Pete the Cat's Giant Groovy Book

Pete the Cat's Giant Groovy Book. James Dean. 2019. HarperCollins. 288 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Pete is ready for school.

Premise/plot: There are nine Pete the Cat early readers in this GIANT GROOVY BOOK. Eight of the books have been previously published: Pete the Cat and the Surprise Teacher; Pete The Cat: Sir Pete the Brave; Pete the Cat: Snow Daze; Pete the Cat and the Tip-Top Tree House; Pete the Cat and the Lost Tooth; Pete the Cat's Groovy Bake Sale; Pete the Cat Goes Camping; Pete the Cat and the Cool Caterpillar. The ninth book, the final book, is a brand new Pete the Cat story: Pete the Cat's Funky Family Tree.

For those that are new to the world of Pete the Cat, Pete is a cat that is GROOVY. He first appeared in a series of picture books by Eric Litwin: Pete Cat: I Love My White Shoes; Pete The Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons; Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes; and Pete the Cat Saves Christmas. I believe each of these four picture books have a SONG. (If you haven't heard Pete the Cat and the Four Groovy Buttons you are really missing out. Trust me.)

He has since appeared in many books by the original illustrator, James Dean. (These include picture books and early readers.)

In the first book, Pete's mom is his substitute teacher.
In the second book, readers meet a cat who's a knight.
In the third book, it SNOWS for days on end. Will Pete love staying home from school?!
In the fourth book, Pete plays in a tree house with his friends.
In the fifth book, Pete helps out the tooth fairy.
In the sixth book, Pete has a few mishaps in the kitchen, but, IT'S ALL GOOD, nothing to cry about. Pete comes up with a delicious treat to sell at the bake sale anyway.
In the seventh book, Pete goes camping.
In the eighth book, Pete learns about the life cycle of a caterpillar/butterfly.

Which brings us to the ninth book....

First sentence: Pete is making a family tree. A family tree is a drawing.  A family tree shows all the people in your family.

My thoughts: I have never really gotten super-attached to the later books starring Pete the Cat written by James Dean. I have come close with titles like PETE THE CAT: SNOW DAZE and PETE THE CAT'S GROOVY BAKE SALE. I really enjoyed the ninth book in the series. I love, love, love, love, love genealogy and family trees.

It was super fun to meet Pete the Cat's ancestors! I loved that Pete made connections between himself and his family--noting what he had in common with them.

© 2019 Becky Laney of Young Readers