So, What's It Like to Be a Cat?

Bibliography

Kuskin, Karla, and Betsy Lewin. So, What's It like to Be a Cat? Ill. by Betsy Lewin. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2005. ISBN 0689847335

Plot Summary

A very curious boy poses questions to his cat based on his own life experiences as a child.  The intelligent cat eventually turns the table on his interviewer, but not before he informs the child all about his life.

Critical Analysis

Children will relate to the questions the boy asks and the way the cat answers.  Children are quite familiar with being questioned.  They respond truthfully and very thoroughly, just like the cat does in the story.  Most kids are afraid of the dark, take naps, and wonder if other people like them.  Therefore, it would be natural to ask if his pet has the same reactions as he.  In responding to the questions, Kuskin has the cat use rhyme, rhythm, and a great deal of detail that is probably more than the average child needs or wants to know.

It is the illustrator who really makes the book interesting.  Lewin expands the size and scope of the cat’s responses by drawing it tall, skinny, huge, and active.  Children who have cats as pets will identify with the pictures and want to discuss how their cats “do that, too.”

Review Excerpt(s)

NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children

A 2005 Parent’s Choice Silver Honor Award winner

ASPCA Henry Bergh Book Award winner 2005

A Bank Street Best Book of the Year

A Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best

An IRA / CBC Children's Choice

A KIND Children's Book Award Honor Book

An SSLI Book Award Honor Book

A Washington State Book Award Winner 2006

“…Lewin's hilarious and satisfying illustrations soar right along with the cat.” – Book Page

“The furry star is fittingly egotistical and arch, whimsical and proud.” – Publishers Weekly

Sources

Beckwith, Lynn. “SO, WHAT’S IT LIKE TO BE A CAT?” Book Page. Reviewed June, 2005. Accessed September 7, 2014. http://bookpage.com/reviews/4143-karla-kuskin-so-whats-it-like-to-be-cat#.VA0jpmPEef8.

“So, What’s It Like to Be a Cat?” Publishers Weekley. Reviewed July 25, 2005.  Accessed September 7, 2014. http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-689-84733-2.

Connections

·        Create an imaginary creature, a composite of three or more animals, and explain what it is like to be “it.”

·        Practice interviewing skills

1. Imaginary

Everyone writes on a 3x5 card the name of an animal and three questions to ask it.  One child is the interviewer who draws a card and asks the questions.  Another child responds.

2. Realistic

Everyone chooses someone to interview: a mom, a dad, a neighbor, a relative, a friend, or someone with a job.  They ask, “What’s it like to be a …?”

·        Have children write rhymes about their pet.  Take the opportunity to teach simple rhyme schemes, such as abcb.

·        Read other books by Karla Kuskin, maybe holding a cat brought in by a volunteer.

Toots the Cat  ISBN 9780805068412

The Upstairs Cat  ISBN 9780395701461