| Pete the Cat | |
|---|---|
front cover |
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| Author(s) | Eric Litwin |
| Illustrator | James Dean |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Picture book |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
| Publication date | 2008 |
| ISBN | 9780061906220 |
| OCLC Number | 529761572 |
| Followed by | Rocking in my school shoes |
Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes is an American children's picture book written by Eric Litwin and illustrated by James Dean, first published in 2008.
Contents |
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 into "I love my blue shoes," "I love my red shoes," and so on.
The book, at first self-published in 2008, sold 7,000 copies in 10 months, until it was picked up by HarperCollins (who were alerted by a YouTube meme in which two little girls read the book) and distributed throughout the United States and Canada. It rose to #8 on the New York Times Best Seller List for picture books.[2]
Eric Litwin (also known as "Mr. Eric") is an American storyteller and musician from Atlanta, Georgia.[3]
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]
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]