What’s That, Mittens? (My First I Can Read!)

Lola M. Schaefer
HarperCollins (2008)
ISBN 9780060546625
Reviewed by Cayden (age 4) and Max (age 2) Aures and Mom for Reader Views (7/08)


“What’s That, Mittens?” is part of the “I Can Read!” series of books.  Mittens, the kitten, is in his yard trying to entertain himself by playing with a ball and a worm when he hears a scratching noise over by the fence.  After going over to investigate he decides to dig under the fence to see what it is.

Max:  “Cat play ball!”

Cayden:  “Why is that cat sniffing at that worm?  Do cats always smell worms?”

Max:  “Scratch! Scratch!”
Cayden:  “I wonder what is scratching behind the fence!”
Cayden:  “It just barked!  It is a dog!”
Max:  “Dog!  Dog!”

Cayden:  “Look, the cat is digging a real big hole!  He is going to get out!”

Cayden:  “The dog’s name is Max just like your name Max!”
Max:  “Me! Max!”

Parent’s comments:

“What’s That, Mittens?” is a cute book geared toward children aged 3-5.  The storyline was fun and engaging especially for an emergent reader book.  There is also a lot of repetition which is helpful for beginning readers.  By the second time through the book Cayden was recognizing some of the words that were used often like “Dig” and “Scratch.”  Of course Max loved the story because the dog in the book shared his name!

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