THE DIARY OF A KILLER CAT

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+THE DIARY OF A +KILLER CAT

+ANNE FINE

+
+

+LOUISIANA YOUNG +READERS’ CHOICE NOMINEE 2009

+GRADES 3-5

Submitted +by Samantha Klein, Graduate Student, Louisiana State University, +Baton Rouge, LA

The +Diary of a Killer Cat +by Anne Fine. Illustrated by Steve Cox. New York: Farrar, Straus and +Giroux, 1994.

ANNOTATION: +This humorous chapter book is told from the point of view of a cat +named Tuffy. His human family gets upset after he brings a dead bird +and a dead mouse in the house, but they really +go “mental” when he next brings in the neighbor’s +beloved rabbit Thumper…dead, of course.

CLASSROOM +CONNECTIONS

Explore +Points of View: + +

Tuffy +is the narrator of this book; we see the events that occur in the +story from his point of view. What makes it so funny is that Tuffy is +a cat, so he looks at things in a different way than people do. He +thinks his people are being ridiculous for being so upset with him +for killing a bird when that is normal behavior for a cat. Students +can do a creative writing exercise that will help them understand +what first-person narration is. Ask children to write a story—it +can be in diary form as in The +Diary of a Killer Cat—from +the point of view of an animal. The animal can be their own pet, an +insect, a zoo animal, farm animal, or wild animal. The following site +provides a lesson for further exploration of point of view: +http://teachers.net/lessons/posts/414.html. +It helps children learn to distinguish between first and third person +points of view. The stories presented are The +Three Little Pigs +(traditionally told), The +True Story of the Three Little Pigs +by Jon Scieszka, and The +Giver +by Lois Lowry. The +Giver +is probably too advanced for our age group, but other titles can be +substituted: e.g. Bunnicula: +A Rabbit Tale of Mystery +by Deborah Howe and James Howe (or The +Vampire Bunny, +the easy reader version of +Bunnicula), +Sheep +by +Valerie Hobbs, and A +Room with a Zoo +by Jules Feiffer.

Write +a Book Review:

Have +the students write a short book review of The +Diary of a Killer Cat. +They could share the following: an explanation of what the story is +about; whether they liked it or not and why; a character description +of Tuffy. They could rate the book with stars, a five star review +being the best. That is what children did for the Web site of the Old +Hutton C of E Primary School, located in the town of Kendal, Cumbria, +in the U.K. Click the following link to see student reviews of Fine’s +books, including a few of The +Diary of a Killer Cat: +http://www.oldhutton.cumbria.sch.uk/learning/literacy/bookreviews/f.html.

“Is +That How Cats Really Are?”

This +lesson about cats comes from the ASPCA Web site: +http://www.aspca.org/site/DocServer/Is_That_How_Cats_Really_Are.pdf?docID=4250. +It asks children to brainstorm and research characteristics of real +cats. They then can compare these characteristics to portrayals of +fictional cats. A handout is provided to help them remember famous +fictional cats, like Tigger from Winnie the Pooh (yes, both domestic +and wild cats can be represented). A series of discussion questions +round out the lesson; they try to get children to think of “basic +cat care needs.” Tuffy can be brought into the discussion. In +what ways does Tuffy exhibit characteristics of real cats? How is he +not like a real cat? Does Tuffy show affection toward Ellie? How do +real cats show affection ?

Natural +History Museum of Los Angelos County: “Cats! Wild to Mild”

http://www.nhm.org/cats/home.html. +“Cats! Wild to Mild” is a traveling exhibit, but the Web +site also provides in-depth information about cats of all types, +organized in a clear fashion. On the left side of the page, click on +“Teacher Curriculum” to see a 31-page “Curriculum +Guide” that can be printed out. It includes many activities to +engage students in the lesson.

Draw +a Cartoon Animal

One +of the funny things about this book is Steve Cox’s cartoon +illustrations. Discuss how his illustrations of Tuffy correspond with +Tuffy’s voice in telling the tale. What kind of expression does +Tuffy’s face show? Have children create their own cartoon +animal character. Show children “Chunky Monkey’s Cartoon +Lessons” on Pauline Camanor’s Chunky Money Web site: +http://www.chunkymonkey.com/howto/drawinglessons.htm. +She gives step-by-step directions for drawing monkeys, cats, fish, +koalas, poodles, plus more! Books from the 1-2-3 +Draw +series will be especially of interest to kids interested in cartoon +drawing. Titles include: 1-2-3 +Draw Cartoon Animals, +1-2-3 +Draw Cartoon Wildlife, +and 1-2-3 +Draw Pets and Farm Animals. +The Web site for these books, produced by Peel Productions, provides +a sampling of drawing instructions online: +http://drawbooks.com/123_draw_series/index.html. +Click on the individual titles. +

WEB +SITES

Anne +Fine: Official Web Site

http://www.annefine.co.uk/index.html. +The attractive Web site of the British author of The +Diary of a Killer Cat would +be nice to show to children. Her books are listed according to +reading level; short summaries and cover images are presented along +with each title. Good news to kids who loved reading The +Diary of a Killer Cat: +there’s two more books featuring Tuffy, entitled The +Return of the Killer Cat +and The +Killer Cat Strikes Back! +Her brief biography is written in first person point of view, and +Fine shares with us a little about her childhood and her writing +process. The Web site lists the many awards Fine won over the years, +including the 1995 Nottinghamshire +Libraries Award for The +Diary of a Killer Cat. +There is also a section about Fine having been the United Kingdom’s +Children’s Laureate for the years 2001-2003. A link is provided +for the Children’s Laureate homepage: +http://www.booktrusted.co.uk/childrenslaureate/. +The current Children’s Laureate is Michael Rosen. +

Healthypet.com: +Cat FAQs

http://www.healthypet.com/faq_list.aspx?id=2. +Healthypet.com is produced by the American Animal Hospital Associate. +The Cat FAQs provides answers to common questions about cats. Topics +are organized under category headings, “Behavior”, +“General Health”, “Diseases”, etc. The +behavior questions may be of especial interest as a thematic +connection to Fine’s book. The Dog FAQs can be linked from this +page, too.

“Cats: +Plans for Perfection” from National Geographic

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/97/cats/index.html. +“The story of cats is ultimately a story about design”: +this statement opens this intriguing online exhibit on cats. Children +will love the intricate drawings. The drawing of the “retractable +claw” moves to show how it works. Another drawing depicts a +Sabertooth marking its territory on a tree branch; the text beside it +notes that domestic cats do the same thing. +

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