When a Cat Lover Writes Dog Haiku Poems
Lee Wardlaw | The Children’s Book Review | April 6, 2015
To write it, it took three months; to conceive it – three minutes;
to collect the data in it – all my life.
– Anonymous
I know cats. My first spoken word was ‘kitty’. At age six, I adopted my first kitten. Since then, I’ve shared my home with 30 folks of the feline persuasion. (Not all at the same time, of course!) And I’m a card-carrying member of the Cat Writers’ Association. So creating Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku was catnip to me: easy to pounce on, play with, and write rhapsodic about.
Not so with Won Ton and Chopstick: A Cat and Dog Tale Told in Haiku.
I’ve never owned a dog. Growing up, I knew only two: Sheba, the grumpy, elderly German Shepherd from next door who nipped at me when I attempted to sell her owner Girl Scout Cookies; and Coco, the frenzied miniature poodle with rheumy eyes who belonged to my best friend’s grandma. She would wee-wee on the carpet if you even thought about glancing at her. (Coco, not Grandma.)
Don’t get me started on strangers’ canines. (Why do their snouts always make a beeline for my crotch? I bathe. Girl Scout’s honor!)
So before I could write Won Ton and Chopstick, I actually had to do research. On dogs.
I visited lonesome pups at our local animal shelter. I talked to Friends with Dogs. I interviewed a certified animal behaviorist.
What I learned is this: dogs and cats are surprisingly similar in many ways. Here are two examples from Won Ton and Chopstick:
I play with balls, too!
But much smaller, less slobber.
And I never fetch.
Great Rats! It’s only
thunder! Who knew you were a
scaredy cat? (Like me!)
Oh, sure. Cats are self-cleaning. Dogs must be groomed. Cats speak only when they have something important to say. Dogs are happy to yip, yelp, and yowl at the drop of a mailman’s hat.
But both species—just like human siblings—feel the indignation of perceived unfairness . . . the fear of replacement . . . the heat of jealousy . . . and the loneliness that comes from uncertainty of where one stands in the family.
They also love their people.
So it seems I know a lot more about dogs than I thought. As Won Ton puts it:
Some parts of woof I
will never understand. But…
practice makes purrfect.
=^..^=
About the Author
Lee Wardlaw is the author of 30 books for young readers, including Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku, recipient of the Lee Bennett Hopkins Children’s Poetry Award, the Myra Cohn Livingston Award for Poetry, and the Purina/Fancy Feast “Love Story” Award. She lives in Santa Barbara with her family and her dog-disdaining cat, Papaya.
PawsToRead.com | Facebook | Twitter
Won Ton and Chopstick: A Cat and Dog Tale Told in Haiku
By Lee Wardlaw; Illustrated by Eugene Yelchin
Publisher’s Synopsis: Won Ton has a happy life with his Boy, until…
Ears perk. Fur prickles.
Belly low, I creep…peek…FREEZE!
My eyes full of Doom.
A new puppy arrives, and nothing will be the same.
Told entirely in haiku and with plenty of catitude, the story of how Won Ton faces down the enemy is a fresh and funny twist on a familiar rivalry.
Ages 4-8 | Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. | 2015 | ISBN-13: 978-0805099874
Available Here:
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Fun Stuff
Activity Kit for Won Ton and Chopstick:
http://www.leewardlaw.com/PDF/
Teacher’s Guide for Won Ton and Chopstick:
http://www.leewardlaw.com/PDF/
Book Giveaway
Enter to win a copy of WON TON–WON TON: A CAT TALE TOLD IN HAIKU and WON TON AND CHOPSTICK: A CAT AND DOG TALE TOLD IN HAIKU, by Lee Wardlaw and illustrated by Eugene Yelchin. Giveaway ends May 5, 2015, at 11:59 P.M. PST. Enter here»
Discover more books like Won Ton and Chopstick: A Cat and Dog Tale Told in Haiku, by Lee Wardlaw, by checking out our reviews and articles tagged with Haiku For Kids, National Poetry Month, and Writing Haiku.
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