Cat by Matthew Van Fleet

From the front cover to the back, Cat is an interactive book that engrosses kids with touch and feel textures, pull tabs that make the cats move and fun, memorable rhymes. Cat is a book to add to your child's routine, no matter how many other Matthew Van Fleet books you own.

My family is a big fan of Dog by Matthew Van Fleet. We knew we had to buy Cat when we saw it in the bookstore.

Even though we don't own a cat, this book has become my son's favorite. I will always be able to say Cat is the first book my son ever read.

The colorful, funny, sweet pictures of the cats go perfectly with the words Matthew Van Fleet has written. Through the rhymes and matching pictures, my three year old will sit and read the book aloud from start to finish.

But we bought the book just for fun. And it has definitely lived up to our expectations. Every page is interactive with a pull tab, texture to feel or flap to fold out.

One of my son's favorite pages features the line, "Furry cat, bald cat, wrinkly cat, sleek. Cats love toys that squeak, squeak, squeak!" The furry, wrinkly and sleek cat all have fur patches for the kids to feel. The toy that squeaks is a red ball small hands can easily push to make it squeak, squeak, squeak.

There are more ways to make this book interactive. We like to count paw prints on the page with the muddy cat. We talk about the colors of the flowers on the "Catastrophe!" page. There are opposites to be discovered, visits from a bird and a fish and a surprise hiding on the last page underneath the cheese.

At the end of the book, you'll find what I like to call a cat yearbook. A picture of each cat who appeared in the book is framed. Underneath his picture is his name and breed. There are 22 breeds of cats to explore, which is a nice bonus as your children grow and want to learn more about each cat.

The publisher recommends Cat for ages 2 and up. It's not a book you want to hand over to your two year old because the pages can rip. Plus, Cat is full of opportunities to get your kids involved in books and establish their love of reading early on. Your child will get the most out of the book if you enjoy it together.

If you've ever read one of Matthew Van Fleet's books, you know what to expect with Cat. But this book is perfect for both dog and cat people because of the lessons and good times it contains within its 20 pages.

This product was purchased for review from an online bookstore. Total cost with tax was under $15.