Callie Cat, Ice Skater

by Eileen Spinelli, Anne Kennedy (Illustrator)

Callie Cat loves to ice skate. When the local rink announces a contest, everyone thinks it could be Callies big chance! Now Callie practices day and night. She wants to win the big prize--doesnt she? Beloved author Eileen Spinelli and artist Anne Kennedy introduce a unique heroine in motion, as Callie finds her own reward in doing something she loves.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Sports, Cats, Animals, Love, Juvenile

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Eileen Spinelli is an award-winning children's book author from southeastern Pennsylvania. She has written over 100 picture books and novels for children. Her husband is Jerry Spinelli, who also writes books for children.

Reviews

[TheMcafeeKids · Rating 5 out of 5]

Callie put on her skates. Everyone cheered at the competition. Other skaters fell, one lost her balance, one laughed, one cried. Callie bounced around on her skates. Someone else won, not Callie. Callie went to bed and she skated and skated again. She was happy. - C, age 4

[Zoraida Rivera Morales · Rating 4 out of 5]

Callie Cat loves to skate and we can see how much in this book. I found the descriptions charming with well chosen words and the plot interesting. The ending, superb!

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable book about a cat who loves ice skating. The illustrations are lovely. Young children would really enjoy this book, especially kids who like cats and/or ice skating. It would be a great choice for a winter-themed storytime program.
Callie learns winning isn't more important than having fun and doing what you love. Great message for children.
Calling Callie a "banana" was funny the first time, but this joke was overused in a book with very little actual text. Maybe kids would find this funny every time. I thought it might have been too silly and would have preferred the author use more vocabulary.

[Valerie Owen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book because the author emphasizes that fact that it's ok to do something just because you love it. If you're child loves doing something and is good at it, that does not mean that she should compete to be the best! Sometimes, competing can even take the fun out of something we love. That has happened to me a lot in my own life. My 7-year-old daughter also enjoyed the pictures. Great conversation starter.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book about Callie, a cat, who loves ice skating. It's a story of her entering an ice skating contest and her two friends trying to pump her up for the contest. The illustrations are awesome and I love all the cat and animal characters. Great book for preschoolers for a winter theme.

SPOILERS AHEAD:

She didn't win the contest, but it didn't matter because she realized that feeling she gets when she ice skates is joy and that's the greatest feeling, better than winning a contest.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite ice skating picture book. But it’s so much more. It’s a story of having a passion and sticking to it, even when others may not understand or appreciate what is important to you. That’s what winning is. That’s resilience.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, my heart! What a sweet book!

[Mission Kiki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great message! Very cute book.

[Suzanne Lorraine Kunz Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love how this book shows that the joy of doing something is better than the joy of winning awards.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book about trying your best and being satisfied even if you don't win.

[Anna]

10 / 10. Phenomenal.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful tale about discovering a passion and experiencing the joy of doing what you love. I loved the tone of the story and the way that Callie reacted to the results of the skating competition.

I can appreciate Callie's enthusiasm; I loved basketball as I was growing up. I loved to play it, watch it, talk about it. But I wasn't very good at it. I would spend hours practicing my shooting and dribbling skills at the local park and really had a passion for it.

I even put it as my special activity on my high school class ring. And I did play on the high school varsity team, just not that much. So I think I can really relate to Callie's love for skating, even if she isn't crowned the champion. You don't have to be competitive to love something.

The illustrations are very sweet and nicely detailed; they really complement the narrative. We really enjoyed reading this book together.

interesting quote:

"She knew that the melting sweetness came from doing what she loved. Came not from winning, but doing." (p. 31)

[Dallas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was filled with beautiful, poetic language that is still very accessible to the children, had cute character illustrations set against lovely colors and landscapes, and has an amazing message: when you do something that you love, it isn't about the winning or competing, but the doing. If you are doing something you want to do, you'll get to experience a "melting sweetness" named joy, and no prizes or acclaim can be better than that! What an awesome thing for kids to be exposed to in a world where everything is about either doing what you should do or doing better than everyone else--and sometimes both. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone (although I am sure there are some boys who would be "turned off" of the book because there are no little boys featured in it).

[Sara Bland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perseverance, self-esteem, and being grateful at its finest. Little Callie Cat and her friends find out that there is an ice skating contest at the local rink. Callie Cat practices for months and months, while her friends give her advice and cheer her on. When the day of the competition comes, Callie is ready! Poor little Callie does not win, though. Even so, she feels good about her performance and is proud of herself. Her friend are disappointed in her and are trying to bring her down. The ending is so wonderful, as Callie Cat realizes that all she really needs is to be happy with herself. I would recommend this for any child who needs a reminder to be thankful or who needs some encouraging.

[The Library Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is wonderful--nice message that somehow doesn't feel like a message, attractive artwork. There's just one problem for me.

It's about a cat.

Now, I'm a cat lover. And I get the idea of anthropomorphized animals and kids across ethnic lines being better able to identify with animals.

But there are stories where the kids need to be real HUMAN kids. And this one would really have benefitted from just being "Callie the Ice Skater"

[Gloria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book because it talked about peer pressure. Some children may not understand that term but one can still talk about people telling them to do things they may not like. It can also be used to talk about winning and telling the students that winning is not everything. As long as one really enjoys what they are doing and it brings real happiness then it okay that they didn't come in first or second or third. Even if it isn't there favorite thing, one still accomplished something.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a wonderful book! Not only are the illustrations beguiling, the story itself is lovely and poetically written. "During the week, she skated by night, when moonlight flowed silvery across her backyard pond and frost dusted the bench where she laced up her skates. Whenever Callie skated, she felt a melting sweetness. A melting sweetness that had no name." I wish this book were part of a series; Callie is most definitely a kindred spirit.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 Stars This is a beautiful illustrated beautiful told book. I love the message, I love the art work, and the writing is great took.

Listen to this phrase " And the sun-dazzled blades, crisping across the ice gave her a more wonderful ride than any white limo!" Crisping, I can hear the blades move across the ice.

Fun book! I enjoyed an the av2books.com website. I enjoy this series that allows you to go online and have the story read to you,

[Kendall · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess I understand as far as life lessons go, but I don't get the whole Show Me Readers nomination. Who chooses these books? There are far superior children's books out there. The story is sweet...a cat who believes in herself enough to overcome criticism from friends and enjoy ice skating for the joy of it.

[Marcy Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 6 year old and I really enjoyed this book! She picked it because of the cute picture of a cat ice skating on the cover, but it turned out to be a great story! My daughter learned that sometimes you should do things just because you love doing them, not because you might win a prize for doing them. Would definitely recommend this book.

[Elines Flores · Rating 4 out of 5]

Callie Cat is a wonderful character. She expresses passion and persistence. Callie practices every day just because she LOVES to ice skate "more than chocolate cake." Everytime she is out on the ice she says she feels a "melting sweetness" that she decides comes doing what she loves. This is a great message for everyone to know and learn. Great read aloud!!

[Alia · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit to messagey for my taste - but it is a very good message about doing what you love being its own reward. I would totally recommend this book for any young ice skaters or a dancers. But it just wasn't my thing.

[Kelly Thevenot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Callie Cat is about a girl that ice scates, but she loses first place. This book discusses moods and great sportsmanship. I would use this children's books in my class if we discuss ice scating as a sport, or to discuss different moods. Feeling happy or sad.

[Nydia Munoz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book teaches children about the values of wining and loosing.


Learning extension: The children can practice wining and loosing and telling what it felt like. or the children can tell their own personal experiences.

[Dominique St-pierre · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a perfect read for students as the 2014 Olympics get underway. My K students were able to talk about what they were really good at, and what gave them joy. Very simple, very cute, plain but effective illustrations.

[Dee Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be a good book for teachers to help a child understand that sometimes doing what you enjoy and love, is much more satisfying than winning a metal or a prize. Callie Cat's love for ice skating is sweet and playful and I enjoyed this book!

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It's so cute and has a good moral.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

sweet, simple, charming. A nice fill too since there are not a whole lot of ice skating books around. Especially like the message of doing something for the love of it, not the win.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very sweet...

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Callie loves skating and practices hard for the competition. She doesn't place, but is so happy to skates. She comes to understand that her prize is not a trophy. Her prize is joy.