About the Holiday
Whether you have a cat (or many), enjoy playing with your friend’s cat, or just love watching cat videos, you know that cats are cute, curious, cunning, and completely captivating. They’re also great communicators, and we can learn a lot about what they want and what they don’t want if we pay close attention to their patterns of behavior. Today’s holiday was thought up by Ruth and Thomas Roy of wellcat.com to encourage cat owners to spend extra time with their cats and do just that. By understanding your cats better and and seeing to their needs, both you and your feline will forge a stronger bond, be closer, and be happier living together.
P Is for Purr
Written by Carole Gerber | Illustrated by Susanna Covelli
Do you hear it? That low motor revving with happiness? That Purr with a capital P? That distinctive hum can only be signaling one thing: a pure love for Carole Gerber’s and Susanna Covelli’s adorable alphabet book that delivers all sorts of information on cats, from different breeds to their cunning behaviors to their unique physical attributes. Beginning with “A” for American Shorthair, readers learn cat-centric vocabulary and surprising facts about this favorite furry pet. Did you know, for example, that American Shorthairs “crossed the sea on sailing ships and kept them free of rats”? And some of those weren’t just any ships. “Ancestors of American Shorthairs came on the pilgrims’ ships to guard their food from rats.”
Image copyright Susanna Covelli, 2022, text copyright Carole Gerber, 2022. Courtesy of Familius.
At “I” we learn just how felines can be so aloof one minute and then snuggling up to you the next: “I is for Intelligence. / Cats are cunning and they’re smart. / They all know how to get their way / and creep into your heart.” How do they know? In a little cat-paw-clue sidebar, Gerber reveals that “The parts of cats’ brains are connected in exactly the same ways as human brains.”
Image copyright Susanna Covelli, 2022, text copyright Carole Gerber, 2022. Courtesy of Familius.
In charming rhymes, Carole Gerber answers kids’ (and adults’) questions about which breed of cat is the chattiest, how fast a house cat can run, how cats release their claws, and how a cat tells you it’s time for some affection: “Underbelly, soft and warm. That’s the letter U. / A belly turned up on display? That’s a feline petting clue!” And what about all those whiskers that give cats their very distinguished look? Well, “W is Whiskers. They grow mainly on the face, / and help a cat to feel its way into every space.”
Susanna Covelli’s fluffy, expressive cats and kittens gaze out at readers with their big, bright eyes, mischievous grins, and even those supercilious frowns we cat-owners know all too well. Tabbies, Siamese, black cats, white cats, a Maine Coon, and even a Sphynx stretch, yawn, leap, lie across knees for pets, groom, play, and sleep in heartwarming and humorous illustrations.
P Is for Purr would be a purr-fect addition to home, school, and public library collections for young children learning the alphabet and becoming readers as well as for cat lovers or those looking to welcome a cat or kitten into their lives.
Ages 3 – 6
Familius, 2022 | ISBN 978-1641707411
About the Author
Poet and author Carole Gerber has written sixteen picture books, three chapter books, and more than one hundred elementary science and reading texts for major publishers. Her most picture recent book, A Band of Babies, was named a 2017 Best Book for Children by Amazon editors. She holds a BS in English education and an MA in journalism from Ohio State, and has taught middle school and high school English as well as college news writing and factual writing at OSU. Learn more at www.carolegerber.com.
About the Illustrator
Susanna Covelli was born in a small town in Piedmont, Italy, earned an MA in architecture, and followed her passion for art and decided to attend a specialization course in both traditional and digital illustration at Scuola Iternazionale di Comics in Turin. Her art expresses her own imagination and inspiration from nature, and she has always been attracted by sinuous shapes, Baroque style, and out-of-the-ordinary perspective. You can connect with Susanna on Instagram.
Answer Your Cat’s Questions Day Activities
Match the Kittens Puzzle
Little ones can have fun matching up the kitten pairs in this printable puzzle!
Purr-fect Friends Maze
Kids can help these cat friends get together to play in this printable maze!
Purr-fect Friends Maze Puzzle | Purr-fect Friends Maze Solution
You can find P Is for Purr at these booksellers
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million
To support your local independent bookstore, order from
Picture Book Review
celebratepicturebooks.com 
Thank you for this lovely review of my book! You truly captured its essence and clearly are a cat lover. Simon (my cat to whom the book is dedicated) and Winston (my rest-in-peace cat who lived 17 years), were my lovable examples of cat behavior.
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It’s always a pleasure, Carole! I grew up with dogs, but my cat has stolen my heart with his goofy antics and so-sweet personality. Your book perfectly captures that lovable dynamic!
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