Big Little Mother by Kevin Kling, illustrated by Chris Monroe
Rating: 4 stars
I was prepared not to like this book, based on the title and cover. Then I reminded myself that that whole "don't judge a book by its cover" thing exists for a reason, so I did my best to suspend my disbelief and read the book. Glad I did! It's a a cute story.
The little brother in this story will always have a) a big sister and b) a cat, Kittywumpus, that is also older than him. Kittywumpus is that big sister's chosen playmate nine times out of ten; sometimes, if she's in just the right mood, that little brother gets to play along a little, too.
Until the day that Kittywumpus bolts out the door, and that big sister is forced to turn to her little brother and play with him. Things go well and things go smoothly as they play Adventures in Cardboard, Couch Cushion Treasure Hunt, and Sweet Moves in Groovy Threads. They pause between games to look for Kittywumpus, but then go back to each other and their creative play.
There's a sprinkling of mean-big-sister stuff in here, and I really dislike how she's mean--and how the little brother goes along with it as if he has to, as if his assertiveness needs not apply when dealing with his older sister. I don't love this part of their relationship, though no sibling relationship is certainly perfect.
The end is fairly predictable, but not in a bad way. Kittywumpus does return, but the little brother remains in the big sister's circle of chosen playmates. The little brother is ecstatic to be accepted by her, even with the sprinkling of cool unkindness.
(My problem with the title/cover: I don't like the idea of oldest girls being "little mothers." Because I have an oldest girl and two younger boys, I hear "Oh! Is she like a little mother to them?" way too frequently. That's my own pet peeve I didn't mean to throw onto an innocent picture book...but did anyway...)
I have a magnet on my refrigerator with the suggestion "Dance like nobody's watching!" I think Rupert would appreciate that. But check out the picture on my blogger profile--clearly I don't care if anyone is watching, I'll still bust a move how I please...
Rupert is a cat belonging to Mandy. Mandy is a dancer extraordinaire--there's nothing Rupert likes more than to watch Mandy dance. Well, there might be one thing he likes more, and that happens the moment Mandy falls asleep each evening. Rupert grabs her dancing shoes and dances the night away!
Dancing is his secret. It is the last thing he wanted Mandy to find out.
But one night, she does. She wakes up unexpectedly and saw him. She is overjoyed; he is horrified. She wants to teach him how to dance, whereas he loves the freedom of doing his moves however he wants. So he stops dancing (much to both of their disappointment). For him, the joy was taken out of it once he was discovered. For her, she could not share the thing she loved the best with the cat she loved the most.
They could have gone on this way for years. And in fact, they did.
Sad times indeed.
Then one day not too far after, Mandy acts dumb, and asks for his help in some dance steps. Rupert falls for this old trick and, happy to be needed as an expert, teaches her what she wants. She gets him dancing again, and they happily dance together ever after--taking turns leading.
The messy sketches of Jules Feiffer might not be my first choice of illustrations, but they capture the movement--and the joy in the movement--of these two characters really well. As for the moral of the story, all kids sure do need it. Dance like nobody's watching should be tattooed (hmm...children tattooed? some of you might object to that) on the inside of their foreheads before they start wilting from self-consciousness in middle school. Here's to hoping that yours and mine will remember their dance moves despite their peers' gaze.
Pete the Cat: Old MacDonald Had a Farm by James Dean
Rating: 3.5 stars
This book takes nearly five minutes to read. I know that because I timed myself last night reading it. With no kids around. (After this review, feel free to join in a brief discussion about the state of my mental health… Let me know if there are any useful conclusions.) I cannot imagine how long it would take if Kiefer wanted to sing the whole thing with me. I realize that, as a good mama, I would want to encourage this sort of engagement and musical interest. But as a tired mama at the end of a long day, that sort of engagement and interest might push me over the edge!
And, despite the fact that there are 14 animals in it, James Dean doesn't even help me out by explaining what on earth a good mama like me is supposed to say when your kid yells out "giraffe!" or "turtle!" from the peanut gallery in the backseat while singing this song. The nerve!
Ok, seriously. Enough kidding around here. This book is, straight-up, a version of Old MacDonald Had a Farm. There are no silly twists or unexpected turns. It's just the song, and a whole lotta verses to the song. If you love Pete the Cat, you might not be able to resist buying it. If Old MacDonald Had a Farm is your kid's favorite book, you might not be able to resist buying it. Of course it's great to have a book that kids can sing to; little ones like Kiefer can "read" every single page because he knows the song by heart and therefore he can "read" along with it.
And the illustrations are, as always, wonderful. (I'm a big Pete the Cat fan!)
But know this! Pete the Cat Old MacDonald Had a Farm is a loooong, repetitive song book. If your child is one of those "read it again, please!" types--which we all know, and we all sort of want--you will want to pretend like the dog ate this book at bedtime. Because you'll be saying E-I-E-I-O 42 times! You'll be maa-ing and baa-ing and cock-a-doodle-do-ing ALL NIGHT!
Don't say I didn't warn you!
P.S. Click HERE for a fun twist-of-a-book on Old MacDonald had a farm for preschoolers.
Pete the Cat: The First Thanksgiving by Kimberly and James Dean
Rating: 5 stars
Just look at the cover. Pete's a pilgrim. A tall black hat sits atop his usual cool face, and a stiff white collar is tucked under his chin. The image makes me crack a smile, even right now at 5:36, early in the morning before my children wake up.
Pete is nervous about being in his class's Thanksgiving play. He shows and tells, with the help of his classmates, why we celebrate Thanksgiving. It's actually a really good explanation for small kids! The lift-the-flaps addition is a nice touch to keep kids more interested in finding out the story behind the holiday.
First, Pete and his feline friends sit in a boat and wait a looooong time to arrive at the New World; after sixty-five days, they spot land. They build houses, but the first winter is long and hard. "In the Spring, they had to decide whether to give up and go back to England or keep trying."
Enter the Native Americans, who help them "keep trying." They show the Pilgrims how to plant food native to the area. By fall, the Pilgrims have plenty of food, and they want to have a feast to share with their Native American friends to celebrate that friendship.
The last two pages of the book show Pete and his family at their Thanksgiving table, with thought bubbles leading up to what they each are thankful for. His mom is thankful for her family, Bob is thankful for his skateboard, Pete is thankful for the Pilgrims who came to the New World.
The book ends with a question prompting your child to dip into that important place of gratitude: "What are you thankful for?"
Pete the Cat and His Magic Sunglasses by Kimberly & James Dean, illustrated by James Dean
Rating: 4 stars
He's ba-ack! And in a very good way...
Pete the Cat finds himself in a situation for which he's not totally prepared: he's grumpy. "Pete had the blue cat blues." His trademark cool black ears aren't sticking up--they are flopped down sadly, and Pete's trademark cool eyes are looking rather glum.
But that's okay, because his pal Grumpy Toad, who is actually less grumpy than Pete, rolls up on his motorcycle and gives Pete some cool blue magic sunglasses that will help him see everything in a whole new way. And it works! Turn the page, and all the blue has turned to sunlight bright yellow!
"Right on!" declares Pete, suddenly cool and happy again.
Pete the Cat had the blue cat blues.
Pete wears the sunglasses and skateboards along his day, bumping into animal friends that are grumpy. He shares his cool blue magic sunglasses with them and they, too, begin to see the world in a lighter, brighter way. Once they don the classy shades, they each chant:
The birds are singing!
The sky is bright!
The sun is shining!
I'm feeling all right!
At the end of the book, Pete falls off his skateboard and breaks the sunglasses. Oops! He realizes that the magic sunglasses really just have a placebo effect (my word, not Dean's...no, you won't have to explain to your child what a placebo effect is), and he can still change the color of his world, the tone of his day, the mood within himself by simply choosing happiness. There's not really any magic in them.
The sunglasses are cool, but they're not a necessary accessory for a good attitude.
The chant isn't quite so catchy as his first two books, but James and Kimberly Dean definitely did a lot of things right in this book. I really like that cool Pete is in a bad mood--shows that we all have emotions and grumpy days are part of life. I like that he shares his sunglasses and good mood with others--I always tell the kids that the most important thing they need for school is a smile, meaning a good, open attitude. Cheesy, but they've got to know it.
Awesome!
Oh, and here's another fun thing: In the back of the book, there's a pair of cool blue magic sunglasses that you can rip out, put together, and wear. Kiefer was dismayed to learn that we actually needed to BUY the book in order to WEAR the sunglasses. And Lorelei and Ben wondered why, when you put on the blue sunglasses, did your blues go away and everything turns bright yellow...but they didn't stick around for my lecture on suspending your disbelief while reading fiction...
But that leads me to wonder: When the library gets copies of this book, do the librarians rip out the sunglasses and wear them around before we all get there, gettin' their Pete the Cat groove on before story time? I sure hope so!
Here's a brand-new book for ya. I actually went to a bookstore to wander around the children's section and look for newly published, fall, and Halloween books. I found a whole bunch of 'em, including this one that I purchased for a little friend who turns three on Saturday.
It. Is. GREAT!
Mr. Tiger lives in a busy, animal-filled town and is "bored of being proper." Smiling is out of the question; he can only muster a stern look of frustration. (The word "bored" is the only reason this book doesn't get 5 stars. I know, I know...picky, picky me.) He just can't be himself in his stuffy top hat and tight suit; he is unhappy. But Mr. Tiger finally gets the nerve to loosen up, have a little fun, start going a little wild. He starts small: he stops walking on two feet and goes back to a primal four. He then starts chasing (gasp!) children. He roars on park benches. He leaps acrobatically instead of stiffly sauntering.
Everyone was perfectly fine with the way things were. Everyone but Mr. Tiger.
After he takes his clothes off (ha!), the still-stuffy townspeople suggest he go live in the wilderness, if he's going to be wild. So, happily, he does. It is beautiful there, and he has a grand time.
For a little while.
Then he gets lonely and realizes that he misses people. As my philosopher-dad would say, he knows he's got to live as an individual, but in society; he's got to find the right balance of living true to himself, but also within the rules. He's welcomed back to his hometown, where he finds "that things are beginning to change." Many animals have abandoned two-legged walking in favor of four-legged bounding.
Mr. Tiger became wilder each day.
By the end, a feeling-more-free Mr. Tiger is smiling in an aloha shirt.
I don't just like this book because, coincidentally, two days before I discovered it I also discovered Katie Perry's song "Roar"(yup, I linked you to the song with lyrics because you know me, I can't remember the words to even my favorite songs). And, two days after discovering this book, my boys and I drove home listening to said catchy song, had it turned up full blast, and roared like fools (who also think we are champions). Or like fool tigers maybe.
No, I like this book because everyone should read it, and everyone should learn from the message of the succinct and talented author-illustrator Peter Brown. (I like his stuff, but I think this is his best book by far.) Especially grown-ups who feel like they live in a stuffy world, who feel pressured to look and act a certain way. We should all remain a little wild, I think, for our own soul's sake but also so to be a good example for our kids (maybe that will give some of us a little inspiration to go a little wild). By daring to be a little unique, I'd like to show them that they, too, can dare to be a little unique.
It's no secret that we in this house love, love, LOVE Pete the Cat. These books put a smile on my face like no other book, and his songs get my toes tapping and put all of us in a good mood (and that's a good thing, because we all know when Mommy is in a good mood, it's easier for everyone else to be in a good mood).
And we waited not-so-patiently for Play Ball! and James Dean's other Pete the Cat I Can Read books to arrive on the hold shelf for us in the library.
Alas, we are all a little disappointed.
It turns out that Pete actually stinks at baseball. He can't hit, he can't catch and it seems he has trouble even drinking Gatorade in the dugout (I'm actually making that part up). He does try his best--that point is pointed out in a redundant way that many I Can Read Books manage--and his sly face is indifferent as he fails at each and every aspect of the game. His team manages to win the game despite Pete's lack of talent for the game, so I guess there is a happy ending.
It's got to be hard to have a good follow-up to three wildly successful books (I thought his fourth book, Pete the Cat Saves Christmas, was not as great as the first three). Yet I found myself thinking about Play Ball! after we read it--what does it mean when I don't like a book when the hero doesn't add anything to the victory? Can there be a story when the hero is just a ho-hum guy leading a ho-hum existence? Does the moral of the story have to be some triumphant victory every single time?
Clearly the answer is this: It's a good thing for books like this to lie around our children's shelves, so that they know that the hero (in their world, that's them, of course) doesn't always have to be uber-fantastic. I didn't love the book, but I do appreciate the message--Pete still rocks even though he's not the best at baseball. As my best friend Stacey says, we're all working on something, and it seems that Pete is still working on baseball.
Hopefully he won't give up his day job of singing catchy tunes while looking impossibly cool and hip!
Homer the Library Cat by Reeve Lindbergh, illustrated by Anne Wilsdorf
Rating: 4 stars
As a person who loves to escape into the pages of a book, I always like books where characters escape to the library. Sometimes mice live there, sometimes boys are raised by librarians, sometimes cats are searching for their quiet person in a quiet place. (That's Homer the cat, in case you didn't figure it out!)
Homer is a cat content with his quiet, peaceful life--playing with yarn and feathers, looking out the window at the birds, sitting with his quiet lady while she reads. Then one day he falls out the window! The noises begin--banging trash cans, sneezing kids, weeee-ooohing sirens, clanging trains. Can't a cat catch a break?! Finally he pads across a quiet building, across a quiet floor. He enters a library.
He heard a quiet voice he knew.
He saw a rocking chair.
There was the quiet lady!
And children everywhere.
"Homer!" said the lady.
"What are you doing here?"
Homer jumped into her arms
And purred into her ear.
They boys and girls loved Homer.
Homer loved them back.
He slept right through the stories
But woke up for the snack.
I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did--the sweet rhyme and friendly illustrations won me over. And, after finishing the last stanza and closing it while reading it to Ben the other day, he asked me: "Will you read it again please?" You know I will. So we opened it up and read it all over again.
P.S. For some unknown silly reason, Lorelei dared me to sing this book, not just read it, a few days after I posted this. Always one to accept a dare, I did it. And it not only worked but was fun and funny! I will have to try that again sometime, though I will for sure do it only when I'm the only adult in the room.
Pete the Cat Saves Christmas by Eric Litwin, illustrated by James Dean
Rating: 4 stars
I love Pete the Cat. I don't know what it is about him--his slinky coolness, his quiet head bob (not that he bobs his head in this book or the other books, but I just imagine him walking down the street, with lanky shoulders moving slowly and head bobbing to his own beat). There is just something about him that I love, and his catchy songs that bring a grin--not just a smile--to all of our faces makes me appreciate him all the more. I am thrilled that he's back! (And there are two more books that are soon to be out, easy reader books. Yay!)
Pete the Cat Saves Christmas is a twist on the traditional 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. Santa is sick and considers canceling Christmas (gasp!) but they call Pete the Cat, and he comes to the rescue. He has to do it in his usual cool way, so he hitches the reindeer to his hippy minibus, all filled with toys for all the good girls and boys (or, as my dad would say: none for the girls and all for the boys). Pete thinks flying through the sky is "pretty groovy," but, like our old Golden Retriever, his expression doesn't change.
This book's refrain: "Give it your all, give it your all. At Christmas we give, so give it your all." It is less snappy and catchy than his other books, but appropriate for the season.
Pete is lauded a hero in the North Pole when he returns with his empty minibus, and he is proud of himself for accomplishing his mission. "'I did it!' said Pete. 'And although I am small, / in the spirit of Christmas I gave it my all.'"
This is a great book for fans of Pete (that'd be our family) but probably won't attract heaps more followers on its own. Those first three books are fantastic; if you've not read them just buy them all, like I did, so you always have a smile-raiser of a book on your shelf when you need one.
We are getting into the holiday spirit in our house...how about you?
Dog in Charge by K.L. Going, illustrated by Dan Santat
Rating: 4.5 stars
At first, I thought this was going to be a book for anti-cat dog lovers like myself. Chalk up another point for the dogs, please! But, in the end, the book's focus on teamwork and taking responsibility for your mess are much better ones for kids (oh, and me--I can always use the reminder).
After being praised for being the best dog in the world, Dog's people leave to go to the store. "You're in charge," they tell him. "Watch the cats, and make sure they don't get in any mischief."
(Enter Ben's question: "What's mischief mean, Mommy?" Glad you asked! The stuff you get into all the time! Ha. Such a good vocabulary word for little guys. Oh and girls, too.)
Dog is pretty clueless about discipline; the cats get into a LOT of mischief and the whole house is a mess within minutes. He is completely distraught and thinks he'll try to bribe them to be good cats by getting treats for them. But the treats smell so tasty he can't help but eat one. Maybe two. Okay, just three! Oh no he ate the whole bag! He wants to fix everything but "his eyes grew heavy and his paw was soft." (That's my favorite line in the book, but there are a lot of good lines.)
While he sleeps, the cats take pity on him and clean up everything. After all, they love Dog. Dog wakes when his family comes home. He is immediately distraught, then fearful and finally VERY confused when they tell him "Good dog!" and give him treats. Dog looks back at the pack of sleeping cats and thinks: "Good cats. Smart cats. The very best cats."
Very cute book. Really well written. And a great message. I think you'll like it. Even if you are, like me, someone who only really cheers for the dogs in books.
I'm not a pushy type of parent. I do my best to let my kids do things at their own speed. Okay, I think I am lying a little. Maybe I do push them to get dressed and put on their shoes faster...yup, I'm definitely pushy there. But on the bigger things in their little lives, I'm not pushy. Ben has told me, through his words and actions, that he is definitely NOT ready to participate in the moms-sit-on-the-sidelines gymnastics class, to get into another mom's car, to go to a friend's house without me, to put his head under the water. That's okay. He's just 3 1/2...he's got time.
But reading, I'm pushing. Having Lorelei reading already is such a joy; that independence makes the house a little quieter, a little more peaceful. And let me assure you: I like peace and quiet. A lot! Ben sees her and pretends to read all by himself all day long, and I know he's interested. I don't think I'm annoying him with getting him to try to read, but since we read together so much, I am always playing reading-type games with him that I hope to motivate him, and build up his confidence. Maybe he'll do more on his own or just continue to be interested while sitting in my lap.
Here are some of the games we play together:
Spelling out a few key words, such as "Y-O-K-O" in the book that one of these days I'll get to.
Looking for "B" on any page, his favorite letter. (We talk about how letters build words like in this book; he likes anything that requires building.)
Talking about the sounds of letters while reading.
Finding books with onomatopoeias so that the words and sounds are alike.
Hunting for a word like "the" or "Yoko" or "book."
Letting him finish the rhyme in a book he's not heard before.
Using the picture to predict what words are in the text.
For Ben, I think the Pete the Cat books will be instrumental in helping him to learn to read. He's memorized them already, so all he has to do is put the words in his head together with the words on the pages. And, like Rosemary Wells explains in this sweet book, Ben needs to realize that words are like the faces of people--each one is different, each one is memorable.
In Yoko Learns to Read, little Yoko and her mom read the three books they have at home together in Japanese, but Yoko's knowledge of English words is limited. At school her teacher creates a huge tree; students earn a leaf for the page when they can read a book by themselves. Her friends quickly amass leaves because they can read already, and Yoko wants to get more, too. With the help of more books from the library and her teacher's help in connecting the words she knows to words in the books, Yoko suddenly has that "a-ha!" moment and gets it. She earns a new leaf, catches up with her friends, and starts to teach her mother how to read in English.
Sprinkled through this book are drawings that include beautiful Japanese paper that are cut to fit the cats' attire--kimonos for the mother, and more American clothes for Yoko. A different piece of paper frames each picture on each page. Unfortunately, it definitely is a more "girl-ish" book, not that I like to divide books into girl-ish ones and boy-ish ones... But I think a boy is less likely to be drawn into the pictures and story. (We still read it a few times together, though.)
One of the main reasons I like this book for Ben is that it teaches a way to read that is more realistic and the opposite of phonics. Rather than sound out words and stumble upon a million exceptions like "PH," kids can and should memorize words just as children in Asia memorize characters. All kids can do it, expectations are just a little different sometimes. It's a journey, and I'm not sure how far along Ben is on his own path to reading. Time will tell.
But I sure would love for his "a-ha!" moment to come before our long road trip to the beach in August...
Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin, illustrated by James Dean
Rating: 5 stars
This one goes out to all the math people out there...who knew there could be a children's book on math--and a cool one at that? And one with a foot-tappin' (if you're Kiefer, body-shakin') song?
So Pete the Cat, the resident Jamiroquai of children's books, is back. And I'm pretty grateful for him. Just when our house has reached another can-we-be-more-tired level, this book arrived. We had already listened to it a few dozen times online (listen to it! you'll smile for sure!), but the actual book did not disappoint. This book ROCKS.
The story: Pete the Cat puts on his favorite shirt, one with four, round, groovy buttons (what a joy to teach my kids the definition of "groovy!" It's a new favorite word) and sings his song: "My buttons, my buttons, my four groovy buttons!"
"OH NO! Another button popped off and rolled away."
And then...
"POP! OH NO! One of the buttons popped off and rolled away.
Did Pete cry? Goodness, no!
Buttons come and buttons go.
How many buttons are left? THREE!
Pete went on singing his song..."
(Not much math...no square root...maybe that's in the next one...but just enough for a preschooler.)
The song goes on, going from three to two to one, something easy and fun enough for little ones to work on their prediction skills, which is a huge chunk of why we're supposed to be reading to these tykes to begin with. And then...they get to zero. He looks down at his open shirt and...finds his belly button! I love how he finds a way to smile after all those groovy buttons are gone. Making lemonade out of lemons. Finding the good in the not-so-good. What a lesson.
But my favorite lesson that Mr. Eric sneaks in is "buttons come and buttons go." I'm always telling the kids: "No big deal, right?" when they argue about whose turn it is to do something or if they didn't get something they wanted. Sometimes it IS a big deal when something comes, and especially when it goes, but...hopefully they won't learn this lesson anytime soon.
I think I might have a crush. On a cat. This Pete guy.
Pete the Cat I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin, illustrated by James Dean
Rating: 5+ stars
This morning, I needed Pete. And Pete was there for me. He is my hero.
I've been in a funk the past few days; waking up at 4:58 for the third day in a row did not help get this morning started off well. (If Kiefer's molars don't come all the way through today, I might take him to the dentist and ask for some assistance so I can sleep in for at LEAST 15 more minutes.) But at least the little guy wakes up happy to see me, seemingly appreciative of the time he gets to spend with just me, and nobody else.
But then I heard a certain door open at 5:24 and the "Mommy-mommy-mommy I need you come here I need you Mommy-mommy-mommy" (said in cry-y, whine-y voice) started. I love Ben, but MAN I cannot relate to waking up so sad and mad at the world. I am one of those annoying people who, even while in a funk, wakes up happy.
Ben trips down the stairs, half-undressed, already crying, with his "mad face" on. My oh-so-unsympathetic response: "Choose to be happy and stay downstairs, or go back to sleep." It wasn't received well (can't imagine why).
Ben, crazy with happiness!
(At 7:36 AM, after being awake for 2 hours.)
Anyway, I'll spare you the details of the next hour and half as the boys and I woke up Lorelei (who, as always, woke up laughing as we all bounced on her to wake her up), made breakfast, and got everyone ready for their last week of school. And then I looked at the clock: 7:30. I still had an HOUR before the sitter got here and I left to take the kids to school and work out. Geez. An hour! How was I going to fill that time?!
Enter Pete the cat, my hero.
Ben has been telling me about this book for a little while, and I finally saw it at the library and grabbed it. And I read it a few nights ago. I am going to buy it, and the other two books along with it. I LOVE IT! Why? It has all of my favorite parts of a children's book:
It is simple; Ben has memorized all the words already.
It is fun to read, mostly because...
It has a SONG--wait, make that FOUR songs in it--and they can bring Ben's cheery smile back in a jiffy (and, the tune can be changed to anything else at any time, and the cheery smile comes back because he remembers Pete the cat and his favorite book when I sing it).
It has a groovy character that is cool but still nice.
It has a fantastic moral to it.
I had seen on the cover of the book the "download free song at..." and though the kids rarely use my laptop for anything, I said to Ben, who was looking around for something to do that would have probably annoyed me though it probably really shouldn't have "Hey, Ben, want to listen to something?" And he sat for 15 blessedly happy minutes listening to the book and song being read and sung to him again and again and again. Click here to listen, too. Or check out this video (it is so worth it! I double dare you to watch it and not smile.):
And my morning got a little brighter.
Maybe I should tell you about the book, in case you don't want to watch the video? Okay... Pete gets new shoes and loves them. He sings this song: "I love my white shoes, I love my white shoes, I love my white shoes!" Then he steps in strawberries that turn his shoes red, so he sings how he loves his red shoes. Then he steps in blueberries and... After each time he steps in something, he sure doesn't cry or carry on. The author, "Mr Eric," writes: "Did Pete cry? Goodness, no!" This happens a few times, until he steps in water and he has white, wet shoes.
The moral of the story? As Mr Eric the author puts it: "No matter what you step in, keep walking along and singing your song..."
Roll with it. A good lesson I've been taught lately and need to practice more. Like today.
