Pete the Cat
A blue cat who never loses his cool.
Pete the Cat is a fictional cartoon cat created by American artist James Dean. The series began with four books illustrated by Dean and written by Eric Litwin. Since then, James Dean and his wife Kimberly Dean have written and illustrated numerous books in the series.
Quick Facts
- Authors
- Eric Litwin (2008–2012)
- Kimberly Dean (2013–present)
- James Dean (2013–present)
- Illustrator
- James Dean
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Genre
- Picture book, song
- Publisher
- HarperCollins (2010)
- Published
- 2008 (self)
- Followed by
- Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes
Facts from the source article.
Content
The first book, Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes, follows an anthropomorphic blue cat named Pete whose white shoes become dirty after stepping in various substances, but he never loses his cool. Written as a song, its refrain changes with each color of shoe. After stepping in a bucket of water, the colors wash off and his shoes become wet, yet he continues singing. The book was self-published in 2008 and sold 7,000 copies in 10 months before being picked up by HarperCollins, alerted by a YouTube meme of two young girls reading it. It rose to number 8 on the New York Times Best Seller list for picture books. There have been 87 Pete the Cat books published.
Author and illustrator
Eric Litwin, an American storyteller and musician from Atlanta, wrote the story and song for the first book, using a character devised by James Dean, an Atlanta artist who drew Pete in 1999 and self-published The Misadventures of Pete the Cat in 2006. Their partnership ended in 2012 due to creative differences. James Dean and his wife Kimberly Dean continue to write and illustrate the series, now over 60 books.
Adaptations
The first Pete the Cat animated special, A Groovy New Year, debuted on Amazon Prime in late December 2017. Jacob Tremblay voiced the blue feline, while Elvis Costello and Diana Krall played his parents. Phineas and Ferb co-creator Jeff "Swampy" Marsh developed the series that followed in September 2018, based on the books. That November brought a Christmas special, A Very Groovy Christmas, with guest voices from Dave Matthews and Jason Mraz. Season one's second half arrived in August 2019. A Valentine's Day special, A Very Groovy Valentine's Day, appeared in February 2020. For season two, Marsh and KT Tunstall took over as Pete's parents. The first part of that season launched in June 2020, followed three days later by a hand-washing PSA. The second part came in November 2020. A back-to-school operetta special aired in August 2021. Season two's third part dropped in November 2021, with the fourth and final part arriving in March 2022. TheatreWorksUSA has produced two stage musicals based on the character.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who published Pete the Cat?
Pete the Cat was published by HarperCollins (2010).
Which book follows Pete the Cat?
Pete the Cat is followed by Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes.
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