Pete the Cat

This article is about the picture book cat. For a real cat from London, "Peter the Cat", see Peter, the Lord's cat.
Pete the Cat

Front cover
Author Eric Litwin
Illustrator James Dean
Cover artist Dean
Country United States
Language English
Genre Picture book, song
Publisher HarperCollins (2010)
Publication date
 2008 (self)
ISBN 978-0-06-190622-0
OCLC 529761572
Followed by Rocking in My School Shoes

Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes is an American children's picture book featuring text and music by Eric Litwin and illustrations by James Dean, who had created the character previously. It was self-published in 2008, with a CD audio recording, and published by HarperCollins in 2010. I Love My White Shoes is the first of the series of books, which includes some volumes written by illustrator James Dean or by the husband-and-wife team James and Kimberly Dean, all centered on the character, Pete the Cat.

Content

Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes is the story of a cat whose white shoes get mucked up by various substances he steps in, but "Pete never loses his cool."[1] Written as a song, its refrain is "I love my white shoes", changing to "I love my blue shoes", "I love my red shoes", and so on.

The book was self-published in 2008 and sold 7,000 copies in 10 months before it was picked up by HarperCollins – alerted by a YouTube meme in which two little girls read the book – and distributed throughout the United States and Canada. It rose to number 8 on the New York Times Best Seller list for picture books.[2]

Author and illustrator

Eric Litwin (also known as "Mr. Eric") is an American storyteller and musician from Atlanta, Georgia.[3]

Dean holding up his original drawing of Pete the Cat at the 2013 Mazza Museum Summer Conference

The book uses a character first devised by James Dean, an artist active in Atlanta,[4] who drew up Pete in 1999 and in 2006 self-published The Misadventures of Pete the Cat.[5] Litwin wrote a story about and a song for the cat, and the two began a partnership.

Since the success of the book, Litwin and Dean have been touring the United States, doing readings and performances (Litwin playing guitar and Dean painting Pete), including a performance in the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.[2] James Dean – singly and in collaboration with Litwin and with Kimberly Dean – has continued to produce children's books about Pete the Cat.

Honors

In 2010, the Georgia Center for the Book released a list titled, "25 Books All Young Georgians Should Read". Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes is one of the books included in that list.[6][7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Doyle, Maya. "Rev. of Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes". Time Out New York. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
  2. 1 2 Oliviero, Helena (April 17, 2010). "Atlanta's 'Pete the Cat' makes literary, artistic strides". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
  3. ↑ "Battle of Atlanta: 142nd Anniversary. Civil War showdown revisited: Ghostly tales, tours of sites will mark turning point for re-enactment". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. July 20, 2006. pp. JB4. Retrieved April 20, 2010.
  4. ↑ Oliviero, Helena (May 24, 2009). "Sharing lives, work is an art". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
  5. ↑ Dean, James. The Misadventures of Pete the Cat. Indigo Custom. Retrieved August 12, 2010.
  6. ↑ "Center for the Book announces list of 25 books for young Georgians". Georgia Public Library Service News. Atlanta, GA: Georgia Public Library Service. 8 (2): 5. ISSN 1546-511X.
  7. ↑ "25 Books All Young Georgians Should Read". Georgia Center for the Book. 2010. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
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