Childrens Literature and Literacy

This page is read only. You can view the source, but not change it. Ask your administrator if you think this is wrong.
======= The Cat Food Mystery: A Pet Club Story =======
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51wkEJPB6JL.jpg
====== Introduce the Book =====
This book is a mystery about a dog named Daisy and how her food keeps going missing from her bowl.
===== Summary =====
This book is about a dog named Daisy who's food magically keeps disappearing from its bowl. Her owner Kayla, tries to figure out the solution to this problem. She confronts different animals and asks her friends to help her solve this mystery. Eventually she sets up a trap to catch the thief. Does it work? Read the book to find out!

==== Analyze Some Element of Author Craft ====
The illustrations fit in perfectly to the story and relate well to the story. It is filled with bright colors and the words on the pages are so simple to understand and read. It seems like an easy book for first and second graders to comprehend.

How is the presentation of this element especially appealing or significant to children (or to the reader)? 

This presentation of the book is exciting for children. Each page gives a different clue as to who the culprit could be and it would keep young kids engaged and hanging at the edge of their seats. It also deals with animals, which many kids love. 

For an example, on Kayla's way to school, she spots fat cat and confronts it. This has little kids believing that the fat cat did it. But then on the next page the cat says he didn't do it, so the kids reading the story start changing their minds on who could have done it, and this gets the readers very much engaged.

Provide one or two claims about this element.
  - The illustrations help tremendously to show what each page is talking about. They are perfectly clear visuals on each page to help a young reader who is trying to understand what is going on.
  - The writing style is clear as well. Each page has short, sweet sentences that lead into the next page.
  - The main character, Kayla, develops her clues as the book goes on. She uses smarter tactics along the way to try and catch the thief with. 
  - The plot of the story doesn't change. The plot is always Kayla trying to find out who is taking her dogs food, but the clues do change.
  - The theme also stays the same throughout the story. The main theme is the mystery they are trying to solve.
==== Favorite Part ====
My favorite part was towards the end when Kayla hears a loud noise coming from the trap she set up. She predicts right there that she finally caught the culprit.
====Recommendation ====
My recommendation is that children in grades 1-2 should read this story. It is engaging and fun to predict what is happening. The different clues Kayla finds are very entertaining and the end is something unexpected and relieving.