Cover artist Dean Publication date 2008 (self) OCLC 529761572 Country United States of America | Language English ISBN 978-0-06-190622-0 Originally published 2008 Illustrator James Dean | |
 | ||
Followed by Rocking in My School Shoes Similar Eric Litwin books, Picture books, Other books | ||
Pete the cat i love my white shoes live telling
Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes is an American children's picture book featuring text and music by Eric Litwin and illustrations by James Dean, who had created the character previously. It was self-published in 2008, with a CD audio recording, and published by HarperCollins in 2010. I Love My White Shoes is the first of the series of books, which includes some volumes written by illustrator James Dean or by the husband-and-wife team James and Kimberly Dean, all centered on the character, Pete the Cat.
Contents
Content
Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes is the story of a cat whose white shoes get mucked up by various substances he steps in, but "Pete never loses his cool." Written as a song, its refrain is "I love my white shoes", changing to "I love my blue shoes", "I love my red shoes", and so on.
The book was self-published in 2008 and sold 7,000 copies in 10 months before it was picked up by HarperCollins – alerted by a YouTube meme in which two little girls read the book – and distributed throughout the United States and Canada. It rose to number 8 on the New York Times Best Seller list for picture books.
Author and illustrator
Eric Litwin (also known as "Mr. Eric") is an American storyteller and musician from Atlanta, Georgia.
The book uses a character first devised by James Dean, an artist active in Atlanta, who drew up Pete in 1999 and in 2006 self-published The Misadventures of Pete the Cat. Litwin wrote a story about and a song for the cat, and the two began a partnership.
Since the success of the book, Litwin and Dean have been touring the United States, doing readings and performances (Litwin playing guitar and Dean painting Pete), including a performance in the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. James Dean – singly and in collaboration with Litwin and with Kimberly Dean – has continued to produce children's books about Pete the Cat.
Honors
In 2010, the Georgia Center for the Book released a list titled, "25 Books All Young Georgians Should Read". Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes is one of the books included in that list.