Content Qualities
| Author and Illustrator: Jack Kent |
| Type: Picture Book with Text |
| Page Count: 32 |
| Genre: Folklore |
| Interest Age Range: 4 – 8 |
| Optimal for Grades: K – 2 |
| Guided Reading Level: I |
| Scariness: 1 |
Explanation: the idea of a cat eating everything it encounters, including people, might be disturbing to young children, even though the people that were swallowed emerge unharmed in the end.
Summary
The Fat Cat: A Danish Folktale is the delightfully simplistic story of a greedy feline who gets carried away by the taste of freedom when asked to watch over a pot of porridge while the old woman goes out for a bit. He ends up eating not only the entire meal and pot, but half the village besides. Our fat cat has a gloriously villainous time, eating whatever and whoever he pleases, that is until one of his hapless victims turns out not to be so hapless. After shaming the greedy animal for his selfish behavior, decisive action from the axe wielding woodcutter brings the cat’s gluttonous rampage to a satisfying conclusion.
An element of many folktales is that they do not always correspond to reality and this one is no different. This book presents an excellent opportunity to teach young readers the difference between fantasy and reality, fiction and non-fiction. While the idea of a cat growing huger and huger as it eats its way through a series of impossible meals may sound quite strange for a children’s story, the cat comes across as humorous and silly rather than frightening.
When the savvy woodcutter finally comes along and chops open the cat’s bulging paunch with his handy axe, instead of killing the animal, all of the objects and people eaten by the cat suddenly spring forth alive and well. This fantastical happy ending largely prevents the story from seeming disturbing to youngsters, while reinforcing the moral warning against greed and gluttony. All the townsfolk return to their daily tasks and the rehabilitated cat is taken under the woodcutter’s kind-hearted care. The story also presents excellent opportunities to introduce new vocabulary, practice syllabic segmentation, and discuss the purpose of a repeated clause throughout a tale in relation to its genre as an oral tradition.
Want to Use This Book in Your Classroom?
For a complete standards-based teaching plan, please check out my FREE Guided Reading Book Study Unit for this title at my Teachers Pay Teachers Store: The Blind Bibliophile. The downloadable book lesson plans include supplemental materials to guide instruction such as vocabulary activities and student worksheets.
Educational Content/Reading Skills
- Discuss the important role of folktales as oral traditions passed down by word of mouth
- Identifying elements of fantasy and reality
- Syllabic segmentation
- Repetition and rhyme
- Use pictures to sequence events in simple plots
- Identify repetitive patterns in a short story and analyze their purpose for comprehension
Get The Fat Cat Guided Reading Unit for Free!