4 Simple and Sweet Picture Books about Kittens to Read To Your Toddler

Do you have a child who loves cats or kittens in your house? These books are perfect for babies and toddlers because they are simple and sweet. However, as I was cleaning the bookshelves of my 4 and five year old children I found I wasn't quite ready to put them away yet. Sometimes you just want to read a short and sweet familiar favorite even if they've moved beyond the reading level of that particular book. These books have been favorites of my son and daughter for years.

These are listed in no particular order of preference. They are all short, simple, and sweet.

1. Hello Calico! by Karma Wilson (of Bear Wants More fame). This book is in rhyme. I always enjoy picture books written in rhyme and this one is no exception. It introduces a curious kitten and the mama who loves her and follows the kitten as she explores during the day. The illustrations are vibrant and beautiful and always catch the attention of my little ones.

2. Uh-oh, Calico! by Karma Wilson. This is a sequel to Hello Calico! This time, the kitten suffers several mishaps (spilling cream, trampling flowers, etc) and finds that her mama loves her even when she makes mistakes. The children love chiming in with "Uh-oh, Calico! and predicting how her behavior will lead to the subsequent mishap on the next page.

3. Kitty Cat, Kitty Cat, Are You Waking Up? by Bill Martin Jr (known best for Brown Bear, Brown Bear and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom). This is a gentle, sweet story of a kitten who needs to get out of bed and ready for school and yet needs gentle reminders from his mama to stay on task. Each page follows a predictable format with the mama asking a question and receiving a reply from the kitten. There's a mouse hiding in each picture and my children always adore finding the mouse and discussing what he's up to in each new situation until finally the mouse and kitten meet.

4. Kitty Cat, Kitty Cat, Are You Going to Sleep? is a sequel to Kitty Cat, Kitty Cat Are You Waking Up? by Bill Martin. This sequel is at least as sweet as the original. This time the kitten is getting ready for bed and it is his teddy bear who is tagging along through bath time, getting dressed for bed, brushing teeth, and story time. The two Kitty Cat, Kitty Cat books are some of my daughter's favorites.


If you liked these children's book suggestions, I have several others ranging from board books through early chapter books. Check them out. As soon as I get a chance, I'll share 4 truly good variations on the gingerbread boy story and 4 fun books for halloween.

Planning to Open a New Shop - Homeschool & Teacher Resources (and a Testy Shop Coupon)

I've been creating materials like crazy around here. I made an alphabet border that features handwriting and phonics references as well as digraphs. I created a writing/handwriting journal that could easily be used with preschoolers through first or second graders. I created a homeschool plan book to use when planning lessons and to keep track of logged hours.

It occurred to me that if I put some time into taking out things like my kids' names and cleaning and organizing the resources that I could make them available to all of you as well. I've got a Classroom Alphabet Resource Kit (alphabet border, alphabet/phonics flashcards, handwriting mini-poster, word wall headers, and desk strips) almost ready to go. Look for it next week.

I'm thinking of doing either the writing journal or the homeschool plan book next. If you have a strong opinion on which you'd rather see first, let me know in the comments. Otherwise, I'll just choose one at random and get to work on it.

The shop will be opening with a single product: the Classroom Alphabet Resource Kit, and so the volume discounts I have built into my shops won't help anyone out until I get a second and third product up in running. I'll have a coupon available for August and September that offers 30% off any purchase (including purchases of a single product). It'll work in either shop. Let's call it a Back to School coupon code. BacktoSchool2013 It is valid starting now if you want to use it in the Testy Speech Resources Shop.

Silence

We found some old home videos tucked away in a folder we had lost track of. Ava was about 4-5 months old when the videos were taken. What struck me as I watched was how smiley she was. I remember very few smiles, and yet while watching these videos, she responded with a huge toothless grin every time I smiled at her. Her eyes would light up and there was this huge smile. And yet she was wrapped in a huge bubble of silence.

I listen to babies coo and babble all the time. I play with those sounds in waiting rooms, babbling back and forth with any infant who will play the game with me. Ava was silent. It's a little creepy - all the talking around her and this completely silent little baby. She didn't seem unhappy, she was just silent. She was silent in the bouncer, on the playmat, and in the arms of loved ones. We have some videos of me trying to make her laugh - tossing her gently in the air or creeping tickle fingers up her leg towards her neck. The vast majority of the time I was unsuccessful. The once or twice she managed to giggle, it looked and sounded effortful. And yet, somehow, even as a speech pathologist I managed to miss how exactly abnormal it all was. I was a sleep-deprived mother of a 4 and 19 month old. My professional experience was with preschoolers and school-aged children. At the time, I wasn't getting out much and didn't realize how much noise babies should be making.

There was a video where... well, I have no idea exactly what I was trying to capture in the video, but Ava was laying on her back on the floor. She couldn't roll over yet and looked a lot like a turtle stuck on her back. She was obviously frustrated. She was lifting her head and shoulders and waving her arms and staring straight at me. And there were no sounds. None at all. No grunting, no fussing, no crying even. Just silence in the presence of frustration and physical effort. And why exactly did it take me 18 more months to start assessment?

Has anyone had similar experiences with their apraxic children? If you go back and watch videos when they were babies are they silent? I know that "abnormal history of babbling" is a red flag for apraxia, but this complete silence... Anyone?