Poetry Friday with a review of Cat Talk

For almost my whole life, I have shared my home with a cat or two (or three or four), and I cannot image being catless. Every single one of my cats has had a distinct personality. Alex was grumpy and did not know how to be a pet at first. Sophie was sweet and incredibly patient. Mini Katie was brave and she always had something to say. Tinka the Tonkinese was a minx who could not be trusted to stay out of trouble. Now I have Sara, who seems standoffish but who actually loves attention, and her incredibly naughty sister, Suma, who has broken more things than all my other cats put together.

Today's poetry title pairs beautiful paintings with poems about cats, who, like humans, are all one-of-a-kind characters.

Cat Talk

Patricia MacLachlan and Emily MacLachlan Charest

Illustrated by Barry Moser

Poetry Picture Book

For ages 6 and up

HarperCollins, 2013, 978-0-06-027978-3

Some people are under the impression that cats are all alike, that they don’t have distinctive personalities. They could not be more wrong. Cats, like people, come is all shapes and sizes both in their looks and in their inner selves.

   In this beautiful book we are going to meet some cats, each one of which is very different. Tough Tom, with his torn up ears, has been living out in the world on his own. He is independent and knows how to take care of himself, but when someone opens a window and when Tough Tom finds out that the person in the house has food and a blanket, Tough Tom has to make a choice. He is scared because he is used to the outdoor life and “fighting with other cats,” but a life of comfort and ease is attractive to that cat.

   Lily is a barn cat who shares her life with cows, horses, and a gray donkey called Rose. It is a good life and she likes the “sweet-smelling hay, / And the breathing of cows / And horse snorts.” Lily has a secret though. She has a best friend and she asks us not to tell anyone about this friend because…she thinks he is “a mouse.”

   Some of the cats we meet on the pages are house cats who get to share their human’s bed, and who rule those humans with a firm paw. Then there is Eddie, who has a job which he takes very seriously. Eddie is an office cat and he goes to “greet people at the office door.” He uses “many voices” to say hello, to ask for snacks, and to comment on and react to things that happens around him.

   Some cats like Sylvie are aloof and make sure that everyone knows that they are “the boss cat.” Others are more like Romeo, loving everyone, asking for attention, and playing with anyone who happens to be available.

   Throughout this book the wonderful poems are paired with Barry Moser’s beautiful and evocative paintings to give readers a delightful cat-centric poetry experience.