Pete the Cat facts for kids
Front cover
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| Author | Kimberly Dean, James Dean, Eric Litwin |
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| Illustrator | James Dean |
| Cover artist | Dean |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Pete the Cat |
| Genre | Picture book, song |
| Publisher | HarperCollins (2010) |
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Publication date
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2008 (self) |
| ISBN | 978-0-06-190622-0 |
| OCLC | 529761572 |
| Followed by | Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes |
Pete the Cat is a super cool cartoon cat character. He was created by an American artist named James Dean. The first four books about Pete were illustrated by James Dean and written by Eric Litwin. After that, James Dean and his wife, Kimberly Dean, started writing and illustrating the whole series together.
Contents
About the Books
The very first book in the series is called Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes. It tells the story of Pete the Cat and his awesome white shoes. As Pete walks along, his shoes get dirty from stepping in different things. But Pete never gets upset! He stays cool and just keeps singing his song.
The song changes as his shoe colors change. First, he sings "I love my white shoes." Then, it becomes "I love my red shoes," "I love my blue shoes," and "I love my brown shoes." When he steps in water, the colors wash off, and his shoes get wet. But Pete still doesn't lose his cool! He just keeps singing his happy song.
This book was first published by James Dean himself in 2008. It sold 7,000 copies in just 10 months! A big publisher called HarperCollins noticed it. They saw a popular video online where two young girls were reading the book. HarperCollins then started selling the book all over the United States and Canada. It even became a bestseller, reaching number 8 on the New York Times Best Seller list for picture books.
Who Created Pete the Cat?
The Authors and Illustrator
The character Pete the Cat was first thought up by James Dean. He is an artist from Atlanta. James Dean first drew Pete in 1999. In 2006, he self-published a book called The Misadventures of Pete the Cat.
Eric Litwin, also known as "Mr. Eric," is an American storyteller and musician. He is from Atlanta, Georgia. Eric Litwin wrote a story and a song for Pete the Cat. That's how James Dean and Eric Litwin started working together.
Their partnership ended in 2011. Since then, James Dean and his wife, Kimberly Dean, have continued to write and illustrate the Pete the Cat series. There are now over 60 books in the series!
Awards and Recognition
In 2010, the Georgia Center for the Book made a special list. It was called "25 Books All Young Georgians Should Read." Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes was one of the books chosen for this important list.
Pete the Cat on Screen and Stage
Animated Shows
Pete the Cat has also become a star on TV! On December 26, 2017, a holiday special called Pete the Cat: A Groovy New Year was released. You could watch it on Amazon Prime. Jacob Tremblay was the voice of Pete the Cat. His parents in the show were voiced by famous singers Elvis Costello and Diana Krall. Other voices were done by Atticus Shaffer, KT Tunstall, and Don Was.
After the holiday special, a full Pete the Cat TV series was made. It is based on the books. Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, who helped create Phineas and Ferb, developed the series. It came out on September 21, 2018.
The TV series also has other special episodes. There's Pete the Cat: A Very Groovy Christmas, which came out on November 20, 2018. It featured guest voices from Dave Matthews and Jason Mraz. There are even books that go along with the TV series.
A second season of the show started being made in February 2019. Clips from new episodes were uploaded online in June and July 2019. They were taken down for a bit but then put back up. The second half of season 1 was released on August 9, 2019.
A special for Valentine's Day, Pete the Cat: A Very Groovy Valentine's Day, was released on February 7, 2020. The first part of season 2 came out on June 26, 2020. For season 2, Jeff "Swampy" Marsh and KT Tunstall became the new voices for Pete's parents. A few days later, the show also released a PSA about washing your hands.
The second part of season 2 was released on November 13, 2020. A back-to-school special, Pete the Cat: Back to School Operetta, came out on August 27, 2021. The third part of season 2 was released on November 5, 2021. The fourth and final part of season 2 was released on March 11, 2022.
Musicals
Pete the Cat has also been turned into stage musicals! TheatreWorksUSA has created two different Pete the Cat musicals for people to enjoy.
See also
- List of fictional cats and other felines
