Tuesday Storytime: Halloween Cats

I really love cats, and when I found that I had enough books (pulled to find a suitable candidate for the Edgar Allen Poe storytime) I decided that even though it was the day after Halloween, I'd do one last Halloween storytime featuring the best of the bunch.

I Am a Witch's Cat
Harriet Muncaster
ISBN: 9780062229144
Adorable girl-child in a cat costume in spreads of miniature-created doll-house like environments.

The setting and storyline seem very British to me, but that just adds to the charm.  A delightfully precocious narrator "witch cat" girl explains seriously why her mother is a witch, because of all the (totally mundane) activities that the girl has imagined into a more interesting reality.  The story progresses beautifully through mom's coven meeting (book club or coffee klatch) until the end, where we see mom soaring off on a broomstick.  Maybe the little girl was right after all?  DELIGHTFUL.

Black Cat Creeping
Teddy Slater, illustrated by Aaron Boyd
ISBN: 9781402719790
Cute little black kitten has no home, but he follows his nose (and some trick-or-treaters) and finds the best treat of all at the end of the road.

I love stories where sweet cute little animals get adopted at the end, but this is where I feel obligated to issue the public service warning to spay and neuter your pets, don't let them wander free (unless they're microchipped and collared) and to be careful with your own black cats and dogs around Halloween night so that bad things don't happen to helpless animals who rely on us for their entire lives.


Boo to You
Lois Ehlert
ISBN: 9781416986256
Ehlert's story isn't Halloween themed, but her signature cut-out and layered collages are certainly creepy enough to qualify.

Ehlert is always stunning.  Her collages are textural and layered and so interesting to look at.  This one is no different, but I have to say her grotesque cat even gives me pause.  That grimace on the cover - yow.  From a mouse's perspective, probably fairly accurate.  If a kid likes this story and have pretty good tolerance for mayhem, might I suggest a bedtime read of The Rescuers by Margary Sharp (yes, what the Disney movie was based on, and YES the book is a lot better, and nearly nothing like the movies at all).  If the kids like that one, there's about six more, all in the same vein of brave mice, scary cats and dogs, and suuuuper evil villains who don't actually do much on-screen.