How To Draw a Happy Cat is a hilarious story about a cat who just can’t seem to stay happy.
How to Draw a Happy Cat
Ethan T. Berlin
Jim Matison
Hippo Park, October 4, 2022
Ages 3-7
Synopsis
The book begins by showing the reader how to draw a happy cat. But after the drawing is complete the happy cat turns out to be not so happy.
The rest of the book is a hilarious attempt by the narrator/artist to make and keep the cat happy.
This involves adding all sorts of different details to the ensuing illustrations, with each addition becoming sillier and sillier!
Think skateboarding on airplanes and catapulting pizzas.
Opening Lines
Learning how to draw a happy cat is fun and easy!
Why I Love How to Draw a Happy Cat
It’s just a REALLY fun book with an entertaining plot supported by quirky, bright and colourful illustrations.
Cat’s antics with his friends are hilarious and are sure to quickly have a class of kids laughing their heads off.
The ending is great, too! The reader has the satisfaction of knowing that Cat is finally really and truly happy, BUT there’s a cute little twist involving one of the other characters, which I won’t give away.
This book is absolutely perfect for K-2 but will also appeal to younger children.
Story Extensions
1. First off, you absolutely MUST have your class follow the directions at the start of the book for drawing their own happy cat.
2. I think it would also be fun to have the kids create their own 4-panel set of directions for drawing a different happy animal.
When completed, they could switch directions with a friend and follow the instructions to draw another happy animal.
3. Astra Publishing has a super cute board game for How to Draw a Happy Cat. It’s free and you can download it here.
4. Your kids might enjoy this free cat colouring page I made!
5. Danielle’s Place has a whole bunch of cat craft activities that are worth checking out, too.
Thanks for reading!
A big thank you to NetGalley and Astra Publishing House for an advanced readers copy. This post contains Amazon affiliate links.