The Cats Tale

They box some fleas. And flee a steer. First they see, then they do. The only thing missing? Come join the fun. Michael Hall's inquisitive cats set out to spend the afternoon snacking and reading, but wind up chasing words, including homophones and ho From word to word they find their way, Lillian, Tilly, and William J. Michael Hall's inquisitive cats set out to spend the afternoon snacking and reading, but wind up chasing words, including homophones and homonyms, on a silly tongue twister of an adventure! Hardcover , 40 pages.

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about Cat Tale , please sign up. Lists with This Book. Aug 24, Betsy rated it really liked it. To bring this subject up is akin to throwing a lit match on diesel soaked tinder, but what the heck. As if they were a pair of shoes liable to give you blisters if you kept them around too long. This is, naturally, bupkis. Wielding homophones like weapons, Hall brings his artistic sensibilities to say nothing of his love of controlled chaos to the wordplay realm and the end result is that everyone's a winner for it.

Meet Lillian, Tilly and William J. Three little cats that are out for a day. In rhyming verse we watch as at first their adventures are small. They chose a spot. They shoo a truly naughty gnu. Should they use a rock to squash a berry or use a squash to bury a rock or after a pause use their paws to rock a squashberry? She continues to reign as the homonym queen to this day. The cats could have just wandered about and gotten confused about the difference between boarding a plane and getting to plane a board.

Ho and also hum. Instead, Hall takes a risk. He actually connects the sentences and uses his illustrations to make seemingly disparate phrases relate to one another. They steer a plane. They plane a board. They board a train. Note too that just to ratchet up the challenge a little, Hall is making this book rhyme on top of everything else. When Hall wrote his previous book The Perfect Square there was wit on display but it seemed to be mostly of the visual variety.

Not that you can tell where the computer came in or how it was used. Instead it looks like Hall took out his sponge and his brightest hues and created something truly lovely.

The Cat's Tale

A beautiful sumptuous method. I know it makes sense on a practical level, but I felt like the transition was a bit too rough. Something a bit slower, a bit more staid, could have suited the storyline a little better. Of course, my dearest hope is that teachers discover this book as well. It can involve naughty gnus and rocked squashberries! A little book that deserves all the attention it can receive. Teachers, parents, librarians, and booksellers, take note. View all 4 comments.

Oct 31, Richie Partington rated it it was amazing. They choose a spot.

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They use a box to hide from bees. Which brings to mind a famous old quotation: I think it was the man who trained Lassie. This has such a breezy, infectiously lyrical, and rib-tickling tasty text that I am quite tempted to commit it to memory. Oct 24, Anastasia Tuckness rated it it was amazing Shelves: Props to Rae H. Sometimes a book's pictures are really great.

The Cat's Tale - Princeton, Kentucky

Sometimes a book's words are clever, interesting, and fun with great rhythm and rhyme. Every now and then, a book comes along that combines all of these elements to work well on so many levels that it truly stands out, and this is one of them. Three cats go through their day, meeting a variety of animals and doing a variety of actions. The illustrations from paper cutouts are boldly g Props to Rae H.

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The illustrations from paper cutouts are boldly geometric, begging readers to find colors and shapes on every page. Along with all of this, the narrative consists of an extended wordplay highlighting homonyms, as in "They spot some ewes. They do their best to box some fleas. They flee a steer. Recommended for young picture book readers who will love the humorous illustrations and rhythm of the text, and school-aged readers who will be able to appreciate the puns as well as teachers who are introducing homonyms.

Apr 23, Margaret Chind rated it it was amazing Shelves: This book is fabulous!

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It is school shelf worthy. With illustrations that are similar in method to Eric Carle this book is vibrant and full of color and while it is attractive, the absolute best part is the text. The story is fun, but it is the word play. The jump between appearance, sound and meaning keeps you guessing and brings on the intriguing. I'm com This book is fabulous! I'm completely exci scheduled: Mar 06, Nancy Kotkin rated it really liked it Shelves: As always, Michael Hall's illustrations are a visual treat. But the text gets too derailed on the middle page spread following the introduction of the gnu.

It does get back on track love the cat tails and ends with a satisfying conclusion. The word play has a nice rhythm to it, proving Hall's word manipulation skills rival his rema Text: The word play has a nice rhythm to it, proving Hall's word manipulation skills rival his remarkable artistic sense. Aug 27, babyhippoface rated it really liked it Shelves: I really like this book. It's cute and clever. But I cannot put my finger on just what age group would benefit most from reading it. It has the look of a PreK-1st grade book, but most of it would fly right over those kids' head so fast it would leave their hair all pointing one direction.

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I'm thinking it needs to land in the upper elementary Language Arts classroom square in the middle of discussions on homophones. Some of the homophones that appear here which are presented in a straightforward I really like this book. Some of the homophones that appear here which are presented in a straightforward but fun manner will probably leave even those kids befuddled, but all in all it's full of great examples of homophones.

Occasionally the illustrations, which are extremely simple, don't quite convey the information needed to process the statements. The specific example to which I'm referring is escaping me right now, but I remember reading that page and thinking, "I don't think kids will be able to tell what those cats are doing on this page. I am all the time. Hand kids this book again--upper elementary could handle it best, I think , have them first identify all the pairs of homophones, then guess what they mean, then use a dictionary to define any of which they're unsure.

Jun 23, Sarah Sammis rated it it was amazing Shelves: Cat Tale by Michael Hall is about three cats who go on an adventure, have a run in with homophones and find themselves scrambled and confused. Lillian, Tilly and William J begin their day with a picnic but along the way: You can see where this is going. The further they go, the more and whackier the homophones they encounter become.

Hall's brightly colored pictures illustrate the homophones, helping early readers master some of the oddities o Cat Tale by Michael Hall is about three cats who go on an adventure, have a run in with homophones and find themselves scrambled and confused. Hall's brightly colored pictures illustrate the homophones, helping early readers master some of the oddities of the English language.

Cat Tale has a good balance of easy to read and challenging words for children who are making the transition from learning to read to more difficult books. My daughter, struggled with understanding the plot the first time, being caught off guard by the homophones. The second time she read the book aloud and that helped to her to hear what Hall was doing.

A Cat's Tale (Book 1 in series)

For the younger set, I think the homophones combined with the silly illustrations will make for a fun storytime or bedtime story. Oct 05, Nancy rated it it was amazing Shelves: I liked this clever picture book! A humorous, energetic read-aloud warning: The reader might be exhausted by last page, but the cats find their way to the couch where they are last seen serenely reading their favorite books, of course! This is a very, very, very clever book, quite on par with I Scream!

The mouse and the cat work things out in an adult fashion, the cat sets out to do the same with the dog, but things don't go to plan. It does have the usual relationships in it but the approach of the characters is quite funny.

The characters are quite nondescript and I didn't really like the voices used - too posh almost! The looks are good though, and they do come across like they have been drawn as opposed to being bland creations with no imagination. In fact the whole cartoon is well drawn and even the backgrounds are well animated and not just rolling scenery. Overall, this cartoon is not as funny as some others but it's different qualities make it worth seeing.

The humour is in the very unusual characters rather than just physical things. It ain't great but it is funny and different enough to justify watching. Enjoy a night in with these popular movies available to stream now with Prime Video. Start your free trial.

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