The Maine Coon's Haiku: And Other Poems for Cat Lovers

by Michael J. Rosen, Lee Anthony White (Illustrator)

Overview

In evocative haiku, Michael J. Rosen depicts twenty different breeds of cats—whether mischievous or mysterious, comical or commanding.

Some cats have names that suggest far-off lands, like the Turkish Angora and the Norwegian forest cat. Others allude to places closer to home, such as California’s ragdoll and the Maine coon. Set against Lee White’s graceful illustrations, with intriguing facts about each of twenty breeds at the end, this charming haiku collection for lovers of America’s most popular house pet provides the purr-fect book to curl up with.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763664923
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	03/10/2015
Pages:	56
Product dimensions:	8.12(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.37(d)
Lexile:	NP (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Michael J. Rosen has written and edited dozens of books for children and adults, including the first two books in the Haiku series and Chanukah Lights, illustrated by Robert Sabuda. Many of his books are inspired by his lifelong experience with animals. He lives on one hundred forested acres in central Ohio.

Lee White is the illustrator of several books for children, including The Library Ghost by Carole Boston Weatherford and Sophie’s Fish by A. E. Cannon. Lee White lives in Portland, Oregon.

Editorial Reviews

★ 02/09/2015
Rosen and White follow The Cuckoo’s Haiku and The Hound Dog’s Haiku with 20 haikus devoted to cats, paired with grainy, atmospheric illustrations. Rosen highlights Russian Blues, Birmans, Abyssinians, and more as the book transitions between indoor and outdoor scenes with cats sprawling languidly, on moonlit prowls, tiptoeing through flowers, or in mid-spring. White’s backdrops include the edge of a swimming pool (“sun-baked umbrella/ iced-tea glass sweats, pools—first drip/ wakes the sleeping cat”); a village veranda, which serves as a perch for a Manx to gaze over apricot rooftops; and a country store (“outside the old store/ more strays sun as the screen door/ bangs—bangs shut, again”). Each exquisitely crafted poem and image captures the personalities of the cats, the diversity of settings, and the quiet magic of each moment. Ages 6–9. Illustrator’s agent: Paul Rodeen, Rodeen Literary Management. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

Rosen presents one perfect haiku—five-seven-five with a burst of insight—each on 20 different cat breeds. ... Each poem is paired with a beautiful, digitally created full-color illustration by White... This perfect poetical paean to pussycats makes both a fine gift for a cat lover and an excellent haiku handbook.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

The brevity and poignancy of the haiku format perfectly capture the feline essence in this book of verse.... This attractive, delightful volume will enchant cat lovers and is a great selection for those who want to inject some life into their poetry collections.
—School Library Journal (starred review)

Each exquisitely crafted poem and image captures the personalities of the cats, the diversity of settings, and the quiet magic of each moment.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Often clarifying and enhancing the verse for young readers, White’s digital illustrations combine a sense of spontaneity in line work with strong composition and interesting textures. A worthy companion to Rosen’s The Hound Dog’s Haiku and Other Poems for Dog Lovers
—Booklist

There’s something about cats and haiku that just seems to go together, as noted poet Rosen demonstrates...
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Rosen’s other collections of pet and animal books have been popular with young readers and this adds another volume to the shelf of favorite animal poetry.
—Literacy Daily

This book would add to the poetry section of any library and any student who loves cats will enjoy this book also.
—School Library Connection

From the Publisher

★ 02/01/2015
Gr 1–5—The brevity and poignancy of the haiku format perfectly capture the feline essence in this book of verse. Each spread defines an individual breed, some familiar and others less so, with a deft haiku and an inviting illustration about a brief moment. "American Shorthair" ("outside the old store/more strays sun as the screen door/bangs—bangs shut, again") depicts a slow, warm scene evoking senses of touch, sight, and sound, while "Turkish Angora" ("whooshing down the hall:/Angora, then her all-white/dust devil of hair") creates the feeling of speed and energy, with an image of a blur of white cat leaving fur balls in her wake. With rich colors and detailed, scratchy lines, each illustration uses clever page layouts and line work to convey movement or stillness as the featured cats dictate. Broken into alternating sections of "Inside" and "Outside," the book evokes the mood of the indecisive cat who always wants in—and, just as quickly—back out again. The volume concludes with back matter that provides a little more concrete information about each breed. Fans of the author's other collections, The Cuckoo's Haiku: And Other Birding Poems (2009) and The Hound Dog's Haiku: And Other Poems for Dog Lovers (2011, both Candlewick), will lap this one right up. VERDICT This attractive, delightful volume will enchant cat lovers and is a great selection for those who want to inject some life into their poetry collections.—Julie Roach, Cambridge Public Library, MA

School Library Journal

★ 2014-11-18
A kitty companion to The Cuckoo's Haiku (2009) and The Hound Dog's Haiku (2011).Rosen presents one perfect haiku—five-seven-five with a burst of insight—each on 20 different cat breeds. The poems are split into sections called "Inside," followed by "Outside," then "Inside" and finally "Outside," a pattern any human owned by a cat will recognize. The Zen of the "Abyssinian" is emblematic of the whole collection: "curled up on your book / cat won't care what happens next / now's the only page." Each poem is paired with a beautiful, digitally created full-color illustration by White that sometimes is content to illustrate the poem and other times makes its image more clear, as with "Bombay": "paired shadows prowling / in nightfall, but just two lights / pierce that darkness." The double-page spread shows a black cat and its shadow on a dark cityscape in grays and aqua; the two yellow eyes gleam. Though it looks like there are two cats, the shadow, of course, has no eyes. Backmatter includes a few short paragraphs of information on each breed, ranging from historical to behavioral. Norwegian forest cats love to be handled, for example, and the Scottish fold originates from a single progenitor, born in 1961. This perfect poetical paean to pussycats makes both a fine gift for a cat lover and an excellent haiku handbook. (Picture book/poetry. 7-12)

Kirkus Reviews