Cougars Book

Thirty-four concrete poems about our feline friends are paired with colorful, attention-grabbing illustrations in A Curious Collection of Cats. From landing on their feet (in balancing act) to defending their territory (Prickles vs. the Golden Retriever and a tomcat's yard is his kingdom), the cats in Franco's book are true to form, affectionate and destructive by turn. My favorite of the lot is probably A Tree for Samantha:

"Some cats can sense the way you feel - my Sam was one of those.
She knew my sad, my angry, my bummed, my happy-down-to-my-toes.
The older she got, the slower she got - her life came to a close.
To honor her, we bought an oak. It's planted by the rose.
The oak is strong, and it will make good climbing when it grows.
But it will never guess I'm sad and kiss me on the nose."

But each selection in this entertaining picture-book has charm, and the entire collection makes for good read-aloud material. The poems take on the shape of what they describe, in clever designs that will keep young readers occupied, and the deep hues of Michael Wertz's art creates a sense of visual frenzy that is quite appropriate to the topic.