Cat Traps (Step-Into-Reading, Step 1)

I was introduced to this book by a young girl I was babysitting. She is six years old and loves the book. She can read it all by herself, which is important to build confidence.

One thing we enjoyed was that each time Cat sets a trap, the reader is given a clue about what he might catch. She pointed out each clue and giggled.

As an adult, it is easy to become bored or frustrated by a book that is too contrite; however, I thought this was a cute, enjoyable book.

The "Early Step into Reading Books" are meant for the earliest readers (preschoolers and kindergarteners). And unlike some other Series and books that make this claim, this book really is at the appropriate level for true beginners. The word choice is simple and the text is printed in a large font. An example follows:

Cat wants a snack.
Cat sets a trap.
Cat gets a pig.
Too big!

As others have noted the story line is pretty cute and the artwork is bright and attractive. There are also `notes' for parents or other caregivers that give hints as to what to do to help the beginning reader to step into reading.

Three Stars. A cute book suitable for real beginning readers, that does not talk-down to them. Affordable price.

This book is great fun! Cat wants a snack...cat sets a trap! Multiple traps. He gets into all sorts of scrapes as he tries to fulfill his feline craving for a live snack.

My daughters and I are cat lovers, but the mayhem he caused for himself had us giggling together. In fact, it launched us into a discussion of the nature of black humor. We talked about how and why we could be laughing at this poor cat who wanted nothing more than to eat, about what made things funny (surprise) and what made ~this~ story particularly funny.

Now, my little one is still quite the beginning reader, and she's struggling. But this book wasn't difficult for her. And, while it was ~for her~, her 9-yr-old sister enjoyed it too--and so did I!

This is a brilliantly written and illustrated little book. Kudos to the author/illustrator for her ability to condense so funny a story into such a short-and-simple package.

I'm buying CAT TRAPS for my little one for Christmas this year. She's wanted it since we saw it in a bookstore six months ago! I'm going to take a look at the other books in this series while I'm at it.

Note to the author: I've worked as an English teacher, an author, an artist, and now I'm also a homeschooling mother. Send this review to your editor, Molly, and tell him/her I'm pleading for more of your books, books like this one! I'm off to search Amazon for anything else you've written!

This was my sons first book. What I liked most was that it made him want to keep reading to see what happened next to the poor cat. The words are very short, perfect for beginers, and the repetition helped gave him plenty of practice.

This book is wonderful for early readers. It is repetative (necessary for children), but still fun. Every word in the book can be easily sounded out by a young reader. I find early reader books with words that children can not possibly read on their own to be counter-productive. This book is a self-esteem builder. My daughter read it on her own and then read it to my husband. She was very proud and so were we.