
ABOUT COLFAX MANN & RAT THE CAT

The little snot who made Rat The Cat possible, saluting my parenting, as the neighbor waits to drive her off to her first day of kindergarten.
Colfax Mann and Rat The Cat are not affiliated with any particular sect, denomination, or political party.
My Story:
Hey Now! I'm Colfax Mann, the creator behind Rat The Cat and other books.
Rat The Cat is forty FUN stories using progressive phonics, not to teach a bunch of rules, but as a sensible method for introducing new letter combinations to new readers. Rat The Cat kind of picks up where Sesame Street leaves off. Rat and Dan have adventure after adventure. You can visit the ABOUT RAT THE CAT page and see all the fun stories. All forty stories can be had for free, either as reflowing Epubs or as PDF pages you can print out for coloring and/or reading. I also have the first Rat The Cat chapter book written, "Rat The Cat and the Space Dogs From Planet X-K9," but need to scan it in and edit it. It's fun. In addition I have fun picture books and exciting bedtime books, all written with both the child AND the adult reader in mind. Everything I offer has at least one FREE digital version. I'm getting older and want to see if I can do some good on this planet before I'm gone.
I'm a dad. I created Rat The Cat in the late 90's to help our daughter with her reading, and ended up making 10 booklets for all the students in her first-grade class. When she was in second grade I went to her school to eat lunch with her, and as I and her class marched single-file to the lunchroom we passed another class of second-graders returning from eating. Some of the kids in that class had been in our daughter's first-grade class, and called out to me, "Hey Mr. C... When you gonna make us some more Rat The Cat books?!!" As a frustrated writer who couldn't even get anyone to read my work, much less publish it, I figured, "Hey, this is the only thing I'm creating that customers are asking me for..." I knew I had something good on my hands.
So the wife and I bought a bookletmaker, I wrote all forty stories, made a website and store (it was much harder back then), and we set about making booklets. Problem was, at the time CD-Roms were the technology of the day, and our technology was DECADES behind. I thought my stories were FAR better, and the kids seemed to think so too, but a new digital age was dawning and I couldn't afford to take part monetarily or skill-wise. I realized I'd have to wait until a little working stiff like me had access to cheap technology, and give it a go then. Maybe I was right, or maybe I just gave up. Not sure yet.
I had already stopped submitting books, instead sticking my work inside fireproof safes, so I figured "someday" I'd have a lot to go out to the world with—my books AND Rat The Cat. So I focused on being a good daddy and raising a good kid. Checked that box. She's a fine young human and we gained another super kid in her spouse. We have a great relationship today.
I've had my stumbles along the way, even lost hope, lost faith, and suffered all that comes with that. I think my biggest problem was as our kid got older and needed me less, I found less meaning in life. I lost my way and went from living to see how much I could GIVE in this life, to focusing on how I could GET. Me me me me. But I'm back to work, humbled by the experience, I hope, and I'm also back to seeing how much I can give in this life. It's not that I'm wise, or good, it's just that my life doesn't work at all on the "getting path," while on the "giving path" my life always bloomed with all sorts of beauty in so many unexpected ways. I'm not good, or smart, no, I'm just tired of suffering. Maybe I've learned my lesson. To that end I got all this stuff ready and now I hope that that "someday" I dreamed about is here.
I appreciate your thoughts and support on this journey, maybe we'll even do some good together. I wish you well!
Colfax Mann
ABOUT COLFAX MANN
This book contains a lot of me, if you're interested. It too is available as a free download EPUB.
