Forget about raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. Never mind about cream colored ponies and crisp apple streudels, doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles. If you ask my six-year-old to name a few of her favorite things here’s what you’ll hear: books, books and more books. Oh, and candy.
What I did in a former life to birth a bookworm, I’ll never know, but I’m not complaining. My kid is a voracious reader. She eats books up like they’re candy, which is why I am stocking up on new titles for the summer.
Studies show that children, who read during the summer, show improvement in vocabulary, grammatical development, spelling and writing. What’s more, they are better prepared for the new academic year.
With that said I am planning to blog about some of my daughter’s favorite books each day this week, beginning with Splish, Splash, Splat!
This hilarious new tome in the Splat the Cat series doesn’t officially hit store shelves until Tuesday, May 17th, but thanks to the good folks at HarperCollins my daughter was able to get her hands on a copy last week, and she hasn’t loosened her grip since.
Splish, Splash, Splat! author and illustrator Rob Scotton outdoes himself in this spot-on take of what it’s like being young and having to face your fears in front of your peers. If you thought Scat was a feisty feline in previous tales, wait until you see how he and cat-mate Spike handle a day at the pool with the rest of their class.
The book keeps young readers on their feet from beginning to end. In fact, I found Splish, Splash, Splat! to be even more suspenseful than Scat’s Halloween mystery. After all, no cat likes to be drenched, and this book is all about learning how to swim… in a pool… filled with fur-matting water.
“Water is horrible, scary, and wet!” Scat exclaims throughout the book.
In fact, the phrase soon becomes Scat’s mantra along with his prediction that the wet and wild class outing to the pool is going to make it “the worst day ever!”
So, was the day a cat-astrophe? Your kids will have a blast finding out.
In the process they’ll enjoy a page-turner that’s filled with funny feline antics in and out of the pool. Scotton cleverly features a subplot that most youngsters can relate to on a variety of levels: Having to hang out with someone they’d prefer not to.
Splat and Spike may not be the closest of cat companions, but the book’s surprise ending reveals that tolerance has its perks.
Personally, this book had me from the first page, and I know my daughter feels the same way. In fact, I had 20 first graders on the edge of the story carpet when I took the book to school to share during my stint as guest reader.
When the kids weren’t laughing about Mrs. Wimpydimple’s name (again), they were roaring about Splat’s lack of swimwear. A naked cat and a teacher whose name rhymes with “pimple”; it doesn’t get much funnier than that when you are in first grade.
If you are looking to cannonball into summer reading, then I would highly recommend picking up Splish, Splash, Splat! The story is a gem and the illustrations are even more precious. Scotton is a masterful artist. His pictures are so rich and detailed that they tell a story of their own.
The colorful and captivating kitty nuggets are purrfectly adorable and are a huge reason why my daughter keeps coming back for more. I have a feeling your child will respond the same way.
Keep your kids engaged in reading during school vacation with Splish, Splash, Splat! It can be found at HarperCollins.com as well as major book stores across the country.
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