Tail of the Week: Pete the Cat
Pete the Cat’s long. blue tail is a familiar sight for preschoolers and toddlers – and even babies! There are many books about Pete, including some beginning readers for children who are learning to read, and Pete even has a tv show – but a favorite book with the kids is Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes. The story (and song) were written by Eric Litwin, and the illustrations are by James Dean. If you haven’t read it, you can either come to the Library to check it out or “read” it on You Tube here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fj_z6zGQVyM
Extend the story with your family! Pete steps in strawberries that turn his shoes red, and blueberries that turn his shoes blue. What would Pete step in that would turn his shoes yellow? Or green? What color would Pete’s shoes be if he stepped in a large pile of … limes? Or plums? Try out some unusual colors like fuschia or chartreuse! Older students may want to write their own Pete the Cat story with these variants.
Pete’s Shoe Craft
What you need:
- large paper or cardboard (big enough for your feet)
- pencil or crayon for tracing
- scissors
- paper punch or sharp pencil to poke holes
- yarn or ribbon or shoelaces
- Optional: Paint or crayons
What you do:
- Stand on the large paper or cardboard and trace your feet.
- Cut out the tracings of your feet.
- Poke holes near the center on each side of the paper shoe. Make as many holes as you like, but a row of three on each side (of each shoe) will work well. If you are using a pencil to poke holes, try working on top of a mouse pad or something soft to make it easier for the pencil to go through.
- Optional: Decorate your paper shoes with paint or crayons.
- Thread the yarn or ribbon through the holes and lace up your shoes!
- Optional: Older children may want to draw a design on the paper shoe and them embroider with yarn over the design by covering the design with yarn. Use a yarn needle or just poke holes at each place in the design that the yarn will cover.
