Week 4 - My Cat Maisie

Hello there!

Ryan here again and this week I read another children's picture book called My Cat Maisie by Pamela Allen. The first thing that stood out to me from this book was the incredible illustrations which tell the story of a boy who wishes for a pet as a friend. The entire theme of this book is learning about animals, in particular cats and dogs, and how they are all different from each other in temperament and lifestyle.

The main character Andrew really wants a dog like his next door neighbour after seeing all the fun they have together running around. After finding a stray cat, Andrew finds out that the cat doesn't like to play games as much as Lobo the dog did, due to her being more fragile and small. This can be used really well in a teaching environment to prompt kids to see the different ways to treat animals, as well as how loving and kind they can be. I'd probably aim this more towards year 1's and 2's, probably reading it out loud to them in a big group. This is because some of the writing in the book is longer and harder to read than others, however the story and message is probably better aimed at younger kids.

The power of literacy portrayed through the pictures in this book are really powerful, showing the size and playfulness of dogs and how some of them can seem quite scary when they are excited and how cats would rather snuggle up at night when trying to sleep. The colour of the illustrations are also well done in showing the warmth surrounding Andrew's mum when he returns to her for safety, as well as the nice colours depicted around the animals when playing with kids. Overall this book uses its wonderful illustrations to teach young students about the truth around dogs as to encourage them to feel calm when around these animals. By educating kids through these books, students will not feel threatened as much when they see a dog being excited.

The next book I'll be reading is Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr. & Eric Carle, a book that has been read in my house hundreds of times.

Until next time.