68. Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons

68. Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons. Eric Litwin. Illustrated by James Dean. 2012. 40 pages. [Source: Online Audio and picture book]

 First sentence: Pete the Cat put on his favorite shirt with four big, colorful, round, groovy buttons. He loved his buttons so much, he sang this song: 

"My buttons, my buttons,
my four groovy buttons.
My buttons, my buttons,
my four groovy buttons."

Premise/plot: Pete the Cat LOVES, LOVES, LOVES his shirt with FOUR groovy buttons. But life happens....and, well, Pete learns that things--including buttons--come and go. Is this book primarily teaching young children subtraction skills OR is it teaching coping skills an invaluable life lesson perhaps even more important than subtraction?

My thoughts: This one was the first Pete the Cat book I read, and I must say it is probably my favorite. I love, love, love it so much!!! If I Love My White Shoes was "teaching" colors, then Four Groovy Buttons is "teaching" subtraction. For, Pete the Cat loses each of his four buttons one by one. But does Pete cry?! Goodness no! I absolutely love the end of this one!!! And the moral this time: "I guess it simply goes to show that stuff will come and stuff will go. But do we cry? Goodness, NO! We keep on singing."

I first met Pete the Cat circa 2013 when I checked out all the Pete the Cat books from the library. Each of the original books has an audio version online, and these audio versions have been uploaded to YouTube many times. Since I am not using the library these days, I revisited one of my favorite, favorite, favorite books by listening to it. 

Mom and I's favorite refrain--which we've used almost daily--certainly weekly--is DID PETE CRY? GOODNESS NO! This picture book is teaching a wonderfully important lesson in how to live life.

 

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Young Readers

67. Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes

 

67. Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes. Eric Litwin. Illustrated by James Dean. 2010. 40 pages. [Source: Online Audio]

First sentence:  Pete the Cat was walking down the street in his brand-new white shoes. Pete loved his white shoes so much, he sang this song:

"I love my white shoes,
I love my white shoes,
I love my white shoes."

Premise/plot: Pete the Cat LOVES his white shoes, but will his shoes stay WHITE when he goes on his walk???? And how will he handle it if they're not perfectly-perfectly white? 

My thoughts:  I love, love, love, REALLY REALLY love Pete the Cat. He is my kind of cat. You should definitely download the free song(s) as well, so you can really sing right along with the book(s). True, you could make up your own tune, but, the song is so perfectly catchy.

So. Pete the Cat has white shoes which he loves. But, when he steps in some unpleasant things: strawberries, blueberries, a mud puddle, a bucket of water, does Pete cry?! Goodness no! He just keeps on walking and singing his song! Is this a concept book about colors (white, red, blue, brown)? Is this a book teaching necessary coping skills to preschoolers and kids? A bit of both. But. It is also just a really fun, very entertaining story about a groovy cat! I absolutely LOVE the repetition, and the fact that this is a book everyone can participate and join in on! Kids could even write their own stories.

Again this book has the refrain DID PETE CRY?!?! GOODNESS, NO! 

 

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Young Readers

194. Pete the Cat Plays Hide-and-Seek

Pete the Cat Plays Hide and Seek. James and Kimberly Dean. 2022. [September] 40 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Pete and the gang love to play hide-and-seek! And who's the fastest seeker? Cool Cate Pete. 

Premise/plot: Pete the Cat wants to have an absolutely groovy time playing hide-and-seek with his friends. But Pete the Cat is having a horrible time finding his friends! Every time he thinks he's found a friend, it turns out NOT to be that friend. What's a groovy cat to do? 

My thoughts: I wanted to love this one. I did. But Pete the Cat is just not the same being written by James and Kimberly Dean. It's like the difference between a floating-high helium balloon (like at a birthday party) and the next day fallen flat balloon. It's not that it's completely and totally lifeless. You can find some enjoyment to be sure. But the same it is not. I wanted this book--whether fair of me or not--to have the same vibes as Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons. I wanted to have a groovy message delivered in a memorable, catchy predictable way. Instead, we just get the message to breathe in and out and not be in a rush. Which I guess is okay???

So the ending of this one is that even though Pete has looked just about everywhere for his friends, when he closes his eyes and breathes in and out, then poof they are right before his eyes. Are we supposed to believe that they were a) there all along and Pete was just too blind to see what was right in front of him, the super-obvious. OR b) all his friends had pity on him and moved while his eyes were closed so that they could be found??? Either way, I'm more meh than excited.

 

© 2022 Becky Laney of Young Readers

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