Have You Got My Purr?

by Judy West, Tim Warnes (Illustrations)

Kitten has lost her purr, and her mother cannot convince her that it will come back. The little cat sets off in search of her missing sound and stirs up a critter cacophony: Dog woofs, Cow moos, Duck quacks, Pig oinks, Sheep baas, Owl hoots, but no one makes the noise Kitten wants to hear most. Tired and discouraged, she returns to her mother. As she cuddles close for a snug night's sleep, a contented kitten discovers where her purr was hiding all along.

This short, lively story, filled with animal sounds, invites repeated reading and lots of listener participation. Little ones will quack, moo, and hoot right along, through the last satisfying purr, purr.

Genres: Picture Books, Cats, Childrens, Animals, Fiction, Family

28 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Cameron · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I read this book recently to my nephew. I pretty sure he picked it out because of the cover. His family recently found a kitten outside of there house. Of course him being 5 they kept it and now that little kitten is his whole world. I'm no expert of cats but the cat on the front cover looks just like the one he has. The story starts out with a kitten and its mother talking about how the kitten can hiss and make all sorts of noises, but cannot purr. The Mother says "wait", but the kitten does not want to wait so it goes around the entire farm looking for its purr asking all the animals if they got her purr. Of course they don't but the kitten learns all sorts of new sounds. I think my nephew favorite part about the book was looking in the background either seeing the animals the kitten will go to next or seeing the animals the kitten had just visited.

[Cassie 'The Thinker Go Go Go Go' Mis. Roben Goodfellow'\Isabelle Lightwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I can remember falling in love with as a kid. I loved sitting in my bed, with my mom and her reading this to me. We'd read it every night before going to bed. Maybe to some people it doesn't deserve the five stars. But to me the memories and love of this book, out weighs any amount of stars. Even if it will always be a five star rating on my list. I only wish I knew where it was... seeing as I misplaced it in recent years, and I don't know where it is any more. But it is someplace in this house.

[Emily Shilling · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells the story of a kitten who thinks he has lost his purr. The book presents a very repetitive style of language which is present throughout the whole story. Many lines are repeated on each page which makes it fun and accessible to small children. This book is great to share with foundation stage children as they can start to join in with the reading and predict why the kitten has lost his purr. This was a much loved classic book of mine when I was growing up.

[Angie Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a sweet little story! On one level, it's just another farm-animal-sound teaching tool, but on another level, it's not just that at all. I loved the way the kitten eventually found her purr and especially her mother's message. <3 I also liked the way the pictures foreshadowed which animal would come next. :)

4 stars

[Elizabeth Bancroft · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have You Got My Purr? by Judy West, illustrated by Tim Warnes, is a story about a little kitten who can’t purr, so she asks all of the farm animals if they have her purr. This was such a sweet story. I enjoyed the colorful illustrations, as well as the sounds each of the animals make. I loved how the kitten found her purr at the end of the story.

[Mosley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a simple little book about a kitten on a farm looking to find her purr. I very much enjoy reading and rereading this book with my daughter. I would really recommend it to anyone looking for a good book to read to their little one.

[Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very cute and sweet book, about a kitten who's trying to find her purr.

[A. Foster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very light reading... good for reading out loud to a classroom of K-1

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little repetitive but cute.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little Kitten has lost her purr and goes around the farm asking other animals if they have it. We have read some similar books to this in the past, and this one was cute but seemed a bit too wordy.  I prefer The Cow Who Clucked. 

[Lee Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

CATS. SO. CUTE. 4/5 stars.

[Mellanie C · Rating 4 out of 5]

The kids at summer camp enjoyed this one.

[Karl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meow! Perfect!

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a sweet, simple book for preschoolers, about a kitten needing its mother.

[Maddie Van Lith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this was a sweet and wholesome book and could definitely be enjoyed by children. I think this would be a great one for parents to read to their children before bed time.

[Theo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in a cafe.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay. A little kitten can't find her purr. She goes around to all the farm animals, asking if they know where it is. I thought the illustrations were nice.

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe your purr is the friends we made along the way.

[Calvin Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

11/1000

Calvin: really looked at it!!!

Mommy: “that was a cute book”

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Natalie Brockmeier · Rating 3 out of 5]

This cute story book would be a good addition for no class older than a kindergarten room. I enjoyed this book as well as the cute illustrations that accompany it.
I definitely can see a place for this in my classroom. It would be a good book when I was discussing animals, and their place on farms and as pets. There are many farm and domestic animals in this story that are definitely useful to talk about in the classroom. Additionally, as a read aloud, there are ton of opportunities for students to interact with this story and for them to make the noise that the animal makes. The kitten is looking for her purr, but instead finds tons of other animals and the sounds they make. As a class, every student could say the noise that that animal makes when I give the go ahead.
I would say this book would be appropriate for kindergarteners. It's content is about baby animals, so that says to me that a younger audience would be drawn to this book already. Additionally, there is a lot of repetition, so it would be easier for these children to read and remember at this young age and level of cognitive development.

[Jade · Rating 3 out of 5]

The little kitten knows that all cats purr, but she cannot find her own purr! One by one, the little kitten asks all of the farmyard animals if they have got her purr. However she is out of luck, none of the animals have her purr and explain to the little kitten that they have their own noises, demonstrating them to her. The little kitten feels hopeless until the wise old owl suggests that the little kitten goes back and asks her mother. The little kitten's mother explains that her purr is inside her when she is happy, it was there all along! The little kitten purrs happily and snuggles up with her mother in the barn. A beautifully illustrated, imaginative story! Fun to read, given the opportunity to change the voices of the different farmyard animals and teach children the sounds of these animals.

[Shamilah Gillani]

This book would be a great way to introduce repetition and choral reading to the students. The book is about a kitten who goes around trying to find her own purr, and in the process learns the sounds other animals make. I think it would be a great way to incorporate science into this book and discuss the animals. It reminds me of Old McDonald Had a Farm. I would possibly sing that song as an introduction or conclusion to the book. I would also read this book to teaching sequencing and put the animals she meets in sequence.

[Veronica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for Bedtime Stories at Homosassa on 11/10/2009. Theme: Cats. Paired with "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" song.

VERY cute story in the vein of "Are You My Mother?" The kids cracked up and loved the animal sounds. I almost HAD to pair it with the song because if I hadn't, they would have broken out into their own version very soon! This book has a sweet story and good repetition. Kids are enraptured! Would use again.

[Hannah Snelling · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a kitten who thinks it has lost it's purr. It asks other animals where it lives if they have it's purr, but none of them do: they all have their own noises. The wise owl tells the kitten to go home and see if it's mother has it's purr, so it does. It's mother says, "Kitten, I do not have your purr, your purr is inside of you. It comes out when you are happy." The mother cat loves on her kitten and the kitten goes to sleep purring.

[Tasasha Battle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a little kitten that goes around the farm asking all the animals if they had her purr. Desperate and tired, this little kitten went home to find that she had her purr the whole time. Throughout the book the little kitten is search and asking all animals the same question. This is show students how their writing can or should be link to a theme. This is either given to them by the teacher or created themselves, but assure that it is a central thought throughout the writing.

[jacky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this to Natalie as she ate lunch one afternoon. I chose it because she's playing a lot with farm animals and loves her kitty. So, this was a good combination. The pattern is consistent, but went on an animal or two long for me, and it started to drag. I really liked the ending when the kitten finds her purr.

[Nausheen Ukani]

This is a great large group read aloud book! It would be great for introducing and practicing repeated text, and it also allows students to join in for choral reading. It can also be used to introduce sequencing. I also really like how it maybe even touches on uniqueness and individualism--can lead to an excellent follow-up activity in writing!

[Marian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for a well illustrated cat book. And while you know exactly how this is going to turn out (unless it's your very first book ever), it's still a delight to see how the story manages to get you there.

[Tayler K · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an adorable story about a kitten looking for her purr. It can teach farm animal sounds and be used to show that happiness (or other things) comes from within, and not from others.

Spotted while shelving