Joe Van Der Katt and the Great Picket Fence

by Peter J. Welling

"Filled with visual puns, the cartoon illustrations depict felines of many socioeconomic backgrounds." --School Library Journal

"A fun story filled with puns, jokes, and colorful drawings." --Midwest Book Review

"Fat Cat Kitty cheats Joe Van der Katt and his other employees when Joe asks for a pay raise...Joe and the proletarian cats go on strike, and...but no, no, no ...it wouldn't be kosher of me to give away how the plot thickens." --John Goodspeed, Star-Democrat (Easton, Maryland)

Filled with clever wordplay, gags, Dutch words, and dozens of hidden pictures that will keep readers coming back for repeated readings, this is the story of the legendary labor leader Joe Van der Katt. You may not have heard of Joe because he is best known for improving the plight of blue-collar working cats all over the world.

Joe Van der Katt and the other cats from the poor section of Litterbox work for pennies a day in the Cat's Cradle Company for J. Paul Kitty, one of the Fat Cats who lives on the nice side of town. After not getting paid what they're due, the cats grow tired of Mr. Kitty's wrongdoings and go on strike, giving new meaning to a "picket line" in this hilarious fable about Labor Day.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1589802810
• ISBN13: 9781589802810
• Release Date: February 2005
• Publisher: Pelican Publishing Company
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 9.4" x 8.9"
• Age Range: 5 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

Joe Van der Katt And The Great Picket Fence

In New York in the Dutch settlement of Litterbox (in the Catskill Mountains, of course), lived J. Paul Kitty, a fat so rich that he hired the poor cats to meow for him. He was a horrible man who treated his employees badly while paying them very little. However, since they needed the money the poor cats were afraid to speak up- that is all but Joe Van der Katt. Joe Van der Katt and the Great Picket Fence is a humorous entertaining tale that teaches children a bit about the history of the labour movement in America. Moreover, in Peter J. Welling unique style, the author has placed Dutch words and phases within the illustrations, describing various objects shown. Readers of all ages will enjoy trying to guess what each word means and then flipping to the back of the book to find out if their guess was correct.

A fun story filled with puns, jokes and colorful drawings

The working cats in the New York Dutch settlement of Litterbox are tired of being poor and working for pennies in the Cat's Cradle Company. When Joe stops pussyfooting and asks for a raise, he's offered extra work instead - and when payday comes, revolution is in the air. Joe Van Der Katt And The Great Picket Fence is a fun story filled with puns, jokes and colorful drawings.