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24 <P CLASS="western" ALIGN=CENTER STYLE="text-indent: 0.5in; margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%">
25 <FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><I><B>THE DIARY OF A
26 KILLER CAT</B></I></FONT></FONT></P>
27 <P CLASS="western" ALIGN=CENTER STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%">
28 <FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><B>ANNE FINE</B></FONT></FONT></P>
29 <P CLASS="western" ALIGN=CENTER STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%">
32 <P CLASS="western" ALIGN=CENTER STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%">
33 <FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><B>LOUISIANA YOUNG
34 READERS’ CHOICE NOMINEE 2009</B></FONT></FONT></P>
35 <P CLASS="western" ALIGN=CENTER STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%">
36 <FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><B>GRADES 3-5</B></FONT></FONT></P>
37 <P CLASS="western" ALIGN=CENTER STYLE="margin-bottom: 0.14in"><BR><BR>
39 <P CLASS="western" ALIGN=CENTER STYLE="margin-bottom: 0.14in"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>Submitted
40 by Samantha Klein, Graduate Student, Louisiana State University,
41 Baton Rouge, LA</FONT></FONT></P>
42 <P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0.14in"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><I>The
43 Diary of a Killer Cat</I></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>
44 by Anne Fine. Illustrated by Steve Cox. New York: Farrar, Straus and
45 Giroux, 1994.</FONT></FONT></P>
46 <P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0.14in"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><B>ANNOTATION</B></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>:
47 This humorous chapter book is told from the point of view of a cat
48 named Tuffy. His human family gets upset after he brings a dead bird
49 and a dead mouse in the house, but they </FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><I>really</I></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>
50 go “mental” when he next brings in the neighbor’s
51 beloved rabbit Thumper…dead, of course.</FONT></FONT></P>
52 <P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0.14in"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><B>CLASSROOM
53 CONNECTIONS</B></FONT></FONT></P>
54 <P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><U><B>Explore
55 Points of View</B></U></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><B>:
58 <P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>Tuffy
59 is the narrator of this book; we see the events that occur in the
60 story from his point of view. What makes it so funny is that Tuffy is
61 a cat, so he looks at things in a different way than people do. He
62 thinks his people are being ridiculous for being so upset with him
63 for killing a bird when that is normal behavior for a cat. Students
64 can do a creative writing exercise that will help them understand
65 what first-person narration is. Ask children to write a story—it
66 can be in diary form as in </FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><I>The
67 Diary of a Killer Cat</I></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>—from
68 the point of view of an animal. The animal can be their own pet, an
69 insect, a zoo animal, farm animal, or wild animal. The following site
70 provides a lesson for further exploration of point of view:
71 </FONT></FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000ff"><U><A HREF="http://teachers.net/lessons/posts/414.html"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>http://teachers.net/lessons/posts/414.html</FONT></FONT></A></U></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>.
72 It helps children learn to distinguish between first and third person
73 points of view. The stories presented are </FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><I>The
74 Three Little Pigs</I></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>
75 (traditionally told), </FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><I>The
76 True Story of the Three Little Pigs</I></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>
77 by Jon Scieszka, and </FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><I>The
78 Giver</I></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>
79 by Lois Lowry. </FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><I>The
80 Giver</I></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>
81 is probably too advanced for our age group, but other titles can be
82 substituted: e.g. </FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><I>Bunnicula:
83 A Rabbit Tale of Mystery</I></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>
84 by Deborah Howe and James Howe (or </FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><I>The
85 Vampire Bunny</I></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>,
86 the easy reader version of</FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><I>
87 Bunnicula</I></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>),
88 </FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><I>Sheep
89 </I></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>by
90 Valerie Hobbs, and </FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><I>A
91 Room with a Zoo</I></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>
92 by Jules Feiffer.</FONT></FONT></P>
93 <P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%"><BR>
95 <P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><U><B>Write
96 a Book Review</B></U></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><B>:</B></FONT></FONT></P>
97 <P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>Have
98 the students write a short book review of </FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><I>The
99 Diary of a Killer Cat</I></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>.
100 They could share the following: an explanation of what the story is
101 about; whether they liked it or not and why; a character description
102 of Tuffy. They could rate the book with stars, a five star review
103 being the best. That is what children did for the Web site of the Old
104 Hutton C of E Primary School, located in the town of Kendal, Cumbria,
105 in the U.K. Click the following link to see student reviews of Fine’s
106 books, including a few of </FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><I>The
107 Diary of a Killer Cat</I></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>:
108 </FONT></FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000ff"><U><A HREF="http://www.oldhutton.cumbria.sch.uk/learning/literacy/bookreviews/f.html"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>http://www.oldhutton.cumbria.sch.uk/learning/literacy/bookreviews/f.html</FONT></FONT></A></U></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>.</FONT></FONT></P>
109 <P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%"><BR>
111 <P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%"><BR>
113 <P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%"><BR>
115 <P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%"><U>“<FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><B>Is
116 That How Cats Really Are?”</B></U></FONT></FONT></P>
117 <P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>This
118 lesson about cats comes from the ASPCA Web site:
119 </FONT></FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000ff"><U><A HREF="http://www.aspca.org/site/DocServer/Is_That_How_Cats_Really_Are.pdf?docID=4250"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>http://www.aspca.org/site/DocServer/Is_That_How_Cats_Really_Are.pdf?docID=4250</FONT></FONT></A></U></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>.
120 It asks children to brainstorm and research characteristics of real
121 cats. They then can compare these characteristics to portrayals of
122 fictional cats. A handout is provided to help them remember famous
123 fictional cats, like Tigger from Winnie the Pooh (yes, both domestic
124 and wild cats can be represented). A series of discussion questions
125 round out the lesson; they try to get children to think of “basic
126 cat care needs.” Tuffy can be brought into the discussion. In
127 what ways does Tuffy exhibit characteristics of real cats? How is he
128 not like a real cat? Does Tuffy show affection toward Ellie? How do
129 real cats show affection ?</FONT></FONT></P>
130 <P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%"><BR>
132 <P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><U><B>Natural
133 History Museum of Los Angelos County: “Cats! Wild to Mild”</B></U></FONT></FONT></P>
134 <P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%"><FONT COLOR="#0000ff"><U><A HREF="http://www.nhm.org/cats/home.html"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>http://www.nhm.org/cats/home.html</FONT></FONT></A></U></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>.
135 “Cats! Wild to Mild” is a traveling exhibit, but the Web
136 site also provides in-depth information about cats of all types,
137 organized in a clear fashion. On the left side of the page, click on
138 “Teacher Curriculum” to see a 31-page “Curriculum
139 Guide” that can be printed out. It includes many activities to
140 engage students in the lesson.</FONT></FONT></P>
141 <P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%"><BR>
143 <P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><U><B>Draw
144 a Cartoon Animal</B></U></FONT></FONT></P>
145 <P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>One
146 of the funny things about this book is Steve Cox’s cartoon
147 illustrations. Discuss how his illustrations of Tuffy correspond with
148 Tuffy’s voice in telling the tale. What kind of expression does
149 Tuffy’s face show? Have children create their own cartoon
150 animal character. Show children “Chunky Monkey’s Cartoon
151 Lessons” on Pauline Camanor’s Chunky Money Web site:
152 </FONT></FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000ff"><U><A HREF="http://www.chunkymonkey.com/howto/drawinglessons.htm"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>http://www.chunkymonkey.com/howto/drawinglessons.htm</FONT></FONT></A></U></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>.
153 She gives step-by-step directions for drawing monkeys, cats, fish,
154 koalas, poodles, plus more! Books from the </FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><I>1-2-3
155 Draw</I></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>
156 series will be especially of interest to kids interested in cartoon
157 drawing. Titles include: </FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><I>1-2-3
158 Draw Cartoon Animals</I></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>,
159 </FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><I>1-2-3
160 Draw Cartoon Wildlife</I></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>,
161 and </FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><I>1-2-3
162 Draw Pets and Farm Animals</I></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>.
163 The Web site for these books, produced by Peel Productions, provides
164 a sampling of drawing instructions online:
165 </FONT></FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000ff"><U><A HREF="http://drawbooks.com/123_draw_series/index.html"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>http://drawbooks.com/123_draw_series/index.html</FONT></FONT></A></U></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>.
166 Click on the individual titles. </FONT></FONT>
168 <P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%"><BR>
170 <P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><B>WEB
171 SITES</B></FONT></FONT></P>
172 <P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%"><BR>
174 <P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><B>Anne
175 Fine: Official Web Site</B></FONT></FONT></P>
176 <P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%"><FONT COLOR="#0000ff"><U><A HREF="http://www.annefine.co.uk/index.html"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>http://www.annefine.co.uk/index.html</FONT></FONT></A></U></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>.
177 The attractive Web site of the British author of </FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><I>The
178 Diary of a Killer Cat </I></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>would
179 be nice to show to children. Her books are listed according to
180 reading level; short summaries and cover images are presented along
181 with each title. Good news to kids who loved reading </FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><I>The
182 Diary of a Killer Cat</I></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>:
183 there’s two more books featuring Tuffy, entitled </FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><I>The
184 Return of the Killer Cat</I></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>
185 and </FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><I>The
186 Killer Cat Strikes Back</I></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>!
187 Her brief biography is written in first person point of view, and
188 Fine shares with us a little about her childhood and her writing
189 process. The Web site lists the many awards Fine won over the years,
190 including the 1995 </FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><SPAN LANG="en-GB">Nottinghamshire
191 Libraries Award for </SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><I>The
192 Diary of a Killer Cat</I></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>.
193 There is also a section about Fine having been the United Kingdom’s
194 Children’s Laureate for the years 2001-2003. A link is provided
195 for the Children’s Laureate homepage:
196 </FONT></FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000ff"><U><A HREF="http://www.booktrusted.co.uk/childrenslaureate/"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>http://www.booktrusted.co.uk/childrenslaureate/</FONT></FONT></A></U></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>.
197 The current Children’s Laureate is Michael Rosen. </FONT></FONT>
199 <P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%"><BR>
201 <P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><B>Healthypet.com:
202 Cat FAQs</B></FONT></FONT></P>
203 <P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%"><FONT COLOR="#0000ff"><U><A HREF="http://www.healthypet.com/faq_list.aspx?id=2"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>http://www.healthypet.com/faq_list.aspx?id=2</FONT></FONT></A></U></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>.
204 Healthypet.com is produced by the American Animal Hospital Associate.
205 The Cat FAQs provides answers to common questions about cats. Topics
206 are organized under category headings, “Behavior”,
207 “General Health”, “Diseases”, etc. The
208 behavior questions may be of especial interest as a thematic
209 connection to Fine’s book. The Dog FAQs can be linked from this
210 page, too.</FONT></FONT></P>
211 <P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%"><BR>
213 <P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%">“<FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><B>Cats:
214 Plans for Perfection” from National Geographic</B></FONT></FONT></P>
215 <P CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%"><FONT COLOR="#0000ff"><U><A HREF="http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/97/cats/index.html"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/97/cats/index.html</FONT></FONT></A></U></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman, serif"><FONT SIZE=3>.
216 “The story of cats is ultimately a story about design”:
217 this statement opens this intriguing online exhibit on cats. Children
218 will love the intricate drawings. The drawing of the “retractable
219 claw” moves to show how it works. Another drawing depicts a
220 Sabertooth marking its territory on a tree branch; the text beside it
221 notes that domestic cats do the same thing. </FONT></FONT>
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