Pete the Kitty Goes to the Doctor by James Dean
Published by HarperCollins on September 24th 2019
ISBN: 0062868330
Pages: 32
Goodreads

Pete the Kitty has a bellyache.  He doesn’t have a fever so his Dad has him get some rest.  Pete the Kitty tries to play with his trains and paint a picture until Dad tells him to get dress.  Pete the Kitty is going to the doctor which scares him.  They wait in the waiting room; Pete gets checked out, receives a sticker and is sent home to rest.  The positives of this story are that Pete the Kitty is popular and this offering will support parents in explaining a trip to the doctor.  The doctor is female and Pete the Kitty has overcome his fear of going to the doctor.  Parents may also appreciate that this trip to the doctor did not result in medication being prescribed.  Unfortunately, the layout of the story has a few drawbacks.   The story line meanders in the beginning and Pete the Kitty doesn’t hear about going to the doctor until page 14.  New readers need the main topic of the story at the beginning for comprehension purposes.  For school age children, discussion may need to be made on why he needs to stay home from school and go to the doctor when he doesn’t have a fever, hasn’t thrown up or  broken out in a rash.    Even though it is cartoon logic and similar to the other Easy Reader Pete the Cat books, it seems out of place that the adult cats have clothes and Pete the Kitty is in pjs at home, but when he is told to “get dressed”, he only dons a scarf which is taken off at the doctor’s office.   Children wanting Pete the Cat books will probably think it’s “groovy”.

Reviewed by Sheila Dube, Springvale Public Library