James Dean is an artist who has been painting Pete the Cat in Atlanta, Georgia (and around the country) for a decade. Eric Litwin is a former classroom teacher who is now winning awards for his special combination of music and storytelling.
Together, they created this incredible book.
In it, Pete the Cat has shoes he loves. These shoes get abused. Does Pete cry about this, though? Goodness no! He keeps walking along, and singing his song.

The story uses repetitive phrasing, simple words and call and response to make a wonderful experience for both reader and listener, along with lush and unique artwork. Concepts conveyed are very basic colors (white, red, blue, brown), listening skills (the listener has to pay attention to know when to answer the color that Pete's shoes turn and when to say "goodness no!") and that little things aren't catastrophes.

For me? I love this book. I get bored reading the same book again and again to my children. I rarely get bored reading Pete. I'm always discovering new little bits that James Dead added into the illustrations, and singing along with the story can be quite joyous.

My kids? My [3 year old] daughter loves this story. She gets excited for the call and response portions, and she pays attention to the (admittedly very simple) story because of this.
My [3 year old] son is a whole other level, though. He has special needs, and this book speaks loudly and comfortingly to him. He will sit and reread it by himself for an hour or more. I don't know if it's the repetition, the music, the illustrations, the concepts, or just a beautiful combination that engages him, but engage it does.
His preschool teacher also reports that his entire classroom of special needs children feel exactly the same.

We can't get enough of Pete the Cat in this house, and have spread the love to many others. Order this, and then follow up with Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes, and after May 2012, snatch up a copy of Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons (or preorder it now, we did). Also essential? Merrymakers Pete the Cat Doll
Don't be afraid to hit the net for Pete, either. There are some wonderful prints and original artwork available on the artists own website, music and storytelling available from the author, and videos that have been shared on large video sharing sites (ahem) of Litwin and Dean performing the stories and other works.

Brand	N/A
Rating	4.9 (12261 ratings)
Price	$10.89
Category	Literature & Fiction

Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes