Seven Pete the Cat stories are collected in this anthology, all of them originally published separately, either as early-readers or as small picture-books. The selections include:

Pete's Big Lunch, an early-reader about a massive meal made by our feline hero, who then must invite his friends to the feast when his eyes prove larger than his stomach...

Construction Destruction, a picture-book in which Pete's ambitious plans for a new playground prove unworkable, until a new solution is found...

Pete at the Beach, another early reader, this one chronicling how Pete overcomes his fear of the water and learns to surf with his brother Bob...

Cavecat Pete, another picture-book, in which a prehistoric variant of our feline hero invites all of his dinosaur friends to a picnic...

Play Ball!, a third early reader, in which Pete does his best during a baseball game, and is therefore never discouraged by his occasional mistakes...

Robo-Pete, the third and final picture-book, in which Pete creates a robot version of himself to play with, when his friends are busy...

And finally, Too Cool for School, and early-reader in which Pete must learn to please himself, when it comes to clothing choice, rather than his friends and family...

Although they are not favorites, I do find the large-sized, original format picture-books devoted to Pete and his doings fairly engaging, and can understand their popularity. Unfortunately, like so many picture-book series, publishers seem to want to capitalize on that popularity, turning out lots of additional titles - early readers, miniature picture-books, board books - that are not of equal quality as the originals. This seems to be the case with the Pete the Cat series. These tales will probably appeal to zealous young fans of Pete, but for my part, my reaction ranged from indifferent at best to slightly irritated at worst. ( )