Hi, everybody.
I'm Cylin Busby.
I'm the author of The Bookstore Cat.
This is the story of a rather round marmalade colored cat.
He wears a bow tie.
He lives in a bookstore.
He thinks he works in the bookstore.
But I'm gonna let you decide after we read the book,
exactly how much work he's getting done.
This book is based on an old Victorian parlor game.
And when we get to reading the story, I'm wanna teach you how to play the game.
All you need in order to play the game is a little bit of knowledge about your ABCs.
So let's get right into it.
Here he is the bookstore cat.
The bookstore cat is an adorable cat.
The bookstore cat is a bossy,
very bossy, but cuddly cat.
The bookstore cat is a darting cat,
an excited cat, a friendly cat.
The bookstore cat is a gorgeous cat.
Though, of course, he's also a humble cat.
An intelligent cat.
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And a jealous cat.
Somebody doesn't like dogs very much I'd say.
Sometimes he acts like a kittenish cat.
But he is always a loyal cat.
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The bookstore cat is a mysterious cat.
When he's not a naughty cat.
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He knows how to be an obedient cat.
Or very, very patient cat.
Like during story time at the bookstore.
The bookstore cat is a quick cat.
And a royal cat.
And the sleepy, oh-so-sleepy cat.
After a nap, he's a thirsty cat.
Uh-oh, the bookstore cat is an underwater cat.
And a vocal cat.
The bookstore cat is a waiting,
waiting, waiting cat.
Pounce, he's as xenops-chasing cat.
The bookstore cat is a yucky cat, ew.
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By closing time, he's a zigzag cat.
Checking out every corner of the bookstore to make sure everything's right back to
where it should be.
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The bookstore cat is all of these, from A to Z.
But, most important of all, he is the bookstore cat.
And that's the bookstore cat.
Written by me, Cylin Busby, and illustrated by Charles Santoso.
So as I mentioned before this book is based on an old Victorian parlor game.
When I say the word parlor game, a parlor is just a fancy word for
your den or your living room.
And parlor games were games that were played before.
There were things like board games, like monopoly or, dice games, or cards even.
When people had to be sort of inventive and
come up with things that they could play without a whole bunch of extra stuff.
So for this game, you really don't need anything except for
your knowledge of the ABCs.
So the game is played much like the book where you describe a minister's cat or
a bookstore cat if you want, using adjectives and
adverbs in alphabetical order.
The bookstore cat is an adorable cat.
The bookstore cat is a beautiful cat.
The bookstore cat is a charming cat.
And then if somebody in the group can't think of something
that starts with a D, then they're out.
Usually sit in a circle and go around in a circle and everybody takes one letter.
And if you want to complicate things even further,
there's a clapping rhythm that goes with the game.
And I'll teach you that right now.
So the clapping rhythm for
the minister's cat is you tap your lap and then clap your hands.
So it goes like this.
The minister's cat is an angry cat.
The minister's cat is a beautiful cat.
The minister's cat is a charming cat.
The minister's cat is a dangerous cat.
The minister's cat is a what comes after d?
No, I'm out.
[LAUGH] So if you're out, it goes to the next person.
And they have to come up with something that starts with that letter.
Or they're also out.
And you keep playing until everyone's out, there's only one person left.
Or you can make up your own rules and play any which way you want.
This game has been played for hundreds of years.
And people in different families play it in all different ways.
Anyways, that is the minister's cat.
And with this book, The Bookstore Cat, after you've read it through once,
you can go through and play the game with the cat with the.
You can go through and play that play the minister's cat with this book.
If you wanna reinvent the adjectives that we use here like instead of
calling him an adorable cat, you could call him an angry cat.
Instead of calling him a bossy cat, you could call him a boisterous or
a beautiful cat.
Feel free to make up your own story about this cat using adjectives and
adverbs in alphabetical order however you want to.
That's The Bookstore Cat.
I hope you enjoyed it.
And I hope you'll try to play the minister's cat with your friends
and family.
Thanks so much for having me at story time.
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