Cats Are Cats

Cats Are Cats

Juvenile poetry
"At midnight in the alley
A Tomcat comes to wail,
And he chants the hate of a million years
As he swings his sneaky tail.

Malevolent, bony, brindled,
Tiger and devil and bard,
His eyes are coals from the middle of Hell
And his heart is black and hard..."
Yes, Cats Are Cats, an anthology complied by Nancy Larrick, has
a lot of softer stuff. Karla Kuskin's Pictures of Cats praises the
grace of woman's best friend. Sing a Sing of Kittens by Elizabeth
Coatsworth conjures up charming images of the littlest of fur balls.
There are also down right silly poems. John Ciardi bemoans his
cat's inability to decide whether to be inside or out. In Chang
McTang McQuarter Cat he introduces quite a unique and whimsical
beast. Shelagh McGee's Wanted--A Witch's Cat is an alliterative read
aloud delight.
But even the most coddled, beloved cat has a fierce and
aggressive side. They were hard wired for survival before feline food
became commercially profitable. Dear little Joey is not thinking
aesthetics when he watches birds through his window. As for dumpster
diving, car avoiding alley denizens....
...they're represented too.
Ed Young's illustrations lend a touch of anarchy to the book.
Like our favorite feline friends, they don't properly position
themselves. Some are compact. Many sprawl across a two page spread.
With True you get huge eyes and dainty nose. They all look vividly
alive, caught in motion, and ready to spring off the page.
Read Cats Are Cats...
...if you dare. Bwa ha ha!
On a purrrrsonal note, the Rainbow Resource Center had our last tea
party of the academic year. We discussed summer plans and ways of
staying in touch over summer vacation.
A great big shout out goes out to my Rainbow Resource Center Family
with best wishes for a wonderful summer.
jules hathaway


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