Find the Cat,

This is a delightful book for children from 2-5 who like to do puzzles. The book's objective is to find the cat which has been cleverly hidden in various domestic scenes. My children (now grown) as well as my grandchildren love the book and I highly recommend it.

FIND THE CAT is probably the most memorable book that my children read when they were toddlers. Now 19, 17, and 14, they all recall that FIND THE CAT was their most favorite childhood book. Specifically, my oldest daughter Lindsay, still smiles when I remind her that every night my husband and I had to read the book to her before bedtime. This went on for years.In attempting to examine what was so special about FIND THE CAT, I realized that it was the combination of a few special features. First and foremost, Elaine Livermore's ability to disguise the cat's whereabouts on each page, caused us to become involved in a game per page, as we read together. After my daughter read the book a few times, we discovered that she was quite "quick to the draw" in locating the cat. When my husband and I took our nightly turns reading the book, we found that it was quite the challenge to locate the cat as fast as she could. There was so much joy in Lindsay's giggle as she outsmarted us as each page was turned.The environmental illustrations were wonderfully simple, yet extremely discrete when meshing the cat's physical appearance within the page. Our bedtime routine became an exciting time to look forward to, and eventually it became a race to turn each page in time. Lindsay's index finger was instinctively and stragically ready to pounce on the cat, the moment we read the last word on the previous page. The author well exemplified the crafty and cunning feline personality traits, with her meticulously hidden sketches.It is now seventeen plus years later, and my job involves current educational research. It's interesting to me that FIND THE CAT portrays much of my personal philosophies on education, without intending to do so. We know so much today about the research on the multiple intelligences and learning styles. This book exemplified to us that our daughter was quick to process information, and a strong visual learner. She was able to comprehend the storyline of FIND THE CAT much more through the illustrations as opposed to the printed word. Since Lindsay was our first child, FIND THE CAT was a joyful introduction to the different ways that children can love to learn.Unfortunately, FIND THE CAT was misplaced during a household move. Lindsay is now attending college, and when she came home for summer break, once more mentioned our childhood nightly routine. I understand that FIND THE CAT may no longer be available, but I will do my best to locate a copy to include with her childhood momentos, as this fond memory seems to be everlasting.