Author/Illustrator: Erin Hunter
Plot Summary: The first in a prolific series that appeals to animal and fantasy lovers. A bored house cat earns a chance to join a clan of wild cats. He learns their ways, gets to know how to survive in their world and ultimately gains acceptance. There is some fighting amongst the cats that can get bloody and vicious.
Comments: This series appealed to my son and some of his classmates starting in third grade. It could continue in popularity through seventh or eighth grade. It is not for every student but the ones who like it will want to read all of the series. They will also want to engage in detailed discussions of the cats and their personalities and relationships. The website is detailed and interesting. Each book contains a short description of the cats and their relationship to each other. There are also some supplemental "field guides" which provide additional, background information.
Extensions:
1. For upper elementary or middle school, a before or after school, or Exploratory time, book club around this series would be attractive. This series seems to attract both boys and girls.
2. In a book club, the website offers a t-shirt transfer that can be customized, printed, and ironed on a shirt.
3. On a bulletin board in the Media Center, concept map software(Inspiration) can be used to illustrate the various cats and their clans. Pictures of cats could be added with the books displayed on a nearby shelf.
Themes/keywords: Cats, fantasy, fiction
Age/Reading Level: Interest level - 3 - 8; ATOS - 5.6; Follett - 5.1; Lexile - 790
Standards:
ELA4R2(through eighth grade) The student consistently reads at least twenty-five books or book equivalents (approximately 1,000,000 words) each year. The materials should include traditional and contemporary literature (both fiction and non-fiction) as well as magazines, newspapers, textbooks, and electronic material. Such reading should represent a diverse collection of material from at least three different literary forms and from at least five different writers.
Publisher's Info: HarperCollins, New York. 2003(first book in the series.)
ISBN-13: 978-0-06-000002-8
ISBN-10: 0-06-000002-3
Awards/Review Sources:
Wilson's Junior High School 11/01/05 | School Library Journal 05/01/03 |
| Library Media Connection starred 11/01/03 | Publishers Weekly 12/23/02 |
| Booklist 02/15/03 | Horn Book 10/01/03 |
| Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books 03/01/03 | Kirkus Review 01/01/03 |
Genre/Dewey: Fiction
Websites:
See below - author's website
Other books in the series:
There are many. These shows them as they are organized on the author's website.
Vocabulary: kittypet, twoleg, glossary(catspeak:humanspeak)
Comments