These are questions an adult may ask children in their care while they are reading the story. The first two questions are used while looking at the cover before reading.
Q. The title is Nobody’s Purr-fect (Especially Not Georgie). Look at the cover illustration. Tell me what you think the story will be about.
Q. Perfect is usually spelled p-e-r-f-e-c-t. Why do you think the author spelled it Purr-fect?
A. A cat purrs, so purr-fect is spelled purr at the beginning to connect to cats. This is word play.
Note to adult: After reading, go back to the title and explain that the cat was not perfect and neither was the title spelling.
Q. This refers to page 1. Anomaly means something is different from what we expect. Tell me three ways that Georgie is different from what we expect.
A. He likes ham, he begs for food, and he greets people like a dog.
Here are questions to ask during or after reading the story. Answers are provided if you would like to have them. Feel free to accept appropriate responses that are not listed in my answers.
Q. This refers to page 15. Do you know what an animal chip is?
A. A chip is used to identify a pet. It is as small as a grain of rice and is implanted under the animals’s skin. A micro-scanner is needed to get the identification information from the chip.
Q. This refers to page 16. What does Jake mean when he says, “Sad is not a big enough word to tell you how I feel.”?
A. Sad is such a small word that it cannot express the giant feelings that Jake has about his missing pet.
Unconditional love is not based on the performance of the receiver, but on the character of the giver.— Jack Frost
Q. Ask after reading page 27. How did Grandma feel at the beginning of the story? How did she feel at the end of the story?
A. At the beginning of the story Grandma thought Georgie was a big, messy pain. She was annoyed and angry at him. At the end of the story Grandma loved Georgie and was glad he was in the family.”
Q. I’ve explained my thinking about the story. Please share it with your child: “Grandma had expectations when the family got Georgie. She thought he would be a good obedient cat. This is called expectations, she expected good behavior. Grandma disliked Georgie being a mischievous cat as her expectations did not come true. We often do not like animals or people who don’t live up to our expectations. When Georgie went missing and her grandsons were so desperate to find him she began to worry about the cat and felt their misery. This caused her to change, a change that’s called a transformation.”
Q. What then is the lesson in the story?
A. The lesson in the story is: We must love our pets, family, and friends even if they are not perfect and they do not live up to our expectations. That’s the meaning of the title.
Q. Bonus question: Why did the author write a story with a dad, two boys, and two grandparents all living together without a mom? Think about expectations.
A. The reader might expect one kind of family so the author created another kind of family. Each is good just different. The author did not want to meet the reader’s expectations
Georgie can be quite mischievous. He is not embarrassed to beg for ham. He often runs around the house from window to window chasing the deer that appear on our property. But, it’s quite funny rather than annoying.
What makes him endearing though is the way he greets people like he’s a dog. He loves to snuggle in laps. He enjoys following his family around the house. People are special to him.
He may have had a tough start in life but you’d never know it. He’s one sweet cat. But, watch out if you bring another cat around. Nobody’s Purr-fect!