Pete the Cat

As an elementary teacher (especially as a kindergarten teacher) it is pretty much a requirement that I love children’s literature.

And being as how I do, indeed, love children’s literature, it’s one of the best parts of my job.

This week I discovered a *FAB*ulous new series by Eric Litwin about a gangly blue cat named Pete.

I was able to purchase my first “Pete the Cat” book last week at our school book fair using some money that was donated for our class. It looked cute, and I’ve seen it mentioned on some education blogs (yes, there are blogs out there that are actually meant to teach something, as opposed to this one, where you basically just listen to me ramble. :P). I decided to read it this week because his name is “Pete,” which uses the sneaky-e rule we’re learning this week in phonics.

But I digress.

What makes Pete so cool, besides the fact that he wears rockin’ shoes, is that he is so chill and…groovy. He sings jazzy songs, he doesn’t get phased by life’s hurdles, he doesn’t cry about his problems. All important lessons for kindergartners…and for their teacher too.

So I’ll leave you with “the moral of the story” from Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes. What you need to know before reading it is this:

Pete started the book out with a sweet pair of new white shoes, which he l-o-v-e-d. But…OH NO!…he accidently stepped in a pile of strawberries, then blueberries, then mud. This in turn caused his shoes to turn red, then blue, then brown. But do you think Pete cried about it? Goodness no! He just changed the tune of his song & didn’t let it get him down.

And the moral is…(drumroll please)…”No matter what you step in, keep walking and singing your song…because it’s all good!”

Sounds like pretty applicable advice to me…these days it seems to feel like I’ve been steppin’ in a lot! 😉

KEEP CALM & KEEP SINGIN’ YOUR SONG!

P.S. – If you have kids or a class of your own or like singing a snappy tune, then you definitely need to check Pete out. You can hear some of his songs / books here: http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com/feature/petethecat/ or you can find more by looking him up on YouTube.