Module 14: A Curious Collection of Cats

Book summary:

This book contains 32 poems about cats, with colorful illustrations. Each page is a different poem, except for one poem which takes up two pages.

APA reference:

Franco, B. (2009). A curious collection of cats. Berkeley, CA: Tricycle Press.

My Impressions:

This is a really fun book of poetry. I am not usually a great fan of poetry, but I did really like this. I think children would like it very much also. The illustrations are bright and colorful, and the words are part of the illustration. The poems also generally rhyme, which I think will also appeal to children. Often the way the words are drawn creates a sense of motion, and the words are sometimes woven into the drawing in a way that moves the reader’s eye through the page.

The poems really capture the personality quirks of cats. Cat lovers of all ages will enjoy these poems: cats hiding under the blankets, sleeping like royalty on the clean laundry, and coughing up hairballs. Most of the poems are very cheery and lighthearted. There is one poem that is a lovely tribute to a cat that is gone; it is very well done and gives a sense of what the cat was like in its life.

I think the drawings and the poems work together beautifully to make a very fun and emotional experience. Children will be drawn to the lively illustrations and the simple poems; adults (especially cat lovers) will find it just as delightful.

Professional Reviews:

Lemple, S. D. (2009, May/June). [Review of the book A curious collection of cats, by B. Franco]. Horn Book Magazine 85(3), p. 314-315. Retrieved from http://hbook.com/

In an ideal match of subject and form, poet Franco uses the sinuous shapes and playful motions of cats to distill the essence of felines in all their grace and ridiculousness. Each of the thirty-two concrete poems is a mini-depiction of a particular cat, as in "Veronica Goes Wide": "Veronica's gotten so pudgy / and PLUMP, / she now mostly acts like a snug-gable / lump"; the poem is written across the yellow cat, with the M in lump formed from her ears. Cats interact with dogs, with squirrels, with one another, and with people in a variety of funny ways, but Franco uses words so precisely to capture cats' behavior that cat-lovers will feel a shock of recognition. Cat-haters may, too, as Franco lays bare the less-charming aspects of life with cats, as in "cat haiku 1" ("Tuna fish dinner / Kitty washes down her meal / sips from toilet bowl") and the self-explanatory "that cat peed on my hat." Wirtz's illustrations, mono-prints adjusted in Adobe Photoshop, keep the words that wrap and weave around the cats readable while still creating visual interest in the backgrounds. Together, poet and artist convey the silliness of cats and their humans without ever being silly themselves.

Pfeifer, T. (2009, April). [Review of A Curious Collection of Cats by T. Pfeifer]. School Library Journal 55(4), p. 147. Retrieved from http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/

Gr 3-6-Franco understands the nuanced world of the fluffy, fractious, and faithful feline friend. Thirty-two unusual, concrete poems, one per page with a single exception, are matched by Wertz's monoprints. The words move in several directions and sometimes inhabit multiple objects. The poems are so embedded within the illustrations that it is hard to imagine them without the artwork; they are virtually inseparable. In a print of a cat licking its neck, its exceptionally long tongue is created out of words. Readers following the poem will find they are forced to turn the book to the side, and may crane their own necks, experiencing an odd identification with the activity of the cat. The poem "Princess" uses arrows as part of the illustrated content to keep readers on the language path as "Princess paces down and up" awaiting her supper. At times, the path isn't obvious, but youngsters delight in solving puzzles, and these are merely little challenges that prove fun to master. In "Hot Daze," a red devilish arrow points to the poem's beginning. Among the various subjects are fat cats, shy cats, a kitty who. "sips from toilet bowl," and a polydactyl cat with "poofy fur" and "prissy looks." Cat lovers will recognize their felines stretching, purring, and napping. This collection would pair nicely with Sharon Creech's Hate That Cat (HarperCollins, 2008).
Teresa Pfeifer, Alfred Zanetti Montessori Magnet School, Springfield, MA

Library Uses:

This book would work well in a display of children’s books. The cover is so colorful and bright, it would attract attention to the display and draw people in. It would be good to set up a display during National Poetry Month (usually April), and put it up with a selection of other poetry books for children.