Sturdy for Common Things

Cat & Dog Storytime

Prestorytime story: A week from yesterday, after putting little L to bed for the night, Will was taking an online test and I was about to read, when out of nowhere our cat, Zydeco went ballistic. He scurried all the way in the back room where Will was taking his test when I hear Will yell, “What the….. Hey Becca! Zydeco has a mouse!”

Zydeco caught a mouse. Our cat is a mouser.

And I’ve never been more thankful or more proud to be a cat owner.

Luckily we haven’t seen any mice since, but I thought it would be nice to honor him and all the storytime kid’s pets with a Cat and Dog storytime.

Most of the books L and I read at home are about cats and dogs, so selecting books for this storytime was a walk in the park.

Cats and Dogs Storytime Lineup:

No Dogs Allowed by Anne Davis

Bud and Gabby are back, but this time with a new friend/enemy, Cookie the dog. Bud is not too happy about Cookie being in the house and especially that Gabby likes Cookie. Bug and Cookie learn to make nice in this fun and quick read.

Five Little Kittens Finger Play

Five little kittens standing in a row.

(Hold up five fingers)

They nod their heads to the children so.

(Bend fingers)

They run to the left; they run to the right.

(Run fingers to the left and then to the right.)

They stand up and stretch in the bright sunlight.

(Stretch fingers out tall)

Along cames a dog who’s in for some fun.

(Hold up one finger from opposite hand.)

ME-OW! See those little kittens run!

(Run fingers all around and end behind your back.)

Dogs by Emily Gravatt

We read a lot of Emily Gravett in our house, including this title about a cat who loves all kinds of dogs.

I Don’t Want a Cool Cat! by Emma Dodd

Another favorite about a little girl who doesn’t “need a cool cat, a treat me like a fool cat”. She “just needs a purry cat, a small soft and furry cat.” Pretty sure I can recite this book from memory I’ve read it so much.

Rrralph by Lois Ehlert

And another favorite. The kids enjoyed guessing what Ralph the dog was going to “say” next.

There Are Cats in this Book by Vivian Schwarz

The storytimers loved this book! I let them turn the pages and the flaps when prompted. They were laughing the whole time.

Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin, illustrated by James Dean

Another interactive read aloud book that was thoroughly enjoyed by the kids.

Pet Picture Frame Craft:

For our Cat and Dog Storytime craft, we made pet picture frames! And for those kids that didn’t have pets at home, I told them they could include a picture of themselves or their mom or dad. Also had a couple extra Zydeco pictures printed off that they asked to use. He was quite the popular kitty yesterday.

Materials used: Popsicle sticks, cardstock cut to size of popsicle stick length, yarn or string, school glue, scissors, tape, stickers and/or cutout clip art, and pet photo.

The prep work for this craft was minimal pre-storytime. I cut out small squares the length of the popsicle sticks used out of colorful cardstock.

Using glue, we dotted the corners with a dime-sized drop of glue and glued two popsicle sticks to the left and right side.

Then, dabbing the corners of the square again with glue, except this time on the popcicle sticks, we placed two sticks each on the the top and bottom.

Let dry for 1 or 2 minutes.

Let dry for 1 or 2 minutes and then turn over.

Tape a short piece of yarn or string to the back of the frame.

Turn over and decorate.

Yesterday, we used stickers and pre-cut clip art, but you could use anything. Macaroni, sequins, glitter, markers, paint, tissue paper… all would be fun to decorate with.

This part the kids did at home. They found a picture of their pet and cut it so that it fit into the cardstock portion of the picture frame.

Taped the back of the picture.

Place it gently into the frame, press to secure.

He’s a handsome devil, no?

Now if only I had a dog to make a picture frame for….

image source: cat and dog reading, no dogs allowed, dogs, i don’t want a cool cat, rrralph, there are cats in this book, pete the cat