There's a Cat in Our Class!: A Tale About Getting Along

PreS-Gr 2—How would a classroom full of dogs react to a cat? When the canines in Miss Biscuit's class find out a new student will be joining them, they are excited: the boys hope for another boy, while the girls want to increase their own numbers. No one expects Samantha the cat. When picking teams at recess, the dogs pass over Samantha, but her agility makes her a worthy player. The dogs realize they should choose more wisely for tomorrow's game—a lesson learned just in time as Miss Biscuit announces that another new student will join the class tomorrow (a bird!). This offering joins titles such as Helen Lester's Tacky the Penguin and Hooway for Wodney Wat in explaining diversity to children using animal characters. Differences are highlighted to demonstrate that everyone has unique characteristics that make them special—a familiar yet reliable method. Langdo adds illustrations of friendly characters that complement the text well. The book concludes with a "Note to Readers" that expounds on the importance of diversity.