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Catch the Cat
Mobipocket
Amazon Kindle
Category:
Children
Publisher: Zen Yoga Press
ISBN-10: 0974324795
Type: Fiction
Pages: 93
Copyright: February 1, 2009
Catch the Cat is a rare find in the world of children's books. It is both a wonderfully captivating story and a guidebook for children to become more confident and healthy in the world today. The language and situations are engaging and the loveable cat, Zink, is a very memorable and loveable character.
Catch the Cat is ideal for students in grades 4-6 enrolled in health classes, PE programs or other extracurricular fitness activities. However, parents, educators and children of all ages will enjoy this book.
This innovative children's book is designed to empower children to develop healthy lifestyle habits to last a lifetime. Equipping children with these skills at an early age will enable them to recognize and avoid many of the poor choices that lead to problems such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, cancer, etc.
Zink is an impish purple feline with wizard-like abilities meets up with two very unhappy pre-adolescent misfits, Justin and Nikki. Zink offers the children a chance to learn five secret words that will guide them in living happier and healthier lives. The only problem is that to discover what the words are they must first catch the cat, which is easier said than done. Through a series of amusing experiences the two learn the wisdom of the five words, which emphasize the importance of proper breathing, healthy movement, smart eating, relaxation, and maintaining balance in their lives.
The book covers the topics of bullying, exercise, obesity & dieting, and self-confidence in a fun and light-hearted manner, ideal for children and fun for the whole family.
Catch the Cat includes an Activity Workbook with games, quizzes and challenges to help reinforce the lessons learned in each chapter.
Excerpt
All of a sudden a gentle wind kicked up and caught the leaves of the oak tree. The sun had just moved behind it and was now coming through the leaves like a million slivers of shimmering gold in the sky. It seemed like a perfect moment, and for the first time in a long while they both felt good.
And then something really surprising happened. From out of the tall grass at the edge of the lawn stepped a purple cat. It was sleek and muscular with yellow eyes and a black-tipped tail. The cat strutted across the school lawn and came right up to them. Justin and Nikki both watched in astonishment as the purple feline sat down on the ground in front of them and looked up.
“You know,” the purple cat said, “people often moan and groan about the chains that bind them, not realizing that they already possess the key to unlocking them within themselves.”
Justin’s mouth fell open and Nikki almost peed in her jeans for real. Was it a dream? Was it an illusion? Had the cat actually spoken?
“What?” Nikki finally managed.
“I said that people often struggle to escape the invisible chains that bind them without realizing that they already possess within themselves the key to unlocking them,” the cat repeated. Its voice was soft and magical, giving them the sensation that the words were floating around in their minds.
“You…you can talk,” Justin eyes bulged out.
“Hello?” The cat’s soft voice took on a tinge of sarcasm. “I think we’ve established that already.”
“But cats can’t talk,” Nikki stammered.
“Well, in case you hadn’t noticed, I’m not a normal cat.”
“And cats aren’t purple,” Justin added.
“Good grief! Are you guys trying to win some sort of award for mastering the totally obvious?”
Justin and Nikki looked at each other and then back at the cat. It sat there with its yellow eyes fixed on them.
“Cool!” they exclaimed in unison.
“So what’s all this stuff about removing chains, Mr. Cat?” Justin asked.
“Please, call me Zink,” the cat replied.
“Zink! What a funny name,” Nikki said, laughing.
“Young lady, you know how much you dislike being teased about your name and yet the first thing you do is tease me about mine,” the cat chastised.
“I’m sorry, Zink,” Nikki said.
“Yeah,” Justin added. “She wasn’t trying to be mean.”
“Okay,” Zink said. “It doesn’t matter anyway. I like my name and I don’t really care what people think about it.”
“Well, I hate my name,” Nikki said.
“Me too,” Justin agreed.
“So I gathered. It’s not only your names you hate, right? You guys were sitting here wishing you could be totally different.”
“How do you know that?” Nikki asked.
“Come on, I’m a talking purple cat. I know everything.” Zink bragged.
“No way!” Justin argued.
“Way.” Zink replied.
“Okay, Zink, if you’re so smart, tell us how can we be different. We’re stuck as we are. We’ll never change. He’s Lumpy Lumkin and I’m Ikky Bean. It’s our fate.”
“Ha!” The cat fell over on his back, paws in the air, and began to giggle. “You guys crack me up. It’s your fate…oooh, so serious. Gimme a break.”
“Hey, don’t laugh at us,” Nikki said seriously.
“Sorry about that,” Zink rolled back over so he was lying on the grass in front of them. “But you guys have so much potential, and yet here you are just sitting around feeling sorry for yourselves.”
“All right, so tell us what kind of potential you think we have,” Justin challenged.
Zink sat up, his ears flopped down and his eyes narrowed into slits. His two front fangs thrust forward “Ah, you seek answers, Grasshopper,” His voice sounded like that of a Chinese monk in an old kung-fu movie. “I’ll tell you what you wish to know, but,” his ears popped up and his eyes opened wide, “only if you catch me!”
And with that the cat sprang to its feet and darted off across the lawn, a purple blur. Justin and Nikki’s eyes met for a split second and then they jumped up and charged after the cat.
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