John Archibald (in the book as well as in real life) is a big, important part of the yard.
Kid books can get cute and a-d-o-r-a-b-l-e. Garfield says cute rots the intellect. Don't forget the name of the cat! You pick up cats the wrong way and they stop being adorable...they become Scratch.
People say this is (for students in) second or third grade. Some say preschool. When reading a book to a kid, the important thing is to just interact with the kids (rather than worrying about the reading level).