Book excerpt: Pickles the cat is adopted by the local firehouse and works hard to be a good fire cat, even helping out in a rescue! This instructional guide for literature was created to support this story and will encourage early readers to explore the text and analyze Pickles' hard work and ambition by completing a variety of activities and lessons. The challenging activities and lessons in this guide work in conjunction with the text to teach students how to analyze and comprehend story elements in complex literature. Students can practice close reading, improve text-based vocabulary, and determine meaning through text-dependent questions. This guide is the perfect resource to support Common Core Learning Standards and add rigor to your students' exploration of rich, complex literature.