Hello friends! Welcome to StoryTime. My name is Miss Jana, and I’m so happy you’re here today. We have a fun and silly book to read, and I think you’re going to love it. It’s about animals, and who doesn’t love animals, right? Are you ready? Today, we’re going to read a book called “Louise and Tabitha.” It’s written by Stephanie Campesi and illustrated by Holly Mangert.
Louise is a charming alley cat, and Tabitha is a fancy show cat. They live in different worlds. Louise is an outside cat, and Tabitha is an inside cat. But guess what? They really want to be together, even though a big glass door and Tabitha’s owner keep them apart. Let’s see what happens in their story!
Louise is a cat who loves to explore. He lives at the fire station and sometimes rides in the fire truck. One night, he took a wrong turn and saw Tabitha. She was elegant and silky, and Louise fell in love right away. But Tabitha’s owner didn’t like Louise visiting. She would say, “Shoo!” and chase him away.
Louise wanted to show Tabitha how much he liked her. He brought her gifts like sardine tins, mice, pigeons, and even balloons! But every time, Tabitha’s owner would say, “Shoo!” and chase him away.
Louise asked his friends for advice. They told him he needed to look like an inside cat. So, Louise came up with a plan. He showed up at Tabitha’s door looking different, and this time, Tabitha’s owner let him in! Louise and Tabitha were finally together, but then the doorbell rang, and Louise had to leave again.
One night, while riding in the fire truck, Louise saw Tabitha in danger! The firefighters rushed to help, and Louise was very brave. He saved Tabitha, and everyone cheered! Tabitha’s owner was so happy and gave Louise a gold medal for being a hero.
Now, Louise and Tabitha are together, and everything is soft, warm, and cozy. They are best friends and have lots of fun. Isn’t that a great story? I love how Louise and Tabitha found a way to be together!
I hope you enjoyed “Louise and Tabitha.” It’s such a fun and silly story. I love how the cats saved the day! Be sure to come back for our next StoryTime. See you soon! Bye!
Animal Observation Walk: Take a walk around your neighborhood or a nearby park with an adult. Look for different types of animals, just like Louise and Tabitha. Can you find any cats? What about birds or dogs? Talk about where these animals live. Are they inside or outside animals? Draw a picture of your favorite animal from your walk and share it with the class.
Role Play Adventure: Pretend to be Louise or Tabitha and act out a scene from the story with your friends or family. You can use simple props like a blanket for a cozy spot or a box for a fire truck. Think about how Louise felt when he saw Tabitha for the first time or how brave he was during the rescue. Share your role play with the class and talk about how it felt to be in the story.
Gift Creation Activity: Just like Louise brought gifts to Tabitha, think of a special gift you could make for a friend or family member. It could be a drawing, a small craft, or even a kind note. Discuss why giving gifts can be a nice way to show you care about someone. Share your gift idea with the class and explain why you chose it.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
—
[Music]
Hello friends! Welcome to StoryTime. My name is Miss Jana, and I am so glad you joined us today because we have a really fun and silly book that I think you’re going to love. It has animals in it, so you can’t go wrong with a book about animals, in my opinion! Are you ready? Today we’re going to read a book called “Louise and Tabitha.” It is written by Stephanie Campesi and illustrated by Holly Mangert, and it’s published by our friends over at Familia. If you would like to learn more about Familia and all of their different books, you can check out the link in our description.
Now, let’s talk about this book. Louise is a charming alley cat, and Tabitha is a sophisticated show cat. Can you guess which one is which from the cover? What do you think? I think we might find out, so let’s keep going!
Now, Louise and Tabitha live in two very different worlds, and their love is thwarted by a thick glass door and Tabitha’s owner. After all, Louise is an outside cat, and Tabitha is an inside cat, and that’s just the way it is. But these two love-struck kitties will do just about anything to be together. For Louise, that may mean even risking his own safety to save the life of the cat that he loves. So let’s dive into this story because it is so fun, and I think you’re going to love it. You might even say it’s perfect!
Let’s check out this book and follow along with these two kitties who come from two different worlds, but they’ll stop at nothing to be together.
Let’s dive in!
Louise was a cat about town—dashing, charming, and perfectly suave. He lived unofficially at the fire station and had since a daring rescue involving a very small Louise, a very shrill smoke alarm, and a very tall house. His tail still had the scorch marks! Oh my goodness, poor Louise!
Louise liked to go visiting, as society cats do. Sometimes he’d travel in the fire truck. Everywhere he went, Louise was welcomed with open arms and leftovers. One night, after too much catnip and too many sardines, Louise was making his rounds when he took a wrong turn. He climbed a wall and saw Tabitha—elegant, silky, perfectly sophisticated. There she was! Louise stopped, and Tabitha stared. It was love—love from afar, love under the spotlight of the moon, love thwarted by a thick glass door and by Tabitha’s owner.
“Shoo!” she cried. “Shoo!” Louise shed, but he wasn’t done. The next morning, Tabitha stared out at a vast bouquet of sardine tins and twine and feathers. Louise smiled, Tabitha smiled, but Tabitha’s owner did not smile. “Shoo!” she cried. “Shoo!” Louise shed, but he wasn’t done.
The next day, he brought mice. The day after that, he brought pigeons, and after that, balloons—which is not easy when you’re a cat! Each day, Louise and Tabitha stared into each other’s eyes until Tabitha’s owner chased Louise away.
Louise needed advice. He asked his friends over a bowl of cream. “You’re an outside cat,” said Mr. Pickles, “and you need to be an inside cat,” said Socks. “Or at least look like one,” said One-Eyed Winky. Louise had an idea!
The next day, Louise showed up at Tabitha’s door once more. Louise smiled, Tabitha smiled, and Tabitha’s owner clutched her hands to her heart and opened the door. Louise was inside, where everything was soft and warm and scratchable, and Louise and Tabitha were inseparable—until the doorbell rang.
“Is this him?” “That’s him!” And Louise and Tabitha were thwarted by the thick glass door once more. Oh no, poor Louise! Louise had a new home, a new name, and a new owner, and all the sardines and cheese he could eat, but all he wanted was Tabitha, and all Tabitha wanted was Louise.
It was love—love from afar, love from far too afar. Then the doorbell rang. “Is this him?” “That’s him!” “And that’s not him!” They looked just like each other! Oh man! And Louise was a cat about town once more.
Louise needed advice. He asked his friends over a bowl of cream. “You’re an outside cat,” said Mr. Pickles, “and she’s an inside cat,” said Socks. “And that’s just the way it is,” said One-Eyed Winky.
So Louise went visiting, as society cats do. He went visiting all across town. Everywhere he went, he was welcomed with open arms and leftovers, and everywhere he went, Tabitha wasn’t. Until one night, Louise was riding in the fire truck when his tail began to tingle. Louise saw Tabitha—elegant, silky, perfectly sophisticated—and in terrible danger!
The sirens began to wail. Everyone outside cried, and the firefighters rushed to help. The crowd was a cloud of arms and shrieks as it gathered on the corner, but there was no Tabitha, and suddenly there was no Louise. The crowd waited and worried, and finally, the gray parted, and from it emerged Louise and Tabitha, leading Tabitha’s owner. The crowd cheered!
Tabitha’s owner plopped down on the curb and clutched her hands to her heart. She looked at Louise and Tabitha and smiled. The cat show judge placed a blue ribbon on Tabitha, and the firefighters placed a gold medal on Louise and declared them both perfectly heroic!
Louise was back inside, where everything was soft and warm and scratchable, and Louise and Tabitha were inseparable. Isn’t that such a great story? Oh, I love Louise and Tabitha! Don’t you?
I love cats and dogs and pets of all kinds, so I love to hear how Louise found his home with Tabitha. Don’t you love this story? It’s so fun, it’s so silly, and I love that the cats saved the day!
Well, I hope you enjoyed “Louise and Tabitha.” I can’t wait to see you again at our next StoryTime. Be sure to come back, and we’ll see you soon! Bye!
Oh wait, wait! Don’t forget, if you like this book, ask your grown-ups to click the link below!
[Music]
—
This version removes any inappropriate or unclear content while maintaining the essence of the story.