They All Saw a Cat by Brendan Wenzel

Cats are easily identifiable for anyone who has ever seen one and been told that it is a cat, right?  After all, it has a long tail, paws, whiskers, and ears like all cats do.  In this 2017 Caldecott Honor book, a cat "walked through the world with its whiskers, ears, and paws".  Each time the reader sees this phrase, the characters encounter the same cat on the following pages. The illustrations, however, depict the cat in a different way based on the perspective of the character on the page.  For instance, the mouse sees the cat as a scary monster with sharp teeth and claws, while the flea sees the cat as a free ride.  The child sees the cat as a friend and the dog sees his sneaky nemesis.  Just when the reader thinks the book is over, there is a surprise, leaving the reader to use his/her imagination to answer a question.  

Students could complete a writing activity to answer the question.  As a text-to-self activity, the teacher could give the students a mirror to look at themselves, and write about what they see, then draw a picture of themselves the way they see themselves.  The writing activity possibilities are endless. Also, what a great book for teaching point of view and sequencing!  For younger readers, it is also great for teaching spatial concepts such as the fox is behind the cat, the bird is above the cat, and the child is beside the cat, etc.  This book could also be seen as a book to teach about getting to know a person for more than how you initially see them before deciding whether or not they "like" the other person.

This book makes the reader consider his/her own, and others' perspectives of a familiar animal.  The illustrations will keep the reader engaged, following the emotions in the facial expressions of all the characters and the silly depictions of the cat.  Your students will oooohhhh, aaaaahhhhh, and laugh aloud at the illustrations in this fun book!