Pete the Cat and the Cool Caterpillar

Pete the Cat: I Can Read!

by James Dean, Kimberly Dean

Pete the Cat meets a super-cool caterpillar in the first Pete the Cat Level 1 I Can Read tale from New York Times bestselling author-illustrator James Dean. Pete thinks he found a new best friend. But when his caterpillar goes missing, Pete has to find out what happened to his new friend. Pete is in for one wild surprise at the end! Pete the Cat and the Cool Caterpillar is a Level I Can Read book, complete with original illustrations from the creator of Pete the Cat, James Dean, and is perfect for children learning to sound out words and sentences. Whether shared at home or in a classroom, the short sentences, familiar words, and simple concepts of Level One books support success for children eager to start reading on their own.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Cats, Animals, Fiction, School, Kids

32 pages, Hardcover

Published January 2, 2018

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

James Dean is the original creator and illustrator of Pete the Cat. He is a self-taught artist originally from Fort Payne, Alabama. His passion for drawing became apparent at a young age, and as a child, you could find James drawing his favorite characters like Snoopy and Yogi Bear.

James earned his degree in electrical engineering from Auburn University and went on to work for Georgia Power for a number of years. Eventually, he was called to pursue his art full- time and began selling his work at art festivals around the Southeast. It was during this time that he began creating paintings and drawing of his cat, Pete.The little blue cat showed up as a character in James’s artwork around 1999 and has been a permanent fixture ever since.

James Dean’s art has been sold in more than ninety galleries and shops across the United States. He has devoted his paintings to Pete the Cat for fifteen years and turned his natural love for cats into his life’s work. James published his first book, The Misadventures of Pete the Cat, a history of his artwork, in 2006, and he illustrated his first self-published children’s book, Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes, in 2008. There are now almost 100 published Pete the Cat titles with more coming out all the time. James is humbled every day by the success that this groovy blue cat has brought him. He says positively affecting children’s lives is his number one priority, and he is grateful to have such an amazing audience to work for.

Reviews

[Zoë]

[Book #31 for my grad school Children's Lit class]

[Jasmine from How Useful It Is · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read for my 2 year old’s bedtime. Pete and his friends were out hunting bugs. One friend found a ladybug, another friend found an anthill. Pete found a caterpillar. He decided to brought it home. He learned the caterpillars’ metamorphosis stages and his friends came to watch.

Read from kindle unlimited.

[Moonkiszt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Used in today's Grandma Reads session.

Pete finds a caterpillar, jars it, and then is surprised by the chrysalis process. Happy butterfly is freed.

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

Change is 🤩 pretty 😎 cool!!!

[Holly Letson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pete catches a caterpillar, and waits for it to become a butterfly.

[Jaime · Rating 5 out of 5]

Julianna and I took turns reading this book tonight. She gives it 5 stars. She liked it because Pete had a pet caterpillar that became a butterfly and she remembers her old class at old school for prek did the same. They let caterpillars become butterflies and one day set them free one day for classes to see.

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pete the Cat is on a bug safari with his friends. How many bugs do you think they will find?

They see a tiny black ant, a round red ladybug, and a big black spider. Then Pete finds a green caterpillar in the flowerpot. He takes it home to show Mom and Dad. Together they build a home for the caterpillar. Pete puts the caterpillar’s jar on the table beside his bed, but when he gets up in the morning, the caterpillar is gone!

Mom and Dad explain that the caterpillar has made a pupa for himself. Pete and his friends all watch the pupa, but nothing happens.

Will the caterpillar come out of the pupa? Will Pete be surprised to see what he has become?

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This I Can Read book uses short sentences, familiar words, and simple concepts for children eager and ready to read on their own. As with all Beginning Reading: Level 1 books in this series, this is a book designed to encourage and support the child’s independent reading experience.

Delightful illustrations, a well-known and beloved character young readers will instantly recognize, and a clever story all work together to make this a perfect beginning reader selection. Young readers will be excited to see what happens when the caterpillar comes out of the pupa in this science lesson within a story.

Highly recommended, especially for fans of Pete the Cat

[Edie Lopez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pete the Cat and the Cool Caterpillar by James Dean begins by following the story of Pete and his friends walking around nature and pointing out neat creatures on a "Bug Safari". Pete stumbles across an ant hill, a ladybug bug and a spider, but most importantly, he finds a green caterpillar in a flower pot. Pete's mom and dad help little Pete use a big jar with holes in it to take care of the caterpillar. Pete includes leaves and twigs in this jar and overall takes care of this caterpillar. One day (BIG SPOILERS), the caterpillar "disappears" but Pete's mom points out that it is just in a "Pupa" and they tell Pete that the caterpillar will go through a big change. While many friends come to visit Pete, they all point out the caterpillar still in the pupa, and they all remind him that it is still not time yet. Then one fateful day comes, and the caterpillar that Pete took care of for a while finally comes out and turns into a butterfly. Pete takes the jar containing the butterfly to the park and releases it into the wild. Overall, I feel that this short story is a perfect introduction to teach younger children about the process of a caterpillar to a butterfly. This could be used as a great lesson and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to teach their students/ kids about the process of being "the Cool Caterpillar".

[Enoch Reasy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pete the Cat and the Cool Caterpillar by James Dean is a kids picture book about Pete the Cat meeting a new friend who is a caterpillar. As they hang out together Pete learns all about how caterpillars change and grow. In this book, Pete watches his new friend go through big changes like building a cocoon and turning into a butterfly. Pete is surprised but he supports his friend the whole way. The theme of this story is that change is normal and it’s okay to grow in different ways. This book is written so that kids can have fun reading while also learning about friendship and nature. Overall, this book is a cool and simple way to teach kids about transformation and being a supportive friend.

[R. · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a level 1 beginning reading book, this is overly simplistic. It mostly is about the caterpillar and how it changes into a butterfly, though there are a few other bugs mentioned initially in the book. Relatively boring for parents, but my kids still got a kick out of it. Not sure if it's so much because they love Pete the Cat or because they were excited for the caterpillar, but either way they will eventually learn and this book may help with that process.

[Becky B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pete the Cat finds a caterpillar and brings it home. His family makes it a little home in a jar, and then it forms a chrysalis. Pete starts to wonder if the caterpillar will ever come out. It is taking a long time.

For the easy reader's sake the book calls the chrysalis a pupa. Would be a nice easy reader to pick if the class is waiting for their own butterfly to emerge from a chrysalis or studying the life cycle of a butterfly. Also a good pick for nature loving beginning readers.

[C. John Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rather nice book. I am not familiar with Pete the Cat so when my wife brought home a few from the library for our great-nephew to read I decided to read them as well. Obviously these books are meant for a younger reader than I but that doesn't mean one can't enjoy them. As well the reader gets a lesson on how a caterpillar becomes a butterfly. All in all this is a really nice book for the youngest readers in your family. Enjoy.

[Kendra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mason loves Pete the Cat books so much and I love how much they help him in learning how to read. We love reading this book together and watching Pete with the caterpillar. The illustrations in this book are bright and colorful. This book is written for young readers to be able to read on their own. Mason had very little issues when reading it on his own which is a huge plus. I highly recommend you to check out this book.

[Crissy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pete is on another adventure and this time he and his friends are on a search for cool things in the great outdoors. Each one finds a special bug, but Pete finds a caterpillar and has to take him home. His parents help him get a place ready that is safe for the little fella, but then the caterpillar is gone. Now everyone is watching and waiting to see what is going on with Pete's find.

[Ms Nicole's Class · Rating 4 out of 5]

D- I liked the lady bug!
K- I liked the ants!
C- I liked when he turned into a butterfly!
L- I loved the book so much I can't pick a part!
J- I liked how cute the caterpillar is!
S- I liked the picture of the sunflower and Callie!
M-I liked that the caterpillar went in the pupa.
I- i liked when there was a caterpillar.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Pete and his friends go out looking for bugs, Pete finds a cool caterpillar which he takes home. His mom and dad help prepare a jar for him to keep his caterpillar in. He takes care of it and one morning there’s something hanging in the jar, but the caterpillar is gone. Pete waits to see what surprise will come out of the jar.

[Joel Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pete the Cat and Caterpillar

What a fun and easy way to teach about insects. It was fun explaining after reading Pete and Cool Catepillar, the way the caterpillar turns into a butterfly. I recommend this book for a nice picnic day and exploring the park for bugs or in your backyard.

[Lynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pete the Cat is always entertaining and this little story about a bug safari and the wonder of a caterpillar’s process into a butterfly was interesting to my preschooler and educational. Also included were some nice lessons about patience and welcoming change.

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice book, with lots to offer little ones. There's the reading, of course, made fun with Pete the Cat and friends. But there's also science - learning the life cycle of a butterfly. Some cool new words, too, like "pupa."

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm generally disappointed by these Pete the Cat easy readers, but this is the exception. There was plenty of explanation and description (though the word choice is ridiculous; caterpillar in a level 1 book? Seriously?) and a fun story to tell.

[Bethany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for lexile project
Lexile: 470

We're starting to add adjectives and adverbs every once in awhile to make for more complex sentences and intangible ideas. Additionally, simple verbs are regularly replaced with more precise diction.

[Mark Tanner · Rating 5 out of 5]

So cute!

This is a great book. I read it to my three and five girls who thought the caterpillar changing into a butterfly was amazing. They asked me if we can read it again tomorrow.

[Naomi towns · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. I hope I find more like this. I love the caterpillar. I like the bird on the cover. This is a beginner book. I like when the butterfly flew on his nose it looks like my cat Chandler,but I love my other cat too.

[Katherine Kinney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun learning experience

Lovely and bright pictures with a delightful learning experience. Teaches the evolution of a caterpillars transformation into a butterfly. My granddaughter really loved it.

[Anna Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pete and his friends explore his backyard for life. They find all sorts of creatures, Pete finds and keeps a green caterpillar in a jar, it vanished and turns into a pupa. He waits to see what it will finally become.

Nature and playing outdoors, using your imagination and exploitation skills.

[Makenna Conner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really love the Pete the Cat series and I think this book is a very fun one! It includes a lot of details, which can help students with their writing skills when learning how to write descriptions.

[Cyndy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story about a catepillar that Pete takes home. Pete's mom and dad help Pete put the caterpillar in a jar. When Pete wakes up there is no caterpillar in the jar. What happened to the caterpillar?

[Cherish Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4☆ Would recommend)
My kids love Pete the Cat. This early reader book was perfect for my 6-year-old son. He was able to read it by himself with very little assistance. He really enjoyed it. The story of the caterpillar really interested him.

[Le Maistre Chat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pete the Cat learns about caterpillar biology. It's just OK: nothing special. No doubt you've read other children's books about caterpillars that use the same phrases, like "he was a beautiful butterfly!"

[Abbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pete the Cat catches a caterpillar and learns about how it turns into a butterfly in this adorable read. My daughter loved the story and illustrations. It was easy for her to read on her own, with basic text that is perfect for newer readers.