… are just two of the facts
we learn about
from The Cat in the Hat.
Two little tales
stories which are great fun
for reading at bedtime
and teaching my little one.
Teaching him
about all sorts of things
like dolphins and fish
the Earth and Saturn’s rings.
In these books
Dick and Sally go for a ride
with Cat, Thing 1 and Thing 2
as teaching tour guides!
Part of the Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library series, I only have two of these books (so far). But they are wonderful. Filled with so many wonderful little facts (many I didn’t know either) they are a wonderful way to make learning fun. A Whale of a Tale by Bonnie Worth and There’s No Place Like Space! by Trish Rabe are perfect for reading my 2 year old to sleep.
While the (always awesome) Cat in the Hat takes the reader on a journey in the spirit of Dr. Seuss, in these books the only Whos are Thing One and Thing Two and we don’t really see much that is created just for purposes of rhyming. Instead, we get real facts about the topics. Good facts that are fund to read.
These are perfect for bedtime reading. They take about 6 minutes to read out-loud. And the illustrations are done in the Seuss style which is always fun. There are also labels on some of the pictures and additional facts that are not incorporated into the larger narrative.
A Whale of a Tale is all about dolphins, porpoises, and whales. We learn two distinctions between these 
types of animals and fish; we learn how whales eat; we learn about the sizes of the animals and some of how to distinguish a spinner from a bottle nosed dolphin. They are clever and full of great information. There’s No Place Like Space! is all about our solar system. Not only is the mnemonic (or one of them anyway – I learned a different one in school, but then again, I had to include Pluto back then) on how to remember the order of the planets included but we get a fact or two about each, and we are implicitly learning about spacial relations and action (i.e., why we don’t spin off the Earth as it spins).
Quality of the Story: For both, they weren’t really stories so much as journeys. One is simply a trip through space and the other is a ride in the ocean. But, for these purposes, they work.
Rhymer or Not: They are in the same vein as Dr. Seuss. So, do I really need to answer that? Apparently, I do, says the Cat in the Hat. They rhyme, yes they do. And they have extra bonus facts too!
Out-Loud Readability: Wonderful. For books which include real facts, creating the rhyming scheme must have been a challenge (I am impressed) but keeping them readable too is even more impressive.
Educational Value: Excellent. Lots of big and small facts; while Mom knew lots of them she learned quite a bit too.
Both of these have made me decide to pick up others from this series when ever I get the opportunity.
Book Series Tracker 