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Meow! The Truth About Cats
Written by Annette Whipple, this amusing and informative book answers all your burning questions about your furry companion! Why do cats have whiskers? How do cats land on their paws? Do people need cats? These and other questions are answered by the author, along with some extra information provided by the cats themselves.
FUN & EDUCATIONAL | Written in question-and-answer format with colorful photos and amusing illustrations for children to enjoy
GREAT FOR GIFT-GIVING | Easily becomes a favorite coffee table read for adults! Loaded with facts and activities, cat-lovers of all ages will be entertained and will even learn something new
A CLASSROOM HIT | Well researched information answering questions kids want to know. Also great for teachers and librarians to use for comparing and contrasting fiction vs nonfiction
READING LEVEL | Geared towards children 7-10 years old and grade levels 2-3
REYCRAFT BOOKS | Authentic stories and illustrations reflecting the voice and vision of children
FUN & EDUCATIONAL | Written in question-and-answer format with colorful photos and amusing illustrations for children to enjoy
GREAT FOR GIFT-GIVING | Easily becomes a favorite coffee table read for adults! Loaded with facts and activities, cat-lovers of all ages will be entertained and will even learn something new
A CLASSROOM HIT | Well researched information answering questions kids want to know. Also great for teachers and librarians to use for comparing and contrasting fiction vs nonfiction
READING LEVEL | Geared towards children 7-10 years old and grade levels 2-3
REYCRAFT BOOKS | Authentic stories and illustrations reflecting the voice and vision of children
32 pages, Paperback
Published November 1, 2022
1 person is currently reading
40 people want to read
About the author
Annette Whipple
67 books39 followersAnnette Whipple learned to love science and nature during her years as an environmental educator and classroom teacher. Now she teaches through her science books for children. She lives with her family in southeastern Pennsylvania. Annette enjoys reading a good book and snacking on warm chocolate chip cookies. Learn more about Annette, her books, and her presentations at www.AnnetteWhipple.com.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
April 15, 2023
A wonderful book for young readers who are interested in learning about cats.
November 27, 2022
An excellent delivery of high-interest facts for small cat lovers. I appreciated the DIY experiment at the end of the book.
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June 29, 2023It's a really sweet book about cats, and even as an adult I really appreciated it. I learned things about cats that I didn't know before, mostly for never really interacting with cats ever, due to my own and my father's allergy. The silly and obvious little puns on many of the pages got annoying and eyeroll worthy, but they were contained to little cartoon sections aside from the main part of the book, so easy to ignore. Clearly written from a cat lover who wants to share their love of cats, and I love that enthusiasm too.
May 13, 2023
I had a book like this when I was little that was filled with cat facts. It was one of my favorite books and I read it hundreds of times. Reading this one really took me back, even though it was a much different book. I loved seeing how the facts have changed since I read my cat fact book as a kid, especially with new and evolving scientific studies. I also loved the included scientific experiment to determine what paw your cat is dominate in.
November 26, 2022
Using a combination of questions, photographs, cheeky illustrations, and wonderful closeups, this fun nonfiction book joins others in the "Truth About" series exploring myths, facts, and interesting information about cats. Deciphering behaviors, examining interactions, and discussing physical features, this is a wonderful book for new or seasoned cat owners.
November 8, 2022
n keeping with the kid-friendly format that Annette began with SCURRY! The Truth About Spiders, MEOW! answers the questions kids ask most about cats. Written for the 7-10-year-old crowd, these questions form the backbone of the book. Questions like, "Do cats need people?" (obviously, we know people need cats); "How do cats communicate? (the reader learns the difference between meow, hiss, and believe it or not--a growl!); and "How do cats land on their paws?" (can you believe their ears are part of their acrobatic skills?) will keep kids turning the pages. The photographs, information, and kitty cartoons are also very engaging.
"Kitty Corner?" appears on each page. Different kitties take turns illustrating the information shown on each page. For example, a siamese cat above says, "If I fit, I sit! My whiskers told me this box is the purr-fect size."
Here are a few cat facts I learned:
At birth, cats don't breathe until their mothers lick them.
A cat's whiskers can detect temperature, feel vibrations, and help them "see" in the dark.
The position of a cat's tail will tell you how he is feeling.
A female cat chooses a male as a mate who has the strongest odor. (do you think that works with people?)
A cat's tongue is rough because of curved barbs called papillae. This enables it to can clean dirt and dander from its fur and skin.
CURRICULUM RESOURCE
True to Annette's passion for inspiring curiosity in children, the back matter includes common cat patterns, pictures of common varieties, fascinating feline facts, an experiment, a glossary, and helpful websites. The hardback's cover opens up to become a poster. Teachers, librarians, and home school educators make sure you check out the free resources on Annette's website.
"Kitty Corner?" appears on each page. Different kitties take turns illustrating the information shown on each page. For example, a siamese cat above says, "If I fit, I sit! My whiskers told me this box is the purr-fect size."
Here are a few cat facts I learned:
At birth, cats don't breathe until their mothers lick them.
A cat's whiskers can detect temperature, feel vibrations, and help them "see" in the dark.
The position of a cat's tail will tell you how he is feeling.
A female cat chooses a male as a mate who has the strongest odor. (do you think that works with people?)
A cat's tongue is rough because of curved barbs called papillae. This enables it to can clean dirt and dander from its fur and skin.
CURRICULUM RESOURCE
True to Annette's passion for inspiring curiosity in children, the back matter includes common cat patterns, pictures of common varieties, fascinating feline facts, an experiment, a glossary, and helpful websites. The hardback's cover opens up to become a poster. Teachers, librarians, and home school educators make sure you check out the free resources on Annette's website.
May 31, 2024
Since the first two The Truth About… series, Owls and Dogs, I have loved Annette Whipple’s combination of photographs, cartoon side bars, research and facts into books that can be used with a wide range of readers/listeners. I have read them with my toddler grandchildren, purchased them for my 4th and 5th grade libraries and have watched all ages enjoy and learn from them. The photographs, in particular, grab the attention of all and show the animals, close up, from a distance, in their natural habitats and in humorous poses. So beautiful! In “Meow,” the cartoon side bars are called Kitty Corner and always use a pun on cat vocabulary, such as my “fur-ever” family, a box being the “purr-fect” size and more. A glossary, useful websites and an experiment to determine whether your cat is left or right hand dominant are included in the back matter.
Wonderful series and I highly recommend them all for animal-loving readers and for the wild and domesticated animal sections in school and public libraries.
Thanks, Reycraft, for hosting Annette at your booth at the 2024 Texas Library Association annual conference and giving librarians a copy of her newest book!
Wonderful series and I highly recommend them all for animal-loving readers and for the wild and domesticated animal sections in school and public libraries.
Thanks, Reycraft, for hosting Annette at your booth at the 2024 Texas Library Association annual conference and giving librarians a copy of her newest book!
August 4, 2023
The books in this series are always engaging. The layout and design has a lot of kid-appeal and the content is well organized.
This title might be fun to BOOK TALK for independent or partner reading in grades 2-5. SUGGESTIONS FOR WHAT TO INCLUDE IN A BOOK TALK:
*Share one of the two-page layouts and ask students, "What do you notice about the layout and design?" Discuss the question-answer text structure and the features that Whipple uses.
*Read aloud one of the two-page spreads. When you get to the sidebar where the author moves from third person to first person with an illustrated cat saying something directly to the reader in the first person, ask the students what they notice and why the author might be choosing to do this.
ONE WISH - While Whipple briefly addresses overpopulation and the need to have cats spayed or neutered, she doesn't address the impact of overpopulation on our bird population. "It's estimated that cats kill 1.3–4 billion birds each year in the U.S. alone, with 69% of these kills attributable to feral or unowned cats." - www.allaboutbirds.org.
This title might be fun to BOOK TALK for independent or partner reading in grades 2-5. SUGGESTIONS FOR WHAT TO INCLUDE IN A BOOK TALK:
*Share one of the two-page layouts and ask students, "What do you notice about the layout and design?" Discuss the question-answer text structure and the features that Whipple uses.
*Read aloud one of the two-page spreads. When you get to the sidebar where the author moves from third person to first person with an illustrated cat saying something directly to the reader in the first person, ask the students what they notice and why the author might be choosing to do this.
ONE WISH - While Whipple briefly addresses overpopulation and the need to have cats spayed or neutered, she doesn't address the impact of overpopulation on our bird population. "It's estimated that cats kill 1.3–4 billion birds each year in the U.S. alone, with 69% of these kills attributable to feral or unowned cats." - www.allaboutbirds.org.
January 1, 2023
Children's book about cats that is divided into two portions. The one portion based on actual colored photographs presents the reader with a question about cats then replies the question while also providing some nice photographs to help emphasize the answer.
What really took away from me on this particular book was the Kitty Corner, which is included on every spread and normally to the right. These cats were presented as drawn illustrations that either gave another tidbit of information to the reader or was just a break without much more to add to the conversation.
Great starter book mostly for children who want to learn more about cats in general but most definitely not a book that has all of the answers for serious cat aficionados.
What really took away from me on this particular book was the Kitty Corner, which is included on every spread and normally to the right. These cats were presented as drawn illustrations that either gave another tidbit of information to the reader or was just a break without much more to add to the conversation.
Great starter book mostly for children who want to learn more about cats in general but most definitely not a book that has all of the answers for serious cat aficionados.
April 15, 2023
3 stars (I liked it)
I had high hopes for this book, being the cat lover I am, but the format really threw me.
Each spread has a large question and then smaller text with information. There are photographs of real cats (these were awesome, I'm tempted to add another star for them) and labels of what breed they are. There is also a "kitty corner" on each spread with a cat illustration/comic.
Some of the text did not really pair well with the large question. The kitty corner distracted from the information.
I just think the flow of this book was really off.
There is a glossary at the end but the words in the glossary are not differentiated throughout the book.
Good information, poor organization.
I had high hopes for this book, being the cat lover I am, but the format really threw me.
Each spread has a large question and then smaller text with information. There are photographs of real cats (these were awesome, I'm tempted to add another star for them) and labels of what breed they are. There is also a "kitty corner" on each spread with a cat illustration/comic.
Some of the text did not really pair well with the large question. The kitty corner distracted from the information.
I just think the flow of this book was really off.
There is a glossary at the end but the words in the glossary are not differentiated throughout the book.
Good information, poor organization.
April 28, 2023
**Even though Annette and I have the same last name, our families are not related! **
Annette's TRUTH ABOUT books are always fun reads. Curious kids like mine enjoy digging deep into animal facts and getting close-up to the world of cats. I've read her other ones and my littlest kiddo is glad there's a cuddly animal in the mix now!
Annette's TRUTH ABOUT books are always fun reads. Curious kids like mine enjoy digging deep into animal facts and getting close-up to the world of cats. I've read her other ones and my littlest kiddo is glad there's a cuddly animal in the mix now!
January 4, 2023
Gorgeous! This book perfectly captures the essence of cats. Fickle, lovely creatures. Easy to understand text but also new words for young readers and great explanations of the mystery that is cats. Love it!
March 24, 2023
Cats, known to be strong-minded, individualistic creatures, will like this view of themselves. The book celebrates cat characteristics like the ability to land on one’s feet, the usefulness of whiskers, the ability to claw their way into or out of trouble, and the wonder of the cat’s purr!
April 20, 2025
Cat lovers of all ages will adore this paw-some work of nonfiction! Special congratulations to author Annette Whipple, the 2025 Pennsylvania School Librarians Association's Outstanding Pennsylvania Author/Illustrator Award winner!
July 21, 2023
My husband volunteers at the library and brought this home because he knows l love cats. This is a children’s book with some beautiful photos and is loaded with lots of facts about our furry feline friends. Anyone with young children or grandchildren who have cats would enjoy this book.
August 5, 2023
Feels like I read a book written by someone with ADD. Choppy and I felt as if the questions were not fully answered.
August 15, 2023
From a graphic design perspective, this book is perfect 👌🏻
November 3, 2023
I really like this series from Annette Whipple. Great photos and fun information.
October 4, 2024
Great book for kids to learn about cats. I even learned a thing or two! I like that all the car pictures were labeled by what type of cat it is.
December 11, 2024
Lots of fun basic information and pictures
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews