The Cats and the Cake (I Like to Read)

by Martha Hamilton (Author) Steve Henry (Illustrator)

Reading Level: K − 1st Grade
Series: I Like to Read

Two cats. One cake. Who will get to enjoy the tasty dessert? A fun, simple story that kindergarteners and first graders can read on their own.

This is mine!
No, this is mine!

When a cake falls off a cart at the bakery, two cats claim it. A clever fox offers to help them share, but bit by bit eats the cake all up himself! With easy-to-read dialogue and cheerful art, The Cats and the Cake will have children laughing and reading at the same time.

This book has been officially leveled by using the Fountas & Pinnell Text Level GradientTM leveling system.

The award-winning I Like to Read(R) series focuses on guided reading levels A through G, based upon Fountas and Pinnell standards. Acclaimed author-illustrators--including winners of Caldecott, Theodor Seuss Geisel, and Coretta Scott King honors--create original, high-quality illustrations that support comprehension of simple text and are fun for kids to read again and again with their parents, teachers or on their own!

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Publishers Weekly

When a dreamy-looking cake--slathered in pink frosting and decorated with blue rosettes--falls off a bakery pastry cart, two cats spring into action. "This is mine," says an orange and white cat; "No. This is mine," counters a black and white feline. The gainsaying continues until a red fox appears, enters the establishment, and intervenes: "You need to share," Fox proclaims, sounding very reasonable. Seemingly helpful, Fox first breaks the cake into two portions, then nibbles on each to equal them out: "This is too big. I will fix it." But after admitting "I can't stop. You will fight," Fox turns full attention on the cake remnants--even spinning the remaining bites on a single finger--before demanding the now downhearted felines' gratitude ("This is mine! I helped you. You must thank me"). Henry's (Snow Is Fun) ink, watercolor, and acrylic paint cartoons have scoopfuls of comic pep and are as bright as a freshly iced confection. Hamilton and Weiss's (the Noodleheads series) dialogue balloons offer the repetition nascent readers need, along with humor that should elicit knowing chuckles. Ages 4-8. (Jan.)

Copyright 2021 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

School Library Journal

K-Gr 2--Two little cats are playing in a bakery when a beautifully decorated cake falls off of a cart and onto the bakery floor. Immediately, each cat claims ownership of the cake by simultaneously declaring "This is mine." A fox walks by the shop window and decides to intervene in the dispute. He tells the selfish felines that they need to share, and then proceeds to eat some of the cake. He goes on to explain that the cake is too big, so he must eat piece after piece so it is easier to split between the two cats. The cats beg him to stop. By the time the cake gets down to the last tiny piece, the fox insists that he must eat that, too, or the cats will go back to fighting. Dejected, the pair of cats lie down with glum faces; but hope is restored when the baker emerges from the kitchen with an even bigger and more beautiful cake. This title is part of the "I Like to Read" series and is geared for children in early first grade. Told solely through dialogue with lots of repetition, Hamilton and Weiss (Noodleheads) bring a simple but outrageous tale alive. Artwork by Henry (Snow Is Fun) is done in ink, watercolor, and acrylic paint. Young readers will find it hard to resist Henry's renditions of colorful cupcakes, pies, and cakes in bright and colorful hues. VERDICT A suitable addition for beginning reader sections.--Amy Nolan

Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

 
Martha Hamilton
Martha Hamilton and Mitch Weiss are acclaimed storytellers who have won an Irma Simonton Black Honor Award for Excellence in Children's Literature, several Storytelling World Awards, and an Anne Izard Storytellers' Choice Award. With Tedd Arnold, they are co-authors of the 2018 Theodore Seuss Geisel Honor Book Noodleheads See the Future.

Steve Henry is the author and illustrator of Here Is Big Bunny, Cat Got a Lot, and Happy Cat, which received a Kirkus star. Other work includes editorial illustration, ceramic tiles, and a series of bird puppets that have been sold in the Museum of Modern Art Design Store. His work is influenced by fine artists such as Matisse and Miró and illustrators such as Hillary Knight and Ludwig Bemelmans. Steve co-teaches Creating the Picture Book at Pratt Institute.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780823453337
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
E
Publisher
Holiday House
Publication date
February 14, 2023
Series
I Like to Read
BISAC categories
JUV039060 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Friendship
JUV019000 - Juvenile Fiction | Humorous Stories
JUV002050 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Cats
JUV043000 - Juvenile Fiction | Readers | Beginner
JUV050000 - Juvenile Fiction | Cooking & Food
JUV002110 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Foxes
Library of Congress categories
Humorous stories
Cats
Humorous fiction
Readers (Publications)
Cake
Sharing

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