Yay, Us! Pete the Cat Rocking Field Day by Kimberly and James Dean

The sun is BRIGHT and the grass is GREEN. It's a great day for ... FIELD DAY!

LAST YEAR, PETE'S TEAM CAME IN THIRD PLACE.

HE WANTS TO WIN FIRST PLACE THIS YEAR!

Pete wears his red tee, his red headband, and of course, his good-luck red shoes.

The teams line up for the first competition, the baton pass relay race. On the other team are Alligator, Marty the monkey, Squirrel and Turtle.

OH, NO! Squirrel is faster than anyone and hands the baton to Turtle, who crosses the finish line first! Pete knows that they have to try harder, and in the water balloon toss, Pete and Callie win for their team.

The teams are tied, and Pete knows that he still has a chance to earn a medal. But can Pete and his team win the next three events?

Pete's team is fired up! They win the rope pull, and Pete aces the obstacle course. Pete knows he'll get a medal if he can just win the egg-carry race.

Will Pete's hand stay steady...

Or will his nerves (and the egg) crack? OOPS!

It's a tie for the two teams, and Pete has to accept his medallion with a bit of (metaphorical) egg on his face, in Kimberly and James Dean's Pete the Cat: Rocking Field Day (I Can Read Level 1) (Harper I-Can-Read Books.

Everyone is the winner when youngsters become eager readers, and as Pete always says, "It's all good!" And everybody's a winner when the class has a great day outside and when kids can read about the games all by themselves in this winning I-Can-Read easy reader book.

Can't Please 'Em All! Pete the Cat~Too Cool For School by Kimberly and James Dean

PETE WANTED TO LOOK COOL.

HE ASKS EVERYONE, "WHAT SHOULD I WEAR?"

Pete begins with his Mom.

"WEAR YOUR YELLOW SHIRT!" SHE SAYS. "IT'S MY FAVORITE!"

Pete puts on the yellow shirt and starts out for school. But everyone has a different suggestion. His big brother Bob likes the blue shirt better.

His teacher favors long pants, and the school bus driver prefers polka dot socks with his red shoes. Callie the cat says she loves his shorts with the fish print. Pete pulls the shorts on over his long pants, feeling rather silly, and when Grumpy Toad advises he wear cowboy boots with his ensemble, Pete is beginning to feel more than a bit ridiculous. Still, Emma Dog proposes that a striped tie would please her, and Coach counsels a two-toned baseball cap to set it all off.

Pete is way too hot in all those clothes. He wants to please everyone, but... does he look cool?

NO. PETE LOOKS SILLY.

Pete discovers a truth. You can't please everybody, so you might as well suit yourself. Pete sheds the extra clothes for his tee, his shorts, and his red shoes, and learns a lesson, To look cool...

.. BE YOURSELF!

Kimberly and James Dean's early reader, Pete the Cat: Too Cool for School (My First I Can Read) (Harper I-Can-Read Books), offers a little sartorial advice along with Harper's little reading lesson that will get the giggles as Pete sweats in front of an air conditioner on full blast and ponders the wisdom of crowd sourcing his school wardrobe. Youngsters just starting out with reading will find gentle humor, visual cues, and a few life lessons in the company of Pete the Cat.

Hangin' with Grumpy! Pete the Kitty and the Groovy Playdate by Kimberly and James Dean

Pete the Kitty jumps out of bed.

"I can't wait!

Grumpy Toad and I have a groovy playdate!

Ever the optimist, Pete the Kitty imagines playing with Grumpy's new blue truck. It's so COOL! But when Pete arrives and starts to push the truck around, Grumpy whines--

MINE! MINE! MINE!

Grumpy Toad's idea of a playdate is letting Pete watch him pushing his new blue truck around his room.

Pete is not pleased. But he politely turns to building roads for the truck with Grumpy Toad's blocks. But Grumpy claims the blocks are his and only his, too. Pete tries to be flexible, but Toad grabs every toy that Pete touches and sits sulkily in the corner guarding his stuff. This is not Pete's idea of a groovy playdate.

Pete is sad. Pete is blue.

But Pete thinks he knows what to do. He has to persuade Grumpy Toad that one alone is not the way but two together can share to play, with Kimberly and James Dean's hints at how to save the play date in Pete the Kitty and the Groovy Playdate (Pete the Cat) (Harper, 2018), and soon the Caped Critters--Wonder Toad and Super Kitty--soar together to save the day. James Dean's cute kitty is always upbeat as he shows his friend how they can share the toys and have twice the fun.

It's hard for young preschoolers to let go and let their friends have a chance to play with their toys, and Kimberly Dean's story shows how the visiting friend feels when he's told he can't touch his friend's toys and how working out ways so that both can play makes for a very groovy playdate.

Definitely share this one with Anna Dewdney's delightful and insightful Llama Llama Time to Share.