How the Cat Swallowed Thunder
by Lloyd Alexander
Illustrated by Judith Byron Schachner

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This book is a pourquoi tale based on the character "Mother Holly," the Earthmother in the Freya saga and a character in the Grimm collections. A readily available Grimm version that may be used with How the Cat Swallowed Thunder is:

Stewig, John Warren. Mother Holly: A Retelling from the Brothers Grimm. Illustrated by Johanna Westerman. North-South Books, 2001.

This book refers to the weather-changing aspect of Mother Holly, but is closer to books like Robert San Souci's The Talking Eggs in plot. Stewig includes a "Reteller's Note" that provides further information on variants he found, some of which may be available in some libraries.

Program Suggestion: Weather Story Hour

Program Suggestion: Apprentice Story Hour, using books such as Tomie De Paola's Strega Nonna and a version of The Sorcerer's Apprentice.

Program Suggestion: "Why Do Cats Do That?" Story Hour
1.) Cat stories from around the world. Use with books such as: Hausman, Gerald and Loretta. Cats of Myth: Tales from Around the World. Illustrated by Leslie Baker. Simon and Schuster, 2000.
2.) Talk about cat behavior. For adult use, there are chapters on cat vocalization in: Morris, Desmond. Catlore. Crown, 1987.
3.) Use with fairy tales about cats, such as a version of Puss in Boots or a version of Grimm's The Cat and Mouse Who Shared a House.

Program Suggestion: Pourquoi Tales Story Hour, using books from a variety of cultures that answer the question "Why?"
Some suggestions are:
Garland, Sherry. Why Ducks Sleep on One Leg. Scholastic, 1993.
McDermott, Gerald. Raven: A Trickster Tale from the Pacific Northwest. HBJ, 1993.
Bodnar, Judit Z. Tale of a Tail. Lothrop, Lee and Shepard, 1998.

Program Suggestion: Popcorn Story Hour, using books such as:
DePaola, Tomie. The Popcorn Book. Holiday House, 1978.
Landau, Elaine. Popcorn. Charlesbridge, 2003.
McCully, Emily Arnold. Popcorn at the Palace. Browndeer, 1997.
Moran, Alex. Popcorn. Illustrated by Betsy Everitt. Green Light (HBJ), 1999.

Program Suggestion: Activities – Jumping on bubble wrap to simulate popping popcorn or finger plays, poetry and other resources such as those found on this web site: http://www.teachersnetwork.org/dcs/homeworkhotline/w8popcorn/ or check these Google "popcorn activities search results:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=popcorn+activities

Program Suggestion: Reader's Theater or "Radio Play"