Tim Capehart's Blog, page 5

Bubble's Book Recommendations and Tips for Cat Children of Human People -- "Three More Stories You Can Read to Your Cat" by Sara Swan Miller

This book is MADE to be read to kitties. I was interested to see what a human writer would think a real cat would find interesting...I think this Sara lady did a good job!

The first story begins "One morning you were taking a nice nap on your favorite chair. THUMP THUMP THUMPITY THUMP! Here came your friend into the room. 'My friend is so noisy!' you said to yourself." The friend is the kitty's human, and he is bringing her presents! (I haven't had a birthday here yet, though I did just pass my anniversary with the Daddies!) The kitty says she is busy taking a nap, but the human (like all humans) doesn't understand and starts opening the presents for her. The first one is a wind up mousie which is fun for a minute. The second one is a wind up spider which is scary! The third one is a SWEATER!? The kitty calls is a horrible rag (I don't think she knows what a sweater is). She knows cats should definitely never wear clothes! She wiggles out of it and hides it behind the garbage.

The kitty finally discovers the best present: the wrapping paper! That's just like Christmas. Then she takes a nap. That really was a good story to read to a kitty!

The next story is about wanting to go outside. I really related to that. There was white stuff falling from the sky, but the kitty wanted to go out anyway. She begged at the door. Her human said no. She begged some more. He let her out. The white stuff was cold and wet. The ground was missing too. The kitty thinks, why did my friend force me to come out in this cold, white stuff? And she begs to come back inside...where she has a good nap. I like this story too.

I can relate to the last story. The kitty wants to be fed in the morning. The writing says it is early, but the human says it is six o'clock. I am pretty sure that the number my daddies yell at me when I jump on them is earlier than that. Four is earlier than six, right? (Human time is hard. Kitty time is better: lap time, dinner time, nap time, run-around-like-your-tail-is-on-fire time and play time. That's all you need). Anyway the kitty decides to play. She plays with the rug, she finds some neat paper to crumple on the dresser. She jumps on the human again. She chases her tail and has a bath...when breakfast is finally served, she's too tired to eat it. (Well, that never happens to me; food's always good).

I recommend this book to kitties and little humans. I do think it is perfect to read to your cat if you are lucky enough to be owned by a good kitty like me and the puss in this book. I really liked True Kelley's pictures. They captured perfect catness especially in the napping stages. I want to read the first three stories in the first book. I will make Daddy Tim bring it to me. 

Today's tip for Cat Children of Human People (CaCHuPs): You just have to accept it: your human is a giant weirdo. They will pat you on the head and make lovey sounds one minute and throw their arms around and make loud gabbling noises the next. They will beg you to get in their lap and then dump you off a half hour later just when you are getting your nap going. They will get food out of the good food cold lock box every night and then NOT let you have any! They will sit for hours watching a glowey box and then call you lazy for snoozing in a sunbeam after a long hard day of...keeping them safe from marauding outdoor pusses and mousies--between naps in sunbeams. I say just relax with it. You will get used to their weirdness even if you never understand it. Maybe you can get them to read you a book about being a kitty, so they will understand more.

Banjo's Book Recommendations and Mousie Recon -- "Clarence the Copy Cat" by Patricia Lakin

I know just why Daddy Tim brought me this book, but let me tell you about it before I tell you why he wanted to read this with me.

This is the story of Clarence, a black and white cat, whose parents are great mousers. Clarence is a peaceful kitty; he thinks mice should be left alone. That attitude gets him thrown out of Sam's Sandwich Shop where his parents work. And every other place he tries to live until he gets to a strange building full of books...where Mr. Spanner does storytime and eats cheese (which he shares) and friendly people carry books in and out of the place. Clarence loves to sit on the copy machine, and Mr. Spanner calls him, Clarence the Copy Cat.

Everything is great until one day a mouse shows up. Clarence sticks to his principles and doesn't attack. Mr. Spanner chases the mouse away. Clarence is afraid that he'll be sent away...he searches for a reason the mouse is around. Finding Mr. Spanner's secret cheese stash, Clarence eats it all.

But the mouse reappears at storytime. The kids and Mr. Spanner chase it off. Clarence tries blocking up all the small holes...but that doesn't work either. When the mouse comes back a third time, Clarence tries to get out of the way of Mr. Spanner's broom, but the poor kitty lands face down on the copy machine. The mouse runs away...and Clarence sees why: the copy machine made a huge scary copy of Clarence that would scare any mouse...and he and Mr Spanner live happily ever after.

So I like this book because I know Daddy Tim goes to a library like Mr. Spanner's every day, He does storytime like Mr. Spanner all the time. And we both love cheese like Mr. Spanner and Clarence. I do like to chase Mice (and Mousies), but Daddy Tim and Daddy Trent would prefer I leave them alone (as long as they are not in the house)...so THEY are like Clarence. So seeing Clarence in the library is like seeing me where Daddy Tim works! I think little Humans would like the story too, maybe AT storytime!

I also like the cartoony illustrations by John Manders. Clarence is a long tall kitty with a happy, expressive face and Mr. Spanner is mostly bald like Daddy Tim! I give this book four treats... Clarence can have the fifth treat since he won't be having any Mouse. Bubble was playing with Purple egg last night. She whacked it across the room and it popped open! I bet the Mousies use Purple Egg to hide their secret messages that they send up and down the stairs! I am going to have to keep a close eye on that egg! Those Mousies are so tricky!

Bubble's Book Recommendations and Tips for Cat Children of Human People -- "Some Cat" by Mary Casanova

Daddy Tim brought home two books and let me pick which one I wanted to read with him from his description. The first thing he said was "Violet wants to rule the world" and I was sold. Girl kitties SHOULD rule the world. This story starts out sad (but only for a page). Violet had a home that was full of yelling. No cat likes that! So she was very skinny and in a shelter. That's what Daddy Tim says SICSA is where Banjo and I came from. It was OK because there was a big room with screen walls...but there were too many cats and not enough Daddies or laps.

In the shelter, Violet dreams of ruling a kingdom with sharp claws and velvet paws. When ever a human comes to look at her she arches her back and hisses and spits. (I could tell her that's no way to hook a human! They either want you to jump in their laps, or they are intrigued when you completely ignore them). 

But one day a man human and a lady human watch her long enough, and she lays down on the royal bed (in her imagination) and purrs. The humans decide they want to give her a chance. When she gets to their house...there are TWO DOGS! What kind of strange humans put a poor kitty in a house with two strange dogs? Oh, Daddy Tim says his human sissie has two dogs and a kitty. Maybe it's not so strange.

So back to Violet, she hisses and spits... And the doggies run away. When the little one Zippity plays with his toy, Violet hisses and scares him away so SHE can play with it. When the big one George tries to nap in the hammock, Violet claims it for her own. 

When she's on her own, she catches mousies (real ones in the yard!) and rolls in the grass. Some kitties have all the luck! I'd put up with dogs in the house, if I could play outside by myself with no Daddies to tell me not to eat the grass...it looks so yummy!

One day (back to Violet again) three stray doggies come to bark at Violet when the rest of her new family are out fishing. The mean dogs chase her all over the yard until she yowls at the  top of her lungs. Scary!

Then her doggies, Zippety and George, and her humans come to her rescue...She's so happy that she and Zippety and George roll in the grass together. The next time the family goes fishing, she goes too AND she snuggles up with the dogs--hmm, I never thought about snuggling up with dogs. Not sure I like that idea. Violet finds ruling with velvet paws makes her happier than ruling with sharp claws.

Well, I am just glad she got the kingdom she wanted. I did too. I got two daddies and a brother to boss (and chase) around. This is my perfect kingdom (notice I did not stoop to saying "purrfect" that is not a real word).

I like the illustrations by Ard Hoyt too. Violet and the doggies have some pretty human expressions, but I think humans need that in their books. It seems to be in most of the books Daddy Tim and I read together. I especially like the pictures of Violet rolling in the grass and catching a mousie (she whomps it with her whole paw!) Daddy Tim says Ard Hoyt is easy on the eyes...I think except for size, all humans look pretty much the same...

Good book and I think little humans will like it too especially all the animal noises their mommies and daddies will have to make when reading it. (Although I thought the cover should be Violet on her pillow not looking so sad!)

Today's Tip for Cat Children of Human People (CaCHuPs): We all know that it is great to have the windows open if you aren't lucky enough to have one of those magical devices called a "cat door." BUT in the summer, sometimes it is better if your humans close the windows and turn on the blowey things in the floor. For some reason the air that comes out of there is cooler than the air outside...I don't know where it comes from. You can still look out the windows; you just can't smell out the windows. And often the blowey things in the floor will roll up your left-behind fur (if your humans haven't cleared it out in a few days), and you can chase it across the floor and pounce on it like a mouse! Fun! Closed windows in the summer aren't all bad. They save you from being melty and too hot.

Banjo's Book Recommendations and Mousie Recon -- "Luna the Wake-up Cat" by Charman Simon

Daddy Tim thinks he's so funny. He brought this book home for me because I wake up Daddy Trent every night. I like to lick his nose (well it's right there sticking out of the covers!) and sometimes I poke him with my paw.  The Daddies call  this "Lickie Lickie Pokey Pokey" Well, a kittie often needs to snuggle in the middle of the night. It wouldn't be a problem if Humans didn't try to squeeze most of their sleeping into the night time. Cats are more sensible and we sleep around the clock when we need to.

So, this book is one for little Humans who are just learning to read. There are lots of simple words in it (and even a word list at the back of all 64 words in the book).  It doesn't have much story; it's more a vehicle for teaching the words. A little girl says that early in the morning when the sun peeks through her window, her cat Luna scratches at her bedroom door. (Keep it open, little Human, and that won't happen!) Then Luna jumps on her bed and burrows under the blanket.  I get to do this all night because I sleep with the Daddies. Bubble has not learned how nice it is to snuggle with Daddies. SHE could learn something from this book--I hope she doesn't, because snuggling in bed is MY thing. 

The little girl human in the book tickles Luna under the chin, and Luna jumps down and leads the girl downstairs to breakfast. My Daddies usually bring my breakfast to me (because I am their Babyman Banjo and my sister Bubble is a hogface who would eat my breakfast before I got to it).

See? Not much of a story, but it would serve it's purpose for little humans who like cats (the smart ones). I like Benrei Huang's pictures well enough. They fit the simple story and the snuggle pictures make me feel cozy. I give this book two treats. It's more a tool than a book. The heat wave has broken. I am hoping the Mousies will be more active. They have been downright boring the last couple days. I kept a close eye on them when the Daddies were in Maine; but since the Daddies were away, the Mousies didn't do much moving around--I think that's proof that the Mousies are following the Daddies and plotting against them! After breakfast I am going to lay on Blueball to keep the Daddies safe!

Bubble's Book Recommendations and Tips for Cat Children of Human People -- "Chicken and Cat Clean Up" by Sara Varon

Daddy Tim brought me another book without words to show me I CAN read on my own. This one had more of a story than the other wordless book he brought me last year.  I thought the author of the first book was just lazy not putting words on the page, I don't think this one is. She has a great story just in the pictures...it's a little weird, but I liked it. It's weird because a cat and a chicken live together...I, personally, think chickens are yummy.

BUT it's not a realistic story, Daddy Tim says...so Cat and Chicken live together. Chicken is a morning person and Cat is not. At breakfast, Cat thinks of all the fun things he could do if he had a pet...but Chicken has other ideas for  their day...apparently the two friends have a house cleaning business together...or Chicken has a house cleaning business and she takes Cat along for help.
They get in the van and go to Elephant's house. 

They put on their aprons and start to work, but Cat is not so good at it. 

He drops a dish, makes a mess of the laundry (I have watched Daddy Tim and Daddy Trent do their laundry enough to know you don't pour in a whole bottle of soap!) and mopping doesn't turn out so well either... When Cat starts to eat a houseplant, Elephant sends him to the front stoop. At first Cat is sad, but then he witnesses a crime! A mouse steals a ladybug's purse. Cat runs him down! All the neighbors clap. Chicken and Cat take the mouse-thief to the police, and with the reward money, Cat buys a pet turtle! 

Chicken changes the name of the business on their van to "Housekeeping and Mousecatching Services"

I like this story! It has humor and action...the kitty gets to chase a mouse & gets in trouble for eating houseplants (that has happened to me!) I don't have to put words in the book to know what is going on and I know the characters just by what I see. Daddy Tim is right. Wordless books are fun & now (if he brings me more I can read without learning all those letters and words Humans need to talk to each other. Little humans will appreciate this book too. Even if they don't eat houseplants, I think they will see themselves in Chicken and Cat! (I do still wish they had names...I will give them names: Gustavo the cat, Madelinda the chicken, Porpentine the elephant and Mortimer Eeepstine the mouse thief. The turtle's name is Biff).

Today's Tip for Cat Children of Human People (CaCHuPs): Sometimes your Humans may go away for a long time. I don't know why they do this. My Daddies have gone away twice this summer. Don't worry, your Humans will make sure another Human feeds you...most likely a grey-haired lady Human if my experience is any indication...there might not be laps, but your Human WILL come back. It will seem like forever, but when they come back they will be extra nice to you for days: extra wet food (yum!) extra trips outside (grass!) extra plays and laps...soon you will forget they were gone. It is no fun WHILE they are gone (though you can chase your brother and sniff his butt without getting yelled at) but it is very fun when they come back!

Banjo & Bubble Just Waiting for New Books

Daddy Tim & Trent went away AGAIN for, like, ever! This nice strange human lady came to feed us each day...

Banjo: Well, Bubble told me she was nice, I was busy each day investigating under the Daddies sleeping place each day when she was here. Bubble: You were hiding.
Banjo: I was not hiding. The Mousies were up to something upstairs. I had to investigate.
Bubble: Hiding. The moment she came in the front door. You vanished.
Banjo: It was a Mousie conspiracy. I had to lay on Blue Ball. It was an emergency.
Bubble: Daily? Whatever. We are just waiting for Daddy Tim to bring us new kitty books to review. 
Banjo: Daddy Tim is also working on a new book, so he doesn't have as much time to read to us.
Bubble: If humans didn't have so many words, I'd learn to read for myself.
Banjo: It's not worth it. Besides, that's one of the reasons we keep them around.
Bubble: Thumbs and reading and laps.
Banjo: And Schnuggins. Schnuggins are very nice.
Bubble: And they throw a mean Pink Baby.
Banjo: Don't forget pettings.
Bubble: Yes. So they better not leave us for days on end again. I could just express my opinion of Daddy-less days with a hairball.
Banjo: Ignoring them works good too. They follow you through the house saying "What's wrong, Booboo?" Let's do that for a few days.
Bubble: OK...after some more lap time 
Banjo: And a few books.
Bubble: Yes, Daddy Tim promised books! Let's go remind him.

Banjo's Book Recommendations and Mousie Recon -- "Cat & Mouse" by Ian Schoenherr

Daddy Tim brought me a foolish book about a cat and a mouse to review. I like it. He and Daddy Trent have actually chanted part of this book to me; now I know they weren't just making it up. They make up a lot of songs and rhymes (and some are rude!)

So this is a make-believe story about a cat and a mouse. According to what the writer said at the back of the book, it takes three traditional rhymes and puts them together. The first rhyme is "I love little Pussy" Thankfully the writer of this book changed it to "Kitty" We don't mind being called Puss...but Pussy these days makes too many humans giggle.

"I love little Kitty.
Her coat is so warm.
And if I don't hurt her
She'll do me no harm."

The mousie is chanting this with his umbrella...and the cat IS chasing him. Then they reach a clock and the story becomes "Hickory Dickory Dock" The mouse climbs the clock and it strikes one: The mousie gets away and runs to his hole. The book returns to the "little Kitty" rhyme for a few more stanzas...then changes to "Eeny Meeny Miney Moe." And while the Kitty is cleaning, the mousie catches the tiger (kitty) by her toe! Mousies should never interrupt a Kitty at her bath!

Then the text returns to the Kitty rhyme:

"She'll sit by my side
And I'll give her some food.
And kitty will love me
Because I am good." I think we can all agree this is totally make-believe...if a Kitty can't get the milk out of the good-food cold-box, a mousie can't! But I like it. The kitty looks real in the pictures and it seems like she and the mousie are having fun, playing through the whole set of rhymes. I think little humans, even if they know all these rhymes, will like this book. I give it three and a half treats. (The other treat and a half can go to the Kitty and Mousie). New Grey Mousie and Blue Ball don't seem to want to leave the Daddies' sleep room. That's OK by me. It has become my base of operations. I spend most of my time there now and the Daddies bring my food right to me! Good Daddies! So I get to play--er keep a close eye on these two sneaky mousies...so they don't plot any evil against the household!

Bubble's Book Recommendations and Tips for Cat Children of Human People -- "Kindergarten Cat" by J. Patrick Lewis

Daddy Tim finally brought us more books, and I like this one a lot! Not only does it star a pretty orange girl kitty, but she gets to learn to read!

I know it is a made up story and the pictures aren't real like lots of books we have read together. I still like it. The pictures by Ailie Busby are very cute (Daddy says not to use the c-word, but I am a cat and I use lots of c-words...like claw and chew, so I don't know what he means). I reviewed a book with pictures by her in January (Drat That Fat Cat) and I like these pictures of scribbly haired kids and a plump little puss MUCH more.

Daddy Tim says the man who wrote this book lives close by! I wonder if a relative of mine inspired him to write this. I bet so!

So this is the story of a stray kitten (like I was!) who is adopted by a group of little humans in their first year of school. Daddy Tim visits little humans in school, so he's explained what goes on there. It sounds loud, so Banjo would hate it. I am kind of interested though.

"Mr. Bigbuttons found her 
By the jungle gym,
And she wiggled and purred
When he tickled her chin." They name her Tinker Toy...but they usually call her Tinker. Everyone wants Tinker to sit by them during lessons. She likes the one who shares her carpet square. The little humans decide that Tinker need to learn the same things they do like colors and alphabet and adding numbers. (I say that we have humans around to know all of those things. Kitties really just know how to control their humans--Tinker is very good at that already!) Tinker sits in on the lessons and answers ME-ow! when the teacher asks some questions.  The little humans think she's pretty smart. Me too...because they are all petting her by the end of the lesson. Good human-control, Tinker! Then the little humans take their noise outside, and Tinker gets a nap.

"Once she lived outside; 
Now she'll stay indoors.
Look! She's making a bed
In our paintbrush drawers."

Tinker IS a lot like me. Daddy Tim says that I "identify" with Tinker because we have had "similar experiences" He says that is what people look for in books. I mostly look for cats.

Then the little humans say goodbye for the night and Tinker gets to sleep. in her Kindergarten home. I will say that they DID forget to feed her, but maybe that happened when they weren't rhyming and it didn't fit in the story.

I think little humans (and kitties) would like this book a lot especially if they are going into kindergarten. After reading this they will know what to expect...though I bet not a lot of them will be lucky enough to get to have a cat at school.

Today's tip for Cat Children of Human People (CaCHuPs): Laptime is an essential part of any kitty's day. The hard part is getting your human to sit down. Rubbing against their legs and nudging them toward a good chair is a good way. But I think the best way is to find out what chair they like the best (usually one facing the big or the little glowey box) and sitting in it like you own it. They will see how cute and comfortable you are and want to join you. Then you can jump on them and voila! Laptime!

Banjo's Book Recommendations and Mousie Recon -- "red cat blue cat" by Jenni Desmond

I know why Daddy Tim brought this home. Bubble and I don't always get along. This could be called Orange cat and Grey cat...

It is the story of two cats who live together. Blue cat stays upstairs (like me) and Red cat stays downstairs like Bubble. Whenever they get together, there is hissing and fighting...it's not THAT bad here. We don't always fight. In this book, Blue cat is smart (hey, maybe it IS like us!) and blue cat is fast and bouncy. Each of them secretly wants to be more like the other.  So Blue cat gets the bright idea that if he eats a lot of red things, maybe he'll turn red and be fast and bouncy. Red cat is spying on him (hmmm, she does spy on me a lot!) and Red cat tried eating a lot of blue things. Neither turns colors. (Kitties should not eat blue pudding, cupcakes, bluebells, roses or cherries...in case there are any impressionable kittens out there wanting to change colors)

SO Blue cat puts on some red human clothes that are red and Red cat rolls in blue paint. They run to find each and have a fight...then realize that each is trying to be like the other. They give each other lessons...and do learn a bit. However, they find out they like being themselves most of all AND they have become friends!

I don't see that happening around here, but in a story it's nice.

So they are friendly...then they hear Yellow cat singing, and... I like this book (I think Daddy likes it more than me). The splotchy, blocky illustrations are full of energy and color. The cats don't look realistically cat like...but they move and sit and stretch and roll like kitties. I give this three and a half treats. (I think Daddy might give it four). Daddy Tim found Blue Ball under the dresser in their sleeping room! I was so happy he found it, I played with it for a looong time with Daddy Trent. I wonder how Blue Ball got there. Daddy Tim said it was way in the back. I wonder if it was watching us the whole time. Maybe this requires some interrogation! I better go find Blue ball and get to batting it around the room!

Bubble's Book Recommendations and Tips for Cat Children of Human People -- "Those Darn Squirrels and the Cat Next Door" by Adam Rubin

I was excited when I saw the cover of this book. There is a big, beautiful orange kitty on the front...but it turns out he is not the hero of the book, now that is just wrong!

Apparently this is a sequel to "Those Darn Squirrels" but you don't have to have read that to read this. That is good because there is no kitty in that book (or so I hear). 

At our house we call squirrels "Friends." The daddies feed them with the birds and talk to them a lot...they talk to the squirrels more than they talk to the human neighbors--yes, my daddies have some issues.

So this is the story of Mr. Fookwire who lives alone on the outskirts of town. He hates winter. He hates snow so much that when it falls he closes his eyes and dreams of summer. He misses the birds he loves so much. Outside his window the only critters left are the squirrels... Who it seems aren't huge fans of winter (they hide in the trees and later warm themselves near Mr Fookwire's fire. (He does not like this). So it seems the squirrels are the champs of the forest, smarter than foxes, craftier than beavers, faster than rabbits...and also kind of full of themselves. I can see that just from watching them from my windows which is all the closer my daddies will let me get to them--though I HAVE gotten in a good chase a couple times on visits to the yard. Those Darn Daddies are always getting in the way. So, Spring arrives and Mr Fookwire gets to paint his birds (who all have really silly names).  Then one day there are a bunch of loud noises, and Mrs. Hu, the town baker, moves into the house across the stream with her lovely cat. In town, there was an incident involving a poodle that caused them to move--NOW I know what those overly fluffy things are that walk by my front window each day. 

Mrs. Hu tries to be friendly, but Mr Fookwire hides in his house. The cat, though, plays with the squirrels. He gives them wet willies and noogies...I will have to try these if I ever catch a squirrel) though the squirrels did not seem to like them. Later he gives them wedgies (which is hard because squirrels don't wear underwear)...weird!

No one likes Muffins, the cat, I don't know why...all he wants to do is play. So the squirrels devise a trap... Muffins is embarrassed that he is "no bigger than a squirrel" when he is wet...and he runs home. And, though Mrs. Hu becomes friends with the birds and the squirrels (but not MR. Fookwire who is after all a grump), Muffins never leaves the house again.

Poor Muffins! 

I think those squirrels are lucky Banjo and I don't live next door to them. Little meanies! 

I guess I like this book and Daniel Salmieri's funny pencil illustrations. Little Humans would probably like it more than I did. Kitties should always be the heroes of their stories!

Today's tip for Cat Children of Human People (CaCHuPs): If your human is annoying you by ignoring you to stare at the big glowey box or the boring books without pictures or their endless need to pull food out of the good-food-lock-up and mix it together, follow these steps: 1) perk up 2) swivel your ears toward the neares open window 3) run to the window as fast as you can (if you start on a hard wood floor, run in place for a second or two to make those scrabbley sounds--they always pay attention to those) 4) look out the window as if there is really something there...making chirpy noises here is a big plus. Your human will come running no matter what they are doing, and now you have their attention!