C is for Cat, D is for Dog: Em Lynas introduces her animal alphabet books
About Author
Em Lynas's adorable alphabet books, C is for Cat and D is for Dog, will have children rolling, bouncing, cuddling and crouching their way through the alphabet as they read along with these gorgeous cats and dogs!
Em Lynas is a children's author with a love of silly poetry and nonsense rhymes. She has been a primary school teacher and an educational publisher and is now an author of funny picture books.
She lives by the seaside on the North East coast with her husband, Geoff, and although she did have pets when her children lived at home; hamsters, guinea pigs, a rabbit and a jar of stick insects, she is currently petless.
Interview
October 2026
C is for Cat, D is for Dog: Em Lynas introduces her animal alphabet books
Em Lynas's adorable alphabet books, C is for Cat and D is for Dog, will have children rolling, bouncing, cuddling and crouching their way through the alphabet as they read along with these gorgeous cats and dogs!
In our Q&A with the master of rhyming text Em Lynas, who is also a former teacher, we find out what inspired her alphabet books and what you'll find in their pages, and we ask how Em would use the books with children if she were still in the classroom.
More about C is for Cat and D is for Dog. Review: "Full of feline fun, humour and charm, it’s a delightful celebration of all things cat - and the rhyme was definitely a highlight for me!" - Linda, ReadingZone
Q&A with Em Lynas: Learning the alphabet with C is for Cat and D is for Dog
"Children are natural rhymers and players with words which is why they have
so much fun with rhyming texts."
1. Hello Em, thank you for joining us on ReadingZone to talk about your alphabet books, C is for Cat and D is for Dog. As a former teacher, do your experiences in the classroom inform the kinds of books you write?
Reading to a classful of reception children every day has definitely influenced my style and my love of
picture books, especially rhyming picture books. I love the way children interact with them and respond to the rhymes and rhythms and emotions of the stories.
The children's favourite books were funny books they could join in with, books with rhyme and rhythm and anticipation, they loved a shout out, or an escalation of emotion. But also quieter books that focused on story.
2. Your new picture book, C is for Cat, is an alphabet book with a difference - can you tell us more about it?
C is for Cat is an alphabet book about a day in the life of cats, from waking till the end of the day. The focus is mostly on the actions that cats make from pouncing and snatching to wrecking the Xmas tree.
3. There are a LOT of different cats in your latest book - but was it hard to find 26 different breeds? Any favourites among Sara Ogilvie's brilliant cat illustrations?
Luckily I didn't have to provide a list of 26 different cats! That was all down to Sara. I think my favourite is the Bengal. We have a Bengal near us and it's just like watching a little tiger prowling the streets.
4. For dog lovers out there, C is for Cat follows on from D is for Dog. What inspired the original story - and which would you have in your home, dogs or cats?
The original D is For Dog was a poem about a day in the life of a boy! Then I changed it to a dog. Then Nosy Crow said, What if we make it ALL dogs! Which was a brilliant idea because people might see their own dog in the book. But lot of people love cats and their nature is very different from dogs, so there was a lot of behaviours to explore in C is for Cats.
It would definitely be dogs for me, though. They remind me of my childhood and my Granddad, who always had dogs, so I grew up loving them and have lots of very fond memories of one particular Labrador named Jet. The only pets I've cared for have been my children's pets: hamsters, Guinea Pigs, rabbits and stick insects.
5. We love the rhyming text in each of these stories - why do you choose this for your picture book texts, and how long does it take to get it right?
I find it tricky to write prose, rhyme just comes naturally probably because of the time spent with Reception children. My favourite is B is for bounce because of the energy of the Bengal.
6. What about encouraging children's love of rhyme, and writing rhymes. How would you get the children started in this?
Reading rhyming books. Pausing at each rhyme and letting them fill in the gap. Children are natural rhymers and players with words which is why they have so much fun with rhyming texts - anticipating the rhymes so they can join in. The more they read, or are read to, the more they’ll rhyme. Using toys that rhyme, being silly and making up words that rhyme can be great fun too.
7. Given your classroom experience, can you suggest activities to take C is for Cat and D is for Dog further with young children, especially if they are still learning the alphabet?
I've tried to make the book interactive, so I hope a reading of the book creates a noisy and active classroom with children barking or meowing and doing the actions. Total chaos!
Depending on the age group I would suggest . . .
- An active class activity of children coming up with other actions.
- Do a class alphabet book or display using other animals.
- An individual book based on their own pet or imaginary creature. Maybe an alien or a mythological creature.
8. For children who enjoy these stories, can you suggest which of your other picture books they might enjoy?
Any of the books with illustrator Matt Hunt. The Cat and the Rat and the Hat, The Goat and the Stoat and the Boat, and The Bear and the Hare and the Fair.
9. What do you enjoy most about being an author?
Creating books that are fun to read out loud over and over again, I don't want to bore the parents!
10. And what are your favourite escapes from writing new books?
Spending time with my young grandchildren who are both the perfect age for testing my new ideas! I enjoy painting but to be honest I'm mostly thinking about books or reading books whatever I'm doing.
Creative Challenge from Em Lynas:
I think Sara Ogilvie's illustrations are amazing, there's so much variety in the movement, so children could try drawing an animal moving in different ways or look at the different facial expressions and have a go at drawing attitudes.
C is for Cat
D is for Dog
