Big Cat, Little Kitty

Big Cat, Little Kitty is a delightful romp through a week of cats, wild and domestic. (The cats at our house like to act as if they're wild...) "One fine Monday night," the story begins, with a vivid illustration of a tiger hunting by moonlight. And on "that same night" a tiger-striped housecat is prowling in her back yard, mimicking the tiger's majestic moves. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday follow, each with its large wild cat and small feline, all the way to Sunday.

Wild cats represented include the tiger, lion, jaguar, bobcat, cheetah, snow leopard, and cougar. The domestic cats are cleverly chosen to mirror their larger cousins. The pictures are colorful and lifelike, and the book is tuned to young children's sensibilities in that none of the cats catches any prey in the course of the story.

The book ends in a section entitled "For Creative Minds." Here you'll find information about "What are cats and how are they related?" along with a map and matching activity, a discussion of cat senses and physiology, and a page of true/false questions. These educational pages may be photocopied or printed from the publisher's website. Additional activities, quizzes, and more are available online.

Big Cat, Little Kitty is also available in a Kindle edition, and as an online e-book at the publisher's website in both English and Spanish.