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Cat Says Meow and Other Animalopoeia, by Michael Arndt, 2014, San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books. 36 pages. ISBN: 978-1452112343.
Age/Interest Level: 3-5 years
Lexile Level: N/A
Awards: N/A
Reader Annotation: All animals make some sort of noise. Here are a collection of animal silhouettes that contain the letters spelling out the sounds each make.
Plot Summary: Of course dogs go woof and ducks go quack. Cows go moo and pigs go oink. Here, Arndt takes the classic concept of teaching animal sounds and skews it slightly. Instead of outright telling readers what each animal says, each silhouette for the animal contains the answer. The cat’s ears form the M in ‘meow’ and the mouse’s tail forms the S in ‘squeak’. It’s as much a puzzle as it is a book.
Critical Evaluation: This work is fantastic in that it finds a new way to breathe life into a concept that is being endlessly taught to children. Typography is played with to create the foundation for the shape of each animal and it is up to the reader to apply previous knowledge in order to determine the animal as well as the sound they make. The graphic illustrations are gorgeous and slick, looking almost like a clean advertisement. The excessive use of white space pulls focus right to the animal, and the lack of clutter keeps readers engaged with each concept as they turn the pages.
Why Included: There are a lot of works out there teaching these concepts, but this offers the most unique and attractive approach. The designs themselves are stunning and the added concept of finding the letters adds a bit of challenge to the fun.
Age/Interest Level: 3-5 years
Lexile Level: N/A
Awards: N/A
Reader Annotation: All animals make some sort of noise. Here are a collection of animal silhouettes that contain the letters spelling out the sounds each make.
Plot Summary: Of course dogs go woof and ducks go quack. Cows go moo and pigs go oink. Here, Arndt takes the classic concept of teaching animal sounds and skews it slightly. Instead of outright telling readers what each animal says, each silhouette for the animal contains the answer. The cat’s ears form the M in ‘meow’ and the mouse’s tail forms the S in ‘squeak’. It’s as much a puzzle as it is a book.
Critical Evaluation: This work is fantastic in that it finds a new way to breathe life into a concept that is being endlessly taught to children. Typography is played with to create the foundation for the shape of each animal and it is up to the reader to apply previous knowledge in order to determine the animal as well as the sound they make. The graphic illustrations are gorgeous and slick, looking almost like a clean advertisement. The excessive use of white space pulls focus right to the animal, and the lack of clutter keeps readers engaged with each concept as they turn the pages.
Why Included: There are a lot of works out there teaching these concepts, but this offers the most unique and attractive approach. The designs themselves are stunning and the added concept of finding the letters adds a bit of challenge to the fun.