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The Kids in Mrs. Z's Class: Theo Chang Is Not a Cat

By Kate Messner and Mike Jung
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Brief Description
Meet the kids in Mrs. Z's wacky and wonderful third grade class! Theo Chang is thrilled his family adopted a new cat, but the cat is less thrilled about his new home. Can Theo find a way to befriend the kitty before his family gives up... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$3000

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Meet the kids in Mrs. Z's wacky and wonderful third grade class! Theo Chang is thrilled his family adopted a new cat, but the cat is less thrilled about his new home. Can Theo find a way to befriend the kitty before his family gives up and takes him back to the shelter?

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Meet the kids in Mrs. Z's wacky and wonderful third grade class! Theo Chang is thrilled his family adopted a new cat, but the cat is less thrilled about his new home. Can Theo find a way to befriend the kitty before his family gives up and takes him back to the shelter?

Theo Chang loves Trainwhistle, his family's newly adopted cat. There's just one problem: Trainwhistle does not love Theo. Although he's a lovey-dovey lap cat with humans, Trainwhistle is very rough with other cats. And for some reason, he clearly thinks Theo is another cat. Chased around the apartment and bitten on the ankle by the ferocious feline, Theo doesn't know what to do!

Too embarrassed about getting beaten up by his own cat, Theo can't ask his best friend Memo for advice, but when his parents start talking about returning Trainwhistle to the shelter, he realizes time is running out. Can Theo convince Trainwhistle he's a boy, not a cat, before it's too late?

Both sweetly poignant and laugh-out-loud funny, with black-and-white illustrations by Pura BelprΓ© Honor artist Kat Fajardo, Theo Chang welcomes readers into Mrs. Z's class where friendship and fun rule the school.

Perfect for!

  • My Weirdtastic School fans
  • Reluctant readers
  • Classroom read-alouds
  • Andrew Clements fans
  • Cat lovers!
  • Families who've adopted a pet

Read them all! The Kids in Mrs. Z's Class have plenty of stories to share!

  • Emma McKenna, Full Out (#1)
  • Rohan Murthy Has a Plan (#2)
  • Poppy Song Bakes a Way (#3)
  • The Legend of Memo Castillo (#4)
  • Wyatt Hill Brings a Lizard to School (#5)
  • Ayana Ndoum Takes the Stage (#6)
  • Olive Little Gets Crafty (#7)
  • Synclaire Fields Knows the Score (#8)
  • Theo Chang Is Not a Cat (#9) - available for preorder now!
  • Thunder Nelson Does the Impossumble (#10) - available for preorder now!
  • Sebastian Metzger Solves a Sticky Situation (#11) - available for preorder now!
  • Fia Hosein Finds Her Beat (#12) - available for preorder now!

The Kids in Mrs. Z's Class is an innovative series where every book is written by a different all-star author and features a different kid in the same third-grade class. They can be read in any order!

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781523532896

Publisher: Workman Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 27 November 2025

Country: United States

Imprint: Workman Publishing

Illustration: B&W illustrations

Contributors:

  • Illustrated by Kat Fajardo

Audience: Children

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 12.0mm

Width: 138.0mm

Height: 196.0mm

Weight: 117g

Pages: 128

Collections

Children's Books Children's Fiction Children's Picture Books Children’s, Teenage and Educational Kate Messner Mike Jung

About the Author

Mike Jung is the author of Geeks, Girls, and Secret Identities, Unidentified Suburban Object, and The Boys in the Back Row. He is a library professional by day and a writer and ukulele player by night, and he was a founding member of the #WeNeedDiverseBooks team. He lives in Oakland, California, with his family. He invites you to visit him online at mikejung.com.Kat Fajardo (they/she) received a Pura Belpre Honor for Illustration for their first graphic novel, Miss Quinces (published in Spanish as Srta. Quinces). Born and raised in New York City, Kat now lives in Austin, Texas, with their pups, Mac and Roni. They invite you to visit them at katfajardo.com.

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