Plot of the story:

Cat is a loner, who stays to himself while the other cats in the neighborhood eat, sleep, and spend time together. He sits amongst the trash cans all by himself in a very grumpy mood and watches as the other cats have fun and play. His neighborhood peers leave him alone because they think he is always in a grumpy mood. In reality, however, Cat feels lonely and does want some friends to play with, but he is not sure how to approach the other cats. Cat’s mood only worsens when he gets caught up in a thunderstorm and can’t find a save and dry spot to hide. The now soaked and cold Cat feels even grumpier, when all of a sudden he is surprised by a small, orange Kitten who snuggles up to him. At first, Cat does not know what to do with the little Kitten, who is drenched from the rain as well, and effectively ignores her. But Kitten is persistent and follows Cat wherever he goes. First she happily rolls over next to Cat, then she lovingly brushes her tail on Cat, and finally she playfully taps at Cat’s tail. But Cat, who is still grumpy walks away, runs over a picket fence, and chases up a nearby tree. Little Kitten still wants to keep up with Cat and climbs up the tree as well. Unfortunately, she loses her balance on a thin branch and slips … But Cat who is still nearby quickly jumps over, grabs Kitten, and safely takes her back to the ground. After his incident, Cat becomes very caring and comforting towards Kitten to make sure she was alright and even caught her a fish when she got hungry. After sharing the fish, the cats snuggle up together and become good friends. From then on Cat’s grumpy moods vanished since he now had a close companion to spend time with.


Personal Experience with this book:

My son ordered this heartwarming story from the Scholastic book club during his preschool year. He enjoys reading this story, looking at the colorful illustrations, and likes how the grumpy cat turned into a happy cat once he found a true friend. He has started recognizing some of the shorter three letter words and common words and tries reading the story on his own, filling in the rest with memorization of the story content. It’s the perfect story for children who love animals, especially cats, and are learning about the significance of friendships.


Other books by this author:

Britta Teckentrup has also written and illustrated the book “Big Smelly Bear”.

Recommended: Yes