Where Does Kitty Go in the Rain?

by Harriet Ziefert, Brigette Barrager (Illustrator)

A lilting kitty mystery combines with rain-centered facts to create an utterly charming fiction/nonfiction picture book. As kids are invited on the search for Kitty, they'll also discover what different animals do to enjoy, or avoid, a rainy day. Harriet Ziefert's rhyming couplets pair beautifully with Brigette Barrager's lush art to make a combination that is sure to please young readers and adults alike. What makes a duck waterproof? Where do butterflies hang out to stay dry? What serves as a built-in umbrella for a squirrel? Created especially for younger readers, here's a unique title that's part mystery, part science, and all curiosity-inspiring fun!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Cats, Science, Nonfiction, Nature, Animals

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 17, 2015

About the author

Harriet Ziefert grew up in North Bergen, New Jersey, where she attended the local schools. She graduated from Smith College, then received a Masters degree in Education from New York University.

For many years, Ziefert was an elementary school teacher. She taught most grades from kindergarten to fifth grade. "I liked it," she said, but she stopped teaching when she had her own sons. When her children were older, Ziefert wanted "a bigger arena" for her work. She went to work at a publishing company, Scholastic in New York City, developing materials for teacher's guides for kindergarten language arts and social studies programs.

"About twelve years ago," says Ziefert in a 1995 interview, "I tried to get a job as an editor, but no one would hire me as a trade editor. So I decided to write my own books." Since then, she has written several hundred books, mostly picture books and easy-to-read books. "I write books very quickly," she says, "in about twelve hours. I rewrite them three times over three days, and then they're done." She writes about twenty books a year.

Reviews

[debbicat *made of stardust* · Rating 5 out of 5]

So precious!


Second read: April 2, 2024
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE...even more! I think I want to own a copy instead of borrowing this one from the library. The illustrations are so beautiful! And it has cats! But, really all animals are shown to find a way to be safe from the rain. In the end; kitty is safe and happy too!

[Franci · Rating 4 out of 5]

#57 of 2021

[Meagan Walker (EDUC 378) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Text-to Teaching Connection: What is a reading response activity that you can do in a classroom with children in response to the book?

Where Does Kitty Go in the Rain?

This is a great book to introduce for a science lesson about rainy weather or animal’s. Younger students are often time curious about weather and animals. This book explains the water cycle in simple terms. It also explains how animals adapt to the rain. A great reading response I would do is, before I read the book, I would ask my students to predict where they think these animals would go when it rains, as I do a picture walk through the book. After reading the book, I would ask open ended questions about the story to see if their predictions were correct.

[Kris (My Novelesque Life) · Rating 5 out of 5]

RATING: 4.5 STARS
2015; Blue Apple Books

What drew me to this picture book was the cover art. Brigette Barrager has done some great artwork in this book. I will definitely look for more books illustrated by Barrager. The story in this book is cute but also great for children who like to learn. The story begins with it starting to rain and a little girl looking for her kitty. As she goes about the yard looking for kitty she asks her mother if various things like the rain.

***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through Edelweiss. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***

[La La · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations in this book are wonderful. The only problem I found was the reading rhythm was wobbly in a couple of places. I was approved for this eARC through Edelweiss in return for an honest review.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for my preschooler/Kindergarten students

[Trisha Parsons · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked how this book had facts about rain and animals in the margins. It made for great interactive reading prompts, like, "do cats like to get wet? what about ducks?" I didn't read the facts in their entirety since they're a little wordy. I just summed them up.

[Sarah Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so adorable and educational! It all starts when it starts to rain, and a little girl wonder where her kitty is and worries about her out in the rain. Her mama then explains what rain is and explains how the variety of animals they encounter feel and experience the rain as they look for kitty. Such an educational book about a variety of animals and how something that happens naturally, rain, impacts each animal we typically see in our ecosystem. The repetitive nature of this book makes it an easy read and the occasional rhyming keeps it interesting and fun. After the rain stops and the mom and daughter make it home their kitty shows up all safe and sound. The book offers suggestions for where kitty could have gone, but naturally leaves the question and title unanswered, as it suits the mysterious nature of cats. I love this book and its science connection, and it’s sure to have cat lovers intrigued. A great way to learn about a variety of animals, especially in terms of the water cycle and rain. A great classroom book to have, and a cat lovers dream of a science book. Anything with a cat is sure to get me interested and my interest in science only made this book even better. I highly recommend watching the animated version of the illustrations on YouTube, and I have the link below. Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/mdox0vLc_iM

[Brielle Reicks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This sweet book has fantastic pictures, and instantly took me back to my own childhood memories of going on sweet, warm, rainy-day walks with my mom. The girl in the story notices that it's raining and that her kitty is outside; she knows cats don't like the rain so she and her mother walk in the garden to see where the kitty went, and discovers all sorts of animals along the way. The question/answer between the mother and daughter is full of informational text, including details on how water slides off a ducks back, and why we usually only see worms during a rainstorm.
If I were to use this book in a classroom, I would use it as a great connecting piece to weather for a group of younger students. It would also be a good read when talking about animal characteristics. This book is charming!

[Cynthia Rodrigues · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a book I'd downloaded some time ago to get my son interested in reading.
The book combines learning about how we get rain with how different creatures do when it starts raining.
When the book opens, a little child's beloved pet, a cat, has gone away. The child is naturally worried about the pet. This is the opening the author needs to inform young children that cats don't like to get wet.
From there, we learn about ducks. We all know the phrase, like water off a duck's back. Here the author explains to a child the reason behind why a duck stays dry.
Next on the child's learning curve is information on how squirrels, beetles, worms, butterflies and birds react to the rain. Learning is always rewarding, and in this book the reward for the child is the return of the beloved pet.

[Tai Cruz · Rating 4 out of 5]

It has started to rain, and a little girl is looking for her pet kitty! As she searches for the kitty outside, she comes across many other bugs and animals! The little girl wonders, "Do they like the rain?"

This book totally threw me for a loop as the text boomeranged between rhyming sequences to move the story along, and then presenting random facts of information about rain and different creatures in prose. It was very interesting, and the illustrations were colorful and eye catching. Based on the quality criteria of the illustrations and text moving the story along, I think this picture book would be great for kinder and 1st grade grade read aloud, especially on a rainy day! I think it would be good to have on the bookshelf for 2nd and 3rd as well. I wanted to give this 3 stars, but then I remembered this book is for children! My analysis should not be critical. I might not enjoy this book wholeheartedly, but a child/student definitely will.

[Eileen Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is great for beginning readers as well as more advanced readers. There are two sets of words, one for the beginning reader and the other for a parent to read or a more advanced reader. It addresses the concept of rain and how animals adapt to the rain, whether it is to have oil on their feathers like a duck, use its tail like an umbrella like the squirrel, or stay inside like people and cats like to do. This is a book that teachers can use in their classroom to help teach about weather and animal adaptions.

[Cloud · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am surprised by all the high ratings. At the end of this book, it point blanks asks you to look for places that kitty could have hid while it was raining. THEY MISSED A HUGE OPPORTUNITY TO ACTUALLY DRAW THE CAT. HIDDEN. IN THE BACKGROUND OF WHERE THE GIRL WAS LOOKING. WHY NOT DO THAT TOO? IT WOULDN'T NOT HAVE SUBTRACTED FROM THE "EDUCATIONAL" BIT OR THE LEARNING BITS.

As my kid is very cat-focused, that was a huge disappointment to have such little of the cat shown in the book.

[Cara Byrne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the illustrations and interesting information about how different animals cope with rain, but this seemed like two books fighting with each other: one involves a young girl searching for her missing kitty in the rain and the other provides scientific information about rain, insects, and animals.

[Mama Bearian · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little girl worries when her kitty is caught out in the rain. When she and her mother go to look for her, the little girl questions whether the other creatures she finds in her backyard like the rain. With a mix of information and rhyming text, and cute illustrations, this was a great book about rain!

[Elizabeth Stigers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Where Does Kitty Go in the Rain? is a sweet and gentle story that takes readers on a little adventure to find out where animals go when it rains. The book’s soft illustrations and simple, rhyming words make it calming and fun to read aloud. It encourages children to wonder about nature and observe the world around them. This is a perfect cozy story for a rainy day!

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

So full disclaimer we watched an animated storybook version of this on YouTube which was possibly the best quality animated storybook I've seen? Regardless, fun story of curiosity, science info, and adorableness.

[Karli Niegemann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This books explains what rain is and uses description words and rhymes. This book could be relatable to kids since some may have cats. Explains why cats don't like rain and why some animals do. I would recommend this book.

[Mrs Heet -Librarian · Rating 2 out of 5]

The illustrations were pretty in this book, but the non-fiction information along the side became distracting. I did like that at the end of the book were other activities one could do on a rainy day.

[Natalie Browning · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is super sweet and also educational. The book tells the story of a child on the search for his cat in the rain as well as true facts about rain and what animals do in the rain. I would love to read this to my future class.

[Leah Meskowsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved how this book incorporated both science and a nature lesson for students to learn while reading. I'm sure that children would like reading about the different animals as well as what causes rain to happen. I think adults would even like this book! I know I did.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved how this one worked on two levels with a story being told and then side points that were educational.

[Kristen Thorp · Rating 5 out of 5]

201/365

Very cute! I loved the blend of facts and simple story. Art work adorable.

[Kelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very educational and has very pretty illustrations. It was a very enjoyable read.

[falusia · Rating 4 out of 5]

śliczne ilustracje 🥹🥹

[Makenna Conner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book teaches students about rain and its effects on different animals. The illustrations are very fun and the story tells facts in an engaging way that is easy for students to comprehend.

[wildct2003 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent way of teaching kids about animals. It even included a few facts I was unaware of.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for kids who are curious about rain, animals, and what they do in the rain. Great for basic science and biology concepts for preschool and kindergarten.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outside the rain is falling, and a little girl can't find her cat. Where could she be? Is she outside in the wet, all alone? Let's try taking a look, suggests the girl's mother. On go the girl's rain boots, coat and umbrella as she steps outside into the rainy world. While looking for her cat, she meets all sorts of animals, some who like the rain and some who do not. When the girl returns home, a lovely surprise awaits her.

This unique picture book comes from a veteran children's author and gives readers a story that works on several levels. The story combines a narrative story with non fiction information about weather and animal behavior. Younger readers will enjoy the short, rhyming couplets while older readers can soak up the additional information about each animal featured on the page spreads. The illustrations are charming, with bright colors and a vintage-inspired style. This picture book gives readers a new way to look at a rainy day, whether it's shared in story time or one on one.

Share this book with: your favorite curious young readers, especially if they like exploring the outdoors or have a cat at home themselves
My favorite part of the book: the "Rainy Day Wonders" at the end of the book; this section gives extension activities for families to do after reading the story
Age recommendation: appropriate for ages 3 and up