Take-and-make kits; craft kits; programs to go: whatever your library calls these programs in a bag that have become a staple of no-contact offerings, one thing is fairly standard: these kits are well loved, but they take time to make. I love creating materials for kits and thinking about how a family might interact with program materials at home. I’ve introduced a new pair of kits for ages 6-11: Book Club in a Bag (also known as Leap Off the Page, since we already have book club kits at our library, and the original name became confusing). This week: Pete the Cat.
The Book Club in a Bag kits look a bit different from some of my previous kits. Instead of focusing on just one book universe, these kits each feature four characters, hopefully some old favorites as well as some new, diverse characters.
In May, these featured characters or books included (links provided as the bag contents are shared on Book Cart Queens):
- Ages 6-8
- Narwhal and Jelly (Blen Clanton)
- Sadiq (Siman Nuurali)
- Pete the Cat (Eric Litwin and James Dean)
- Zoey and Sassafras (Asia Citro)
- Ages 8-11:
- Tristan Strong (Kwambe Mbalia)
- Last Kids on Earth (Max Brallier)
- Two Truths and a Lie (Ammi-Joan Paquette and Laurie Ann Thompson)
- Lumberjanes (Noelle Stevenson, Shannon Watters, Brooke Allen, Grace Ellis, Kat Leyh, Faith Erin Hicks)
Check out these previously featured Book Club kits:
– Elephant & Piggie (Mo Willems)
– Mindy Kim (Lyla Lee)
– Yasmin (Saadia Faruqi)
– Azaleah Lane (Nikki Shannon Smith)
– Wings of Fire (Tui T. Sutherland)
– New Kid (Jerry Craft)
– Phoebe and Her Unicorn (Dana Simpson)
– Shuri (Nic Stone)
Each bag contains some repeated resources:
- List of kit contents
- List of books in the featured series
- List of readalike books
- Discussion questions
- Swag item (button, sticker, bookmarks)
- 1-3 crafts, games, activities
Pete the Cat Kit
The Pete the Cat Kit can be as simple or as elaborate as you’d like. Most of this kit can be re-created simply using a printer, with the addition of extra items (like buttons) depending on your budget.
Want to use make a Pete the Cat Kit at your library? Download the PDFs at the links below, or write a comment or send an email (bookcartqueens@gmail.com) for editable files.
Pete the Cat Kit General Materials
Each bag contains some of the same basic materials, and the Pete the Cat kit is no different.
Slideshare not working? Download the PDF featuring all kit activities here.
Unlike other kits, this bookmark does not include every Pete the Cat book, as there are a lot of them!
Slideshare not working? Download the PDF listing all book titles here.
Slideshare not working? Download the PDF listing readalikes here.
The Pete the Cat readalikes bookmark features these titles:
- Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel
- The Book with No Pictures by B.J. Novak
- Dog’s Colorful Day by Emma Dodd
- Emergency Kittens by Jody Jensen Shaffer
- Everybody Says Meow by Constance Lombardo
- I Found a Kitty! by Troy Cummings
- Kitty and Dragon by Meika Hashimoto
- A Pig, a Fox, and a Box by Jonathan Fenske
- See the Cat: Three Stories about a Dog by David Larochelle
- Smug Seagull by Maddie Frost
- What About Worms!? by Ryan T. Higgins
- What This Story Needs Is a Bang and a Clang by Emma J. Virijan
Slideshare not working? Download the PDF listing discussion questions here.
The Pete the Cat Discussion Questions included:
- Talk about Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes:
- Did Pete’s day go as planned? Why or why not?
- How would you feel if you stepped in a pile of strawberries, blueberries, or mud?
- How do you think the large pile of strawberries got there?
- How can you tell the difference between a big problem and a little problem?
- Can you re-enact your favorite Pete the Cat story? What happens first? Next?
- If cats could talk, what would you ask the next cat you meet? What do you think the cat would like to talk about?
This bag also included two swag items. The first is a Pete the Cat Activity Book, collecting activity sheets from the official Pete the Cat website.
Download a printable PDF of the activity booklet here.
Also, I printed stickers on 2.25″ Avery Circle Label Paper:
Download the printable sticker sheet here.
Pete the Cat Crafts, Games, and More
First up: make your own Pete the Cat headband! This craft was inspired by the headband craft from this blog. I recreated it with a printable cardstock template to make it work in this kit.
Everything was printed on white cardstock.
Slideshare not working? Download the PDF of the craft template here.
Slideshare not working? Download the PDF of the craft instructions here.
I also included a second craft, Pete the Cat button bracelets. I first saw this craft here, and I was pleasantly surprised to see how easily buttons can be strung onto a pipe cleaner.
Download the instructions below:
Slideshare not working? Download the PDF here.
And finally, I made a Pete the Cat BINGO set:
And download below:
Slideshare not working? Download the Pete the Cat BINGO cards here.
