Have you heard of Pete the Cat? This children’s book series is a favourite in our (Yiola) 
home. My 4 year-old daughter and my 2 year-old son love reading/singing along to the stories.
What I like about Pete the Cat ( by Eric Litwin) is its simplicity – the language is simple and the rhythm of the language is catchy. My son is able to connect to the repetition and sings along with joy.
I also like the messages in the stories – they call to issues of mental health and wellness. Pete the cat is calm and does not worry about some of life’s potential anxiety ridden experiences. For example, in “Pete the Cat Rocking in My School Shoes”, Pete is confronted with unfamiliar spatial settings, noisy lunchrooms and bustling playgrounds; common childhood circumstances that can cause anxiety. Yet Pete handles each situation with grace and confidence because, “it’s all good”.
In “Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons” Pete’s buttons keep popping off of his shirt, but Pete does not get upset because “it goes to show that stuff will come and stuff will go. But do we cry? Goodness no! We keep on singing”.
When reading “Pete the Cat: I love my white shoes”, Pete steps in a variety of ‘stuff’ that cause his white shoes, which he LOVES, to change colour but Pete does not get upset.
The moral of the story is: “no matter what you step in keep walking along singing your song because its all good.”
Check out a Pete the Cat story here:
Literacy Teaching and Teacher Education 