Catfish Kate and the Sweet Swamp Band

by Sarah Weeks, Elwood H. Smith (Illustrator)

Catfish Kate and her all-girl band liven up the bayou with their rockin’ tunes, but the Skunktail Boys are demanding a little peace and quiet. The boys want to read. The girls want to play. And the swamp’s not big enough for the both of them! Or is it? A rhythmic read-aloud about the power of compromise from bestselling author Sarah Weeks. Catfish Kate is a pure swampy delight, full of sass appeal for crooners, rockers, and readers alike.

Genres: Picture Books, Music, Animals, Childrens, Storytime

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 19, 2009

About the author

Sarah Weeks has been writing children’s books and songs for the past twenty years. She is a graduate of Hampshire College and NYU and recently became an adjunct faculty member in the prestigious Writing Program at the New School University, in New York City.

Her first YA novel, So B. It, which appeared on the LA Times bestseller list was chosen as an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and received the 2004 Parent’s Choice Gold Award. In addition to being an author, Sarah is an accomplished singer/songwriter. She has written for television, stage and screen and a number of her picturebooks include songs which she both writes and sings for the accompanying CD’s. Sarah's titles have sold well over a million copies, including several foreign editions.

Sarah is a tireless promoter, visiting schools throughout the country, serving as author-in-residence and speaking to teachers and librarians at national conferences including IRA, ALA and NCTE. She lives in New York City with her two teenage sons.

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is strife in the swamp! Catfish Kate and the sweet swamp band like jamming there. Skink and his Skunktail boys like to read there. How can quiet reading and loud music coexist? A compromise must be reached. Luckily, Catfish Kate has the smarts and imagination to come up with an original solution to the problem using what nature has provided at hand. This is a very clever and happy book. Real life compromises should be this simple!

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Catfish Kate and her friends form a band, but other critters complain about the noise when what they want is quiet in the swamp. A fight begins but then Catfish Kate comes up with a compromise that has everyone satisfied.

[Beth Bauman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely rhyme and great rhythm! The conflict in the story was interpersonal with a fight between the boys and the girls, which isn't ideal, but I appreciated how they resolved it with a compromise - nicely done! :)

[Donna Mork · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story about a band in the swamp made up of many musical critters. Some creatures want quiet, so they found a nice compromise before they had a fight.

[Pamela Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Catfish Kate and her band want to play music. Skink and his Skunktail Boys want it quiet so they can read. Who's going to win? How about a compromise? Cute compromise and shows how to get along.

[Suzanne Lorraine Kunz Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love how this book teaches that resolutions can come through compromise.

[Landon Rotolo-Utz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Catfish Kate and the Sweet Swamp Band by Sarah Week is a book full of fun that young children will love hearing or reading. Its strong use of rhyme, repetition, meter, and onomatopoeias have everyone singing along. In the story Kate and the girls get together and are jamming out underneath the moon. They're having a real good time but then the boys complain that they can't read when the girls are playing their music. Everyone starts fighting but luckily Kate thinks to find cattails to put in the boys ears so everyone can win. The pictures dark colors bring the moonlit night come to live with white text to help with reading. This would be a great book to read for a read aloud for both enrichment and curricular purposes. In early elementary school ranging from kindergarten to first grade this could go with establishing your classroom rules and expectations. Both parties in the stories were able to do what they wanted because someone thought to find a resolution. This would also be a good resource for incorporating physical activity into the school day. This would be perfect for a "brain break" and let the students have an opportunity to get up and get the blood moving to help both with behavior and cognitive function.

[Dest · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book bills itself as a "rockin' rhyme about compromise," which is pretty accurate. A band of girls disturbs a quiet group of boys and they have themselves a conflict. Their solution is not original, but it's pretty fun to read.

I was not impressed by the artwork, and I thought it was pretty weird to have a catfish (the titular Kate) playing in a band on dry land. It's funny, though, that a member of the band "spins" on a gramophone.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Catfish Kate and her Sweet Swamp Band want to play music underneath the moon. But Skink and his Skunktail boys want to read and need it to be quiet. "Uh-oh, trouble -- underneath the moon."

Great, musical rhyme

[Martha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fun, rhymes, though ending was a little off.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice rhyme, fun to read aloud. Catfish Kate and her band want to make music. The Skunk Boys want it quiet so they can read. Compromise is reached. Good onomatopoeia lesson.

[Hope]

"Mama Don't Allow" meets "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" meets "Horace and Morris but Mostly Dolores." Three books I love, good rhyme and meter.

[Karla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Catfish Kate and her friends late night jammin' is too loud for Sammy Skink and his buddies who want to read. Young listeners will enjoy hearing this tale of conflict resolution read aloud.

[Meghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun read about compromise, but I just didn't care for the illustrations. They weren't as vibrant and electric as the text.

[Tina B]

"compromise, earplugs, swamp animals, onomatopoeia"

[Edna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Skink and his Skunktail Boys like to read in peace and quiet so they don't much appreciate the loud jazzy sounds of Catfish Kate and her all-girls band.

[Hannah Cobb · Rating 2 out of 5]

This picture book starts off with rompin' text and cute illustrations full of bounce and movement, but the didactic ending falls on its face.

[Ruth Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun to read picture book about compromise.