My House: A Modern Preschool Classic About Jim the Cat and His Home

by Byron Barton

From the award-winning, bestselling picture book creator of  My Car, My Bus,  and  My Bike  comes what  Booklist  called “Another ideal read-aloud choice from Barton.”  Jim the cat takes a tour of the various rooms and objects in his house, introducing young children to the concept of home. A modern preschool classic. Using bright, simple illustrations and clean prose, Byron Barton deftly familiarizes young readers with the various rooms and important parts of a house in this companion to his critically acclaimed  My Car, My Bike,  and  My Bus. Jim the cat leads readers through the bedroom, the kitchen—and even onto the roof—before his owner, Jane, comes home and makes his dinner. The rhythmic text and bright bold illustrations make this the perfect book for very young children and repeated readings. “Jim’s abode is a welcome place for all who enter.”— School Library Journal

Genres: Picture Books, Cats, Storytime, Childrens, Pets, Family, Animals

40 pages, Hardcover

First published April 12, 2016

About the author

Byron Barton is the author and illustrator of many picture books for young children. He has been honored by ALA, SLJ, and Reading Rainbow. He worked as an animator for CBS before he started creating children's books. He is currently making his illustrations completely on the computer.

Reviews

[S]

It's super basic but it's a Barton book! A cat narrates the existence of his house. He likes his human only because she's a slave to his whims. The delightfully bright colors of the illustration cover the dark misery of this human-cat relationship.

A great book for toddlers.

[Kimberly]

I know many people who love Barton, but his illustrative style has never appealed to me. However, this would be a good one to use with two-and-three-year olds, especially since they may identify with the simplistic drawings.

[Dianna]

I can't decide what to think about this series of books by Byron Barton. The text is super simple. The illustrations look like an eight-year-old made them on the computer. But my three-year-old loves them, and he's definitely the target audience.

[Amanda]

What a trippy book.

Normally I love Barton's books; his illustrations tread a fine line between creepy and perfect in the very basic-ness of their nature. The illustrations in this book took a flying leap into super happy land (everything is neon; the cat sits in a rocking chair like a human, but shows off his litter box and acts like any jerk cat--knocks a cup off the counter--and claims the bed is his; and the scale/perspective is all over the place). These things in themselves aren't necessarily problematic, but when you put them all together I feel like they become rather freaky.

Maybe little kids would find them funny? Cute? Could someone who has read this to little kids or someone who has used this for a story-time weigh in on this, please?

[Janet]

I have always been a fan of Bryan Barton's picture books, but this one while listing the various and illustrating the various parts of cat's house was not appealing. It was the brightness of the colors used in the illustrations, just not appealing to my eyes.

[Michelle Farella]

This author can do no wrong!

[Casandria]

A cat gives you a tour of his house

[Catherine]

This is a good book to read to children. Also it's a good book to start children learning to read. And I feel that the animal will make it more fun, for children.

[Christy]

With bright, clear illustrations and clean prose, award-winning and bestselling picture book creator Byron Barton deftly familiarizes young children with the various rooms and important parts of a house in this companion to his critically acclaimed My Car, My Bike, and My Bus.

Jim the cat leads a tour through the bedroom, the kitchen, and even onto the roof before his owner Jane comes home and makes his dinner. The rhythmic text and bright illustrations make this the perfect book for repeated readings and the perfect introduction to the concept of home.

[Kalynda]

I am trying to find a picture book for the first couple of weeks of kindergarten. I was hoping this book, besides giving an overview of the areas of the home, also provided some favorite spaces--but of course, it can easily lead to that conversation. Although not completely what I was hoping for, I do like how fitting it is for the target audience, especially since a cat is telling the story.

[Jessica]

I think I remember reading this to my daughter when she was really little. Jim is a cat. He talks about all the rooms of his house... after he comes in through the window. He knocks a mug off the counter, uses the litter box, and likes his human because she feeds him. This was weird. I'm going to agree with the person who said this was trippy.

[Jennifer]

Simple, as all Barton's books are, this one has super bright (almost too bright) illustrations. But, toddlers love being able to relate the book to their own lives. A good read aloud for toddlers to have a discussion over differences between Barton's house and their own houses.

[Lisa]

This was all pretty simple in a way that I felt like my 3 year old could appreciate, but offbeat enough that I liked it too - like the cat knocking the cup off the countered, uncommented on. Plus it's got a little very mild potty humor/learning (now my kids know what a litter box is!).

[Mary]

Jim the cat introduces readers to the inside and outside of his home. Barton's big, colorful illustrations and simple, basic vocabulary make this a good concept book to use with toddlers and to include in preschool units on My Home.

[Heather]

Simple but my 2 year old looked at it over and over again and completed the sentencr "My house ..." with her own narrations.

[kim]

not as good as some of his others. like the twist that it's the perspective from the cat though

[Megan]

Simple, bright, and colorful. Perfect for a toddler story time.

[Alyssa]

Fun, bright, simple illustrations. Easy and descriptive text. Should work great in baby storytime.

[jasmine]

Characters made me think of Rosie & me!

[Danielle Joseph]

Not for me. I found Barton's illustrations for this story quite garish.

[Chris Hays]

This book was huge in Luka's opinion. I am not sure if it was the art, simplicity or the cat. Luka wanted multiple reads each evening.

[Alexandra]

Desperately need a print of Jim the cat sitting in his chair, “This is my living room.”.

[Daisy Thompson]

This is a basic book with basic, easy, short sentences. Great book for a starter reader.
The illustrations are more on the ordinary side but are done with vibrant colors, which was a plus.

[Haley Rose]

I really freakin like this book. I wish my dog could write this book from his perspective lol I really love the illustrations and vibe

[Amy Chesman]

Good, simple read-aloud for a young audience.

[Elizabeth Moreau Nicolai]

Bright photos and simple text make it perfect for baby storytime. Paired with the classic Mouse's house flannel board game.

[createitlibrarian (Amanda)]

A cat names the things in his home. This may be more appropriate as a board book for a baby learning new vocabulary.

[Lorie]

A simple introduction book about the parts of a house becomes a visual adventure for young children when it is led by the main character Jim the Cat and the skillful talent of author/illustrator Byron Barton. Jim winds his way on and around the house as only a cat can do until his owner Jane comes home to lovingly feed him his dinner.

The story begins even before the title page as we see Jim and his house in a wide shot of the whole neighborhood. The title page brings us closer to the house where we can still see some of the outside details like the mailbox and Jim’s tree. The focus narrows as we move through the dedication page and onto the first page of the text where Jim introduces himself. From then on, we see the house and its parts from mostly Jim’s eyes until the very end where we are taken out of the story in the reverse way we entered. This effect creates movement through the story, almost like we are seeing a film about the House.

Byron Barton weaves his picture book magic again by using his characteristic style of illustration that his readers will be familiar from his vast library of works for young children. The bright, bold illustrations (this time done in full color Adobe Photoshop) and large font for the text to engage the senses of the intended audience. By carefully studying his practiced technique, one can see that what on first glance might look simple is really not so at all. His images visually tell the story so that even pre-readers can follow along and newly emerging readers can practice their new reading skills with the words.
I would highly recommend this book for purchase for by any school or public library.
This book was provided by the publisher for professional review by SWON Libraries.

[Evan Childress]

Oh Byron Barton, marry me. This is the best book yet! Jim the orange cat introduces us to his house, inside and out in a simple and colorful way. The large, bold illustrations make this book perfect for a toddler learning new vocabulary words to describe the world around them. Talkers will enjoy pointing out the different things they recognize, and there are many things on each page to talk about and notice.

[Emma]

I used this in our alphabet storytime to lead into our "H is for House" craft, but I think that otherwise I would recommend using this with babies and young toddlers, as it's a little bit short and basic for the preschool set. However, they stayed engaged with the book--and enjoyed the spread with the litterbox--so it's definitely usable in that context.