Dog & Cat: Concrete Poems & Conversations

by John Grandits, John Grandits (Illustrator)

Overview

CRISIS! 

Dog and Cat find out the family is moving. Dog freaks out. He does NOT want to move. He goes through all the classic stages: denial, anger, bargaining, and depression. Cat tries to get him to acceptance. But Cat is fine—really she is—or is she? Dog and Cat plow through the days until moving. They eat. They nap. They argue. They take care of their owners. But can they figure out how to stop this terrible move? Dog & Cat is told in a series of funny concrete (shape) poems and hilarious conversations. Perfect for any kid, age 9 and up. Or anyone who just wants a fun book.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781637700525
Publisher:	Carus Books
Publication date:	08/13/2024
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x (h) x (d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

JOHN GRANDITS is a poet, typographer, art director, designer & writer. He's written cartoons, articles, humor pieces, fiction and nonfiction for children and adults. Occasionally he's been published. In his previous life he was associated with a number of juvenile publishing ventures including Cricket, Muse and Click magazines, Crown Books for Children and Random House. He has also art directed adult trade and children's textbooks. For a short time, he was owner and publisher of Film and Video News magazine. He was written and designed books, book jackets & covers, brochures, advertisements, periodicals, record jackets, corporate logos (although he hated doing it), posers and, of course, poems. Oddly enough he didn't become funny until he was 55 years old. His ultimate goal is to design the perfectly illegible font and use it for the perfectly unreadable concrete poem.

Editorial Reviews

Along with their human family, Dog and Cat are moving. Immediately, classic emotions emerge: denial, anger, and sadness. Dog freaks out, while Cat tries to help him accept the inevitable. But is Cat really fine? Each of them works to console the other in a charming, sweet, and funny sidebar series of conversations during days of cat napping, eating, chasing squirrels, and supporting their humans, Boy and Girl. Can they figure out how to stop this dreadful move? Only when Cat decides to take action does more chaos ensue. Grandits has artfully crafted a story of tension embedded in concrete poems in order to share the fervor of what it means to move to a new home. His perfect approach is filled with bright colors, squiggly lines, tilting text, and simple graphic line depictions of cat and dog, while the text is flawlessly done in obscure fonts, causing yet more humor as readers must at times shift, tilt, turn, tip, and angle the book to capture the earnest and energetic reactions of a family on the move. VERDICT A heartwarming and nerve-racking poem that accurately portrays one family’s emotional roller-coaster, told in the voices of its feline and canine companions, and a must-have for libraries.

–Lyn Smith, School Library Journal

From the Publisher

★ 04/01/2024

Gr 3–7—Along with their human family, Dog and Cat are moving. Immediately, classic emotions emerge: denial, anger, and sadness. Dog freaks out, while Cat tries to help him accept the inevitable. But is Cat really fine? Each of them works to console the other in a charming, sweet, and funny sidebar series of conversations during days of cat napping, eating, chasing squirrels, and supporting their humans, Boy and Girl. Can they figure out how to stop this dreadful move? Only when Cat decides to take action does more chaos ensue. Grandits has artfully crafted a story of tension embedded in concrete poems in order to share the fervor of what it means to move to a new home. His perfect approach is filled with bright colors, squiggly lines, tilting text, and simple graphic line depictions of cat and dog, while text is flawlessly done in obscure fonts, causing yet more humor as readers must at times shift, tilt, turn, tip, and angle the book in order to capture the earnest and energetic reactions of a family on the move. VERDICT A heartwarming and nerve-racking poem that accurately portrays one family's emotional roller-coaster, told in the voices of its feline and canine companions, and a must-have for libraries.—Lyn Smith

School Library Journal