I Want a Cat: My Opinion Essay

Written by Darcy Pattison

Narrated by Josiah Bildner

I Want a Cat: My Opinion EssayBy Darcy Pattison, Illustrated by Ewa O'Neill

Hurrah for Essays! All writing lessons should be this much fun.

When cousins Mellie and Dennis decide to get a cat, they consider carefully what breed would be best for each family. For example, Mellie wants a cat that pounces, but Dennis wants a lazy cat, like his lazy dog, Clark Kent. Mellie wants a lap cat, but Dennis just wants a warm body BESIDE him. They consider different cat personalities, family situations, and personal preferences.

Mellie writes an opinion essay for her teacher, Mr. Eagle. But will her essay convince her parents to get the cat of her dreams?

This story takes a popular subject—kids getting a pet—and adds cats of all sizes and shapes: all writing lessons should be this much fun. In the end, it's the cousins and the cats that keep a reader turning the page. What kind of cat will Mellie choose? Will Dennis want the same kind of cat?

This story hits many notes:

• A family story about cousins, Dennis and Mellie
• Scientific information on cat breeds
• Responsible cat ownership
• Mentor-text for teaching writing
• Model opinion essay for elementary students
• Models the writing process, especially the importance of pre-writing or planning before you write
• Completes the writing process by showing the results of Dennis's essay
• 
  

I WANT A CAT almost makes opinion essays look too easy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mims House
• Release date: Feb 17, 2015
• ISBN: 9781629440873

Darcy Pattison

DARCY PATTISON is the author of The River Dragon, illustrated by Jean and Mou-Sien Tseng, as well as the fantasy novel The Wayfinder. She teaches writing at the University of Central Arkansas. She lives in North Little Rock, Arkansas.<br>

Reviews for I Want a Cat

[skstiles612 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is the second book in this series. It follows the same pattern as the first book. In this book Mellie is the narrator and she wants a cat. She takes us through the same process as her cousin did in the first book. She researches and then with the criteria she has about the different types of cats and what parts of their personalities make the the best cat for both her and her cousin Dennis, she is able to narrow it down. She then writes an opinion essay that identifies the best cat for each of them. Because she does such an excellent job writing the essay, their parents buy them each a cat. In this book Mellie gets to name both of them. Once again this is an excellent example of how to write an opinion essay. We definitely need more books like this to use in our classroom.I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.