Pete the Cat
front cover | |
Author | Eric Litwin |
---|---|
Illustrator | James Dean |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre | Picture book |
Publisher | HarperCollins |
Publication date | 2008 |
ISBN | 978-0-06-190622-0 |
OCLC | 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.
Content
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]
Author and illustrator
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] James Dean - singly and in collaboration with Litwin and with Kimberly Dean - has continued to produce children's books about Pete the Cat.
Honors
![](../I/m/James_Dean_-_Mazza_Summer_Conference_2013.jpg)
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]
See also
References
- ↑ Doyle, Maya. "Rev. of Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes". Time Out New York. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Oliviero, Helena (17 April 2010). "Atlanta's 'Pete the Cat' makes literary, artistic strides". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
- ↑ "Battle of Atlanta: 142nd Anniversary. Civil War showdown revisited: Ghostly tales, tours of sites will mark turning point for re-enactment". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 20 July 2006. pp. JB4. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
- ↑ Oliviero, Helena (24 May 2009). "Sharing lives, work is an art". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
- ↑ Dean, James. The Misadventures of Pete the Cat. Indigo Custom. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
- ↑ "Center for the Book announces list of 25 books for young Georgians". Georgia Public Library Service News (Atlanta, GA: Georgia Public Library Service) 8 (2): 5. ISSN 1546-511X.
- ↑ "25 Books All Young Georgians Should Read". Georgia Center for the Book. 2010. Retrieved 28 October 2010.