It’s Perfect Picture Book Friday, so get out your list-making utensils, whatever they might be (iphone note, broken crayon and old ATM receipt, whatever 😊), and prepare for a trip to the library! There are sure to be any number of books shared this week you’ll want to check out.
I’m sharing one that was a huge favorite with my kids, back in the last millennium when they were little 😊 I hope you like it!
Title: The Baby Blue Cat Who Said No
Written & Illustrated By: Ainslie Pryor
Re-issue March 1988, Viking Juvenile, Fiction
Suitable For Ages: 3-7
Themes/Topics: behavior (contrariness), humor
Opening: “Have you heard the story of the Baby Blue Cat who said No?
Once there was a Mama Cat and her four baby cats.
Baby Orange Cat,
Baby White Cat,
Baby Striped Cat, and
Baby Blue Cat.
Mama Cat loved all of her baby cats very much.“
Brief Synopsis: Baby Orange Cat, Baby White Cat and Baby Striped Cat all behave the way little kittens should, but Baby Blue Cat is feeling ornery. No matter what his Mama asks, he says, “No!” But when he pushes his Mama too far, he apologizes and behaves… until his contrariness gets the better of him again 😊
Links To Resources: Teaching Children A VocabularyFor Emotions; make cards with different emotions pictured and/or written – e.g. a smiley face and/or HAPPY – and play emotion charades by letting kids pick a card and act out the emotions for the rest of the class or family and see if the observers can guess; talk about behavior – have you ever refused to do something just to be difficult? Do you sometimes do bad things and then feel sorry? Talk about how to say you’re sorry – resource HERE.
Why I Like This Book: The language is fun to read aloud. (Years later, we still use the phrase “and here’s your delicious cupcake, YUM YUM” 😊 ) The line drawings are cute and engaging (right down to the smile on the fish sandwich 😊) But mostly, anyone who has ever spent 3 minutes around a toddler will recognize and appreciate Baby Blue Cat’s desire to have some control, and some opportunity to be independent of his mother and siblings. As I mentioned above, he’s naughty, but when he goes too far he’s genuinely remorseful. Mama Cat loves her baby cats very much, and it is clear that Baby Blue Cat loves his Mama Cat too 😊
I hope you enjoy it as much as we do at our house! 😊
For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.
PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific blog links (and any other info you feel like filling out 😊) to the form below so we can all come see what fabulous picture books you’ve chosen to share this week!
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! 😊
Susanna Leonard Hill 
I love the way some words and phrases from picture books become embedded in family traditions. Happy weekend.
We have quite a few of those in our house, Norah! 😊 Have a great weekend too!
Thank you, Susanna. 😊
I used to read this one to my kids as well!
I am SO delighted to know someone else who knows this book, Pam! My kids loved it so much!
I saw the cover and that warm “Aw” recognition fuzzy feeling came over me😉
I love well-loved picture books! And how is it that I also chose a book featuring a cat this week; many, many cats to be precise, and the man who saved them.
Ooh! Can’t wait to see, Patricia!
I love books that become a part of a family’s shared vocabulary!
I know, aren’t they fun, Cathy? We have a lot of movies that fall into that category too!
So cute! And perfect theme. I bet we can all think of a child who loved to say NO. 🙂
It was my youngest child’s first word, Angela (beside mama and dada) 😊 She had so many older siblings to defend herself against 😊
LOL. I’m also Angela. My mom used to tell a story of when I was little, so probably 3 years-old. My grandmother had this beautiful ceramic horse on a lower shelf, and I must have been fascinated (as I still am). I stood there, very close, looking at it. I knew I was not allowed to touch it, but I stuck my little hand out, nearly touching it, then slapped my own hand and said, “No, Angie!” LOL. Self-correcting I guess.
Hahaha! I guess! And my daughter is also a horse lover!
What a wonderful story about self-discovery and testing the waters with the security of a loving family. Surprised I didn’t see this book back in the 1988, when my daughter was young. I held onto some of her favorite books.
It’s really nicely done, Pat. So simple and straightforward, but such fun! And so on-target with kids!
This looks adorable! Thanks for sharing, Susanna.
Almost as good as TWO DOGS ON A TRIKE 😊
Aww…Thanks, Susanna!
Oh, a stubborn blue kitty. Love it.
Holy moly, Joanna! Until you said “stubborn blue kitty” I never thought of it that way! But I’m wondering now if it subliminally impacted my old car’s name…Princess Blue Kitty! 🤣
Awwww, I think I’ll check this out of the library and read it to my now 17-yr-old. He’s a cat lover and can be a little ornery, LOL. Thanks for the rec, Susanna. This looks really sweet! And who doesn’t want to say “and here’s your delicious cupcake. Yum Yum!”
I mean, “and here’s your delicious cupcake. Yum Yum!” is really what life is all about, don’t you think, Jilanne? 😊😊😊
What I want to say is: WHERE is my delicious cupcake. Hahaha…I just embarked on a ‘lose 5 pounds’ initiative…so any book with food is going to look good enough to eat. And I love that this book is still relevant and enjoyable after all these years. Thanks for sharing this one, Susanna!
I’m with you on WHERE is my delicious cupcake, Vivian, and you’re lucky you’re only on a lose 5 pounds initiative… I could use a much larger initiative than that!…probably thanks to my success in finding delicious cupcakes 😊
Susanna- you scooped me! That is what I was going to say in response to Vivian, lol! My favorite part of this recommendation is the phrase that found it’s way into your family vernacular. That’s the best! I will look for this gem. Maybe I will actually get to go into a library this weekend! Things are opening up here little by little. Hurray! Happy weekend to you both! 😃💕
Bummed that my library doesn’t have this book, but I listened to it being read aloud on YT. I hope I can find a copy – it’s so adorable!
Mine is ancient and paperback and not in great shape after the many, many readings, Jules! I hope you find a copy somewhere, but I’m glad you got to hear a reading!
I hope to find this gem of a story!
For a recent birthday gift to my oldest son, I made a gift box of all of his favorite books from his childhood! We both enjoyed going down Memory Lane! 🙂
What a GREAT idea, Susan! I think I’m going to steal that for my kids at some point!