Cats Storytime

This storytime was for a preschool-aged group at my library.

Today's storytime was brought to you by the letter "C." So on the board when the kids walked in was:

Read Aloud Books

Max the BraveWritten and illustrated by Ed Vere

Max is a brave kitten who loves to chase mice. He just needs to figure out what a mouse looks like first... This is a pretty fun new book. The kids enjoyed helping Max figure out what was a mouse and what wasn't, but the monster at the end confused (and scared) some of the kids.

Cheetah Can't LoseWritten and illustrated by Bob Shea

Cheetah is the fastest and will always win the race, no matter what the other cats might have in store for him! So, when I first read this, I laughed quite a bit...but apparently preschoolers don't. I dropped it by my second storytime. The kids didn't laugh and the ending is kind of lame, so I chose another book instead:

What Will Fat Cat Sit On?Written and illustrated by Jan Thomas

The cow? The chicken? The pig?? Who knows what fat cat will sit on! This had many much more giggles from the crowd. It also has a LOT of words starting with "C" so it was great for our letter practice.

Pete the Cat: I Love My White ShoesIllustrated by James Dean, written by Eric Litwin

Pete loves his white shoes. But when he steps through some strawberries, does he cry? Goodness, no, he loves his red shoes! So for this book, I actually showed this YouTube video with the author reading it because, let's face it, the song he sings is so much better when he does it (you can download just the audio--and other cool Pete the Cat stuff--directly from the publisher here). And the kids totally sang along and had a lot of fun with it!

Songs & Rhymes

Hello Song

FINGERPLAY: Kitty Cat POUNCE!

Kitty cat, kitty cat, sneaks out of the house.

Kitty cat, kitty cat, creeps up to a mouse,

And … POUNCE!

Kitty cat, kitty cat, creeps up to a bird.

Kitty cat, kitty cat, is not even heard

And … POUNCE!

But the mouse ran, and the bird flew away,

So kitty cat found a ball of yarn to play

And … POUNCE!

SONG: I’ve Got a Cat On My Knee

(Tune: Skip to my Loo)

I’ve got a cat on my knee

I’ve got a cat on my knee,

I’ve got a cat on my knee

Meow meow meow meow meow

(I sang this with a puppet)

SONG: If You're a Cat and You Know It

(Tune: If you're happy and you know it)

If you're a cat and you know it, say "meow!"

If you're a cat and you know it, say "meow!"

If you're a cat and you know it and you really want to show it

If you're a cat and you know it, say "meow!"

Goodbye Song

Games & Activities

Flannel: Mom's Pet Store

This idea came from Mel's Desk and I actually used it for my dog storytime, too. But it's simple and fun! And it encourages some awesome math skills with the kids when you ask questions like, "How many cats are left? But how many nickels do I have? What if someone wants to buy two cats?" Anyway, here's the picture and rhyme:

Down around the corner at my mom’s pet store

Were six little cats and not one more

Along came someone with a nickel to pay

And they bought a cat and took it away!

Flannel: Rainbow Kittens

I got this idea from here. The kids were really good at guessing which color would be next.

Six little kittens found a box of paint.

They jumped right in...their mother will faint!

The first little kitten came out all red.

"I'll be orange," the second kitten said.

The third little kitten turned bright yellow.

"I'll be green," said the next little fellow.

The fifth kitten said, "My favorite is blue."

"Purple for me," said the sixth with a mew.

Dancing home the kittens go

To show their mother a KITTEN RAINBOW!

Craft: Black Cats

This one turned out to be a real crowd-pleaser and it was really easy for me to prep, so win-win. I did do a bit of instruction for the kids before starting so that they knew what to do with their plain pieces of black construction paper (I did no pre-cutting). Basically, you just fold in half and cut out the letter "C". Use one cut-out piece for the head and the other piece you cut one more "C" to make a tail

Decorate with whatever you've got! Chalk and sequins for us. Thanks to Storytime Katie for the initial idea.

Other Book Ideas

Kitten's First Full MoonWritten and illustrated by Kevin Henkes

Ballet Cat The Totally Secret SecretWritten and illustrated by Bob Shea

If You Give a Cat a CupcakeWritten by Laura Numeroff, illustrated by Felicia Bond

Skippyjon JonesWritten and illustrated by Judy Schachner

Cat the Cat, Who Is That?Written and illustrated by Mo Willems