Catastrophe!: A Story of Patterns

by Ann Marie Stephens (Author) Jenn Harney (Illustrator)

Reading Level: K − 1st Grade

Nine kittens go on an exciting boating adventure that's a (funny) catastrophe in this playful picture book that demonstrates the key math concept of patterns.

A crew of hungry kittens and their captain head to the lake to catch some dinner, but the fish have surprises in store for them. Even before the cats encounter the fish, they run into trouble. What happens when confused kitties paddle every which way? Or when they all lean in the same direction? A pattern is needed to avoid a catastrophe! Patterns are the foundation on which math is built.

Using strong rhythm, clever wordplay, and countable characters, CATastrophe! is a fun read-aloud that also shows what patterns can do. Helpful backmatter will deepen readers' understanding and challenge them to find more patterns in this book and in our world. There's also much to find in the illustrations--including a dragonfly and worm that each appear twenty times.

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$17.99

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Kirkus

Playfulness makes repeated reads a must for fans of cats or calculation. (Picture book. 3-7)

Copyright 2021 Kirkus Reviews, LLC Used with permission

ALA/Booklist


Review quotes

Stephens deftly incorporates the concepts of patterns and pattern cores into her simple tale and includes an enjoyable explanatory page at the close as well as integrated seek-and-find challenges. Harney's bright, energy-filled cartoons are a great match and maintain a fine balance of cute, color, comedy...and cats. Playfulness makes repeated reads a must for fans of cats or calculation. —Kirkus Reviews

This feline romp offers a three-fer: a way for readers to learn what patterns are and how theywork; a seek-and-find game as they try to locate 172 cats, 20 dragonflies, 20 worms, and 14 fishdepicted in the illustrations; and a fun story with hapless cats that can't keep their patternsstraight on a fishing trip...A great read-aloud and a strong pick for early math collections. —Booklist
Ann Marie Stephens
Ann Marie Stephens was an elementary teacher for over 30 years and is the author of nine picture books. A contributing writer for Kwame Alexander's The Write Thing, she blogs for teachers at 2happyteachers.blogspot.com. You can find her on Facebook, Ann Marie Stephens (AMStephensAuthor), and on Instagram and Twitter @AMStephens.

Jia Liu received her MFA in illustration Practice from the Maryland Institute College of Arts in 2016. She is also the illustrator of Terrific Tongues, her debut picture book in the United States, and Bedtime for Beasties as well as the Arithmechicks series.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781635923216
Lexile Measure
460
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Astra Young Readers
Publication date
August 10, 2021
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV019000 - Juvenile Fiction | Humorous Stories
JUV002050 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Cats
JUV072000 - Juvenile Fiction | Mathematics
Library of Congress categories
Cats
Picture books
Mathematics
Pattern perception
Geometric patterns

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