[admin]

This is my mat! The fat cat sat on the mat. "Get off!" said the rat. But the fat cat just sat. So the rat got his bat. Then the rat got his hat. Will the rat and the bat and the hat get the fat cat off the mat?

Customer Review: Very Disappointing
My son, who has just turned 4, has just started to learn to read. After completing his first book at school, we went and purhcased this book as it had many of the simple short words that he is learning. Given the level of the book, it never occured to me to review it first and imagine my surprise when I read "The rat hates the cat" and "You think I am stupid" and "My dear little brat". My 4 year old is aware of words like "hate" and "stupid" but he also knows that those are not kind words and they don't have a place in our house. I am returning the book and now question Harper Collin's ability to review books and give their opinion. I agree with a previous reviewer in that the book is very rude and does not teach good behavior. I want my son to learn to read, but not at the expense of his manners! I strongly encourage those considering this book to re-consider. There's enough rudeness and harsh words in this world without having to introduce them in a small child's book. [...]
Customer Review: 1 star or 5 stars? : All of the reviewers are right
Good things: * Longer and slightly more complex story than most reading books * Humorous plot with twists (I love how the rat is going to get a bat to get the cat off the mat and it turns out to be a flying bat as opposed to a baseball bat.) * good rhyming * my 4 year olds are just starting to grasp reading and this book and its many *at words was just about at their level and appealing enough that they were making an effort Negative: * I wish the characters were not so rude (I do think kids can distinguish between appropriate behavior and behavior that needs correcting). Giving them only model behavior is unrealistic and sometimes boring. However, in this book it will be up to you to reinforce any lessons about rudeness. * I prefer not to have books about witches. For me the positives outweighed the negatives enough to seriously consider buying it.


More...