)- but her dad’s allergies mean we can’t have one. She was over the moon to find these books in our library, and I was even more excited that they include really fun learning concepts. I had to share them with you all in case these are a good fit for the kids in your life as well.
Susie Ghahremani’s Stack the Cats is a brilliant way to introduce mathematical concepts to young kids. In this book, cute, funny cats stack on top of one another until they form a huge stack that topples over! The cats form smaller stacks that are more sturdy. My 4 year old was literally laughing out loud at those stacking and toppling cats, not realizing she was learning about adding and subtracting and even some multiplication concepts. I especially loved the pages where the stacks of cats are written out in vertical equations. My older kid joined us and liked that she could feel like she was teaching her second grade content to her younger sister. Plus- the illustrations are so cute! The cats’ different colors and textures are delightful!
Bárbara Catro Urío’s Goodnight, Rainbow Cats is a really fun way to teach or review colors. In the story, each colorful cat comes home to the white house for a restful night. Readers name the colors and see the cat take its place in a window of the house. Visually, this is a simple and beautiful book. The peek through windows and door are fun for everone (myself included).
The learning activities start with the repetitive text structure, which allows kids memorize participate in the “reading.” The cat’s colors are basic- black, purple, orange, as well as more subtle colors- lime green, dark blue, crimson. Both of my kids learned new colors the first few times we read this book, and are enjoying reviewing as we re-read it.
Note: the links above will take you to my Bookshop store where you can find these books for purchase as well as the others we love. I hope you enjoy them!