The Maine Coons Haiku and Other Poems for Cat Lovers by Michael J. Rosen

The Maine Coons Haiku and Other Poems for Cat Lovers Reviews

• 
  Manybooks

  Now the twenty feline-themed haikus in Michael J. Rosen's The Maine Coon's Haiku: And Other Poems for Cat Lovers are certainly one and all interesting, lyrical, evocatively expressive and do as such they also (in my opinion) totally and sweetly always capture and distill the distinct personalities and behaviour patterns of each of the presented breeds (except I will have to admit that I only really understood the Ragdoll Cat haiku when I read that it is hilariously based on Michael Rosen's own Ragdoll Cat Slinky, who one day and completely out of the blue so to speak, decided to tear up and decimate the leaves of the houseplant under which leaves it had slept many years).
  
  And while I have definitely enjoyed all of the haikus of The Maine Coon's Haiku: And Other Poems for Cat Lovers, I guess that my absolute favourite must be the Birman Cat offering (which just so totally makes me smile, as the presented verses not only makes it seem as though the Birman Cat's solitary fun with knitting wool is like a baseball game but also rather strongly and nostalgically reminds me of many of our own family cats which also usually loved loved loved to play ball with threads and knitting wool). Accompanied by Lee Anthony White's descriptive and lush illustrations (that focus visually on the personalities and characters of the presented cat breeds in every way as tenderly and as imaginatively as do Michael J. Rosen's haikus, with especially the eyes of the twenty felines feeling like one is looking right into their very souls), The Maine Coon's Haiku: And Other Poems for Cat Lovers is in my opinion the perfect poetry book for cat enthusiasts (both young and old). And yes, the only reason I am not ranking The Maine Coon's Haiku: And Other Poems for Cat Lovers with five stars is that while I do appreciate the supplemental factual details and information on each of the featured feline breeds at the back of the book, I really wish that Michael J. Rosen had also included a bibliographical list of suggestions for further study and reading (and yes indeed, it also does tend to bother me just a wee bit that the author does not ever point out in any of his outside cat haikus that felines are really better off inside and that especially stray feral cats can and do often play major ecological havoc with especially native songbird populations).
• 
  Krista the Krazy Kataloguer

  I absolutely loved this book! Rosen writes a haiku for each of 20 breeds of cats, with more information at the back of the book about each breed. The poems are divided by cats that are indoors and cats that are outdoors. My favorite is "Norwegian Forest Cat":
  
  caught among branches
  fog descends the trunk headfirst
  one foot at a time
  
  I love the idea of a cat looking like fog in a tree. So many of these remind me of my own cats. For example, the British shorthair leaving pawprints all over cars reminds me of how I find my car many mornings--and sometimes I get sliding buttprints down the windshield too! And this happens to me all the time:
  
  Abyssinian
  
  curled up on your book
  cat won't care what happens next
  now's the only page
  
  The illustrations by Lee White are perfect. In "American Shorthair" the picture looks almost like my house, except that there are only 10 cats here and I have 15. My favorite picture is of the beautiful white Persian leaving footprints in the snow.
  
  I also learned something interesting from the notes at the back of the book. I have several maneko-neki (Japanese bobtail) statues around the house for good luck. I always wondered why some of them have red spots. Well, they're traditionally thought to be able to perform sorcery, and the color determines how strong that power is. Reddish cats are the most powerful, followed by white-brown-black mixes, and then black-and-white cats. Most of my maneko-neki are of the reddish variety.
  
  This is one book I want a copy of for my collection. So cute! Highly recommended.
• 
  Eden Grey

  Purr-fect for cat-lovers of all ages.
  
  If you or a friend loves cats, you have to read this book. With over a dozen beautiful feline illustrations and accompanying haiku, THE MAINE COON'S HAIKU is a treasure for animal and poetry lovers.
  
  The poems are all in the haiku style, and are well-written. Each haiku is a reflection of the cat breed it accompanies. They also evoke the seasons nature, feelings of playfulness and enjoyment, and many other emotions. Young readers will enjoy the playful words, while older readers will catch the clever references contained within.
  
  The illustrations are a whimsical delight. The individuality of each cat breed shines through the page, with complementary colors in the surrounding land- and house-scapes completing the designs. The cats are expressive and adorable. Readers will love picking out the individual cats in the American Shorthair scene, and determining the extent of the Persian's snowy annoyance.
  
  An appendix with descriptions and histories of each breed complete the book, making it not just a lovely addition to a poetry collection, but a great book for kids who want to learn more about cats.
  
  THE MAINE COON'S HAIKU is a perfect addition to every cat lover's collection.
• 
  Barbi Faye (The Book Fae)

  This is one pretty paged book that could not escape my personal perusal...! As in my household, I have a sweet and mischievous rascal, little cute kitten scamp of a Maine Coon named Mr. Midnight, who is a purr-fect little buddy to a sweet gentleman Ragdoll whose name is Luna, or sometimes Mr. Luna, because of the Mr. in Midnight's name. They have always gotten along purr-fectly; both are black beauties except Luna, who has white paws, whiskers, tummy and a small bib, like the cute gentle man he is! I love them both, especially when I wake up in the morning and they are piled up all on top of me. Cat Pile!!! I could write their haikus for days; so this book was a natural for me to absolutely love; great illustrations! BTW, These cat breeds are huge!
  "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."
  Natch! Read it!
• 
  Deborah

  Poet wrote Haikus to twenty cat breeds accompanied with charming illustrations.
• 
  Sophie

  I have yet to meet a cat poetry book I don't like. Highly enjoyable!
• 
  Amy (Other Amy)

  My two favorites:
  
  Balinese
  
  on the windowsill's
  balance beam, the cat pirouettes
  as the kibble pings
  
  Abyssinian
  
  curled up on your book
  cat won't care what happens next
  now's the only page
  
  Otherwise pretty meh. (Keep in mind that given cats + haiku, my expectation going in was = awesome. If your bar for the fun of cat poetry is a bit lower, you might like this a lot more.)
• 
  Julie

  Perfect collection of haiku about cats - indoor, outdoor, of all different breeds. There's a neat little summary of the breeds in the back for children who want to learn more about each. The digital illustrations are beautiful. Putting this lovely gem on my wish list!
• 
  Edward Sullivan

  Purrrfectly delightful!
• 
  Nicole

  What a delightful book! Very enjoyable with beautiful illustrations. My favorite was the poem about the Abyssinian!
• 
  Dolly

  This book was featured as one of the selections for the
  April 2019 - Haiku poetry books discussion for the
  Picture-Book Club in the Children's Books Group here at Goodreads.
  
  I love cats. And I'm a sucker for just about any book about cats. This book combines haiku poetry about cats with digital illustrations of different breeds. It's good, but not great.
  
  The haikus are interesting, but some seem a bit forced. The pictures capture the overall look of each breed, but often not the personality.
  
  I know that cats love to be outside, but I disliked some of the images (like the Persian outside in the snow or the Manx on the porch rail two stories up). It made me sad for those animals, rather than appreciate the image of the gorgeous animal.
  
  Also, throughout my life, I've had numerous cats, including a Manx and a stray cat that looked like a Persian (no idea of her true pedigree). But the remainder were simply cats that needed a home, either from a neighbor's cat having kittens or from a rescue organization.
  
  I know that many cat breeds are popular and each has unique physical characteristics and personalities that a person may desire to have in a pet. The back of the book, in fact, contains four pages of interesting facts about the history and specifications about each breed mentioned in the book.
  
  But I was a bit dismayed that the book does not capture the importance of rescuing pets, no matter what breed. I suppose any of the cats depicted could theoretically be a rescue, but I would've liked the author state - even for just one of them.
  
  In all, it's a fast read and I liked it. I just didn't love it.
• 
  Meredith _Martin

  POETRY
  
  Being a most dedicated cat-lover, I absolutely loved this book. It was filled with haikus about different cat breeds. Because I am such a cat-fanatic, I was able to see each cat's personality being depicted in the haikus. Each haiku was specifically about one cat breed. I really loved that in the back of the book their is a list of each cat breed mentioned and information about them. When I saw this book in the store, I just knew I would absolutely love it!
  
  I believe that part of being a teacher is showing your students that you are a person. We can do that by allowing our students to get to know us on a more personal level. One way that I have identified that I can do that is by expressing my love for cats! I believe that with the right level of enthusiasm, students will appreciate this book because of the love their teacher has for it. This could be a great introduction to poetry for fifth graders. I could use this book to illustrate that poetry should make you feel something. This book makes me feel very happy and that could be a discussion starter for the students. This book is also great with using onomatopoeias, imagery, and descriptive words. The illustrations that go along with each haiku are especially great! This book would be a great way to tell students that writing has a lot to do with the person who is writing. Writers write about what they know, their favorite things, their opinions, etc. After students understand that poetry and writing is something they can take great ownership over, they begin to fall in love with it. And the heavy cloud that hangs over poetry will begin to let a little sun through.
• 
  Nicole

  The Maine Coon's Haiku: and other poems for cat lovers by Michael J. Rosen
  Illustrated by Lee White
  Candlewick Press, 2015
  Poetry
  56 pages
  Recommended for grades 2+
  
  I love this book! Each poem is about a different breed of cat, with a gorgeous illustration to treat our eyes. I want this book in my classroom! This collection feels so different from Rosen's The Cuckoo's Haiku: and Other Birding Poems. I love little things like: mud daises (muddy paw prints on cars). I brought a copy into school, and a student came up to me with book and hand and said: "I just want to curl up and read this in a quiet and dark room! The setting sun is such a good ending for the book." She then proceeded to tell me about her favorite poem, turned the page and told me that was another favorite, and the one on the next page was a favorite...etc, all while reading aloud favorite lines. That's solid feedback!
• 
  Beverly

  For cat lovers and haiku lovers.
• 
  Shiloah

  This was one of the better Haiku children’s story books we’ve read. Add the theme of cats and it was just perfect.
• 
  Barbara

  I do love kitties. This is a collection of haikus and paintings of cats. It is very charming. I’m a sucker for kitty poetry. I have one of Francesco Marciulano’s cat poetry books. It’s still a fave of mine. The one about them moving and the one where the kitty pokes the human in the nose for food still make me smile. These are haikus about different kind of kitties and one they use the form in interesting ways. Like, the end of the poem goes different places that you didn’t anticipate from the beginning. I can't think of an example right now. The pictures are lovely. I have a few favorite ones. It is an ostensibly a ‘children’s book’ and would be a good way for kids to learn or become familiar with poetry. However, adults can appreciate it too. It also has descriptions of the different kinds of cats at the end of it. When I was younger, like teens, I did a drawing with markers of various cats all in a row. I still have it. It makes me happy. So does this book. It’s endearing and charming. If you’re needing a bright and cheery book in these troublesome times, this is it.
  
  Kitties!!
• 
  Stephanie Bange

  The third installment of Rosen's haiku series, this one centers on 20 different kinds of cats, alternating groups of inside cats, then outside cats, repeat. He follows his 5-7-5 syllable formula for each, giving just enough words and information to get illustrator Lee White going with images to create a visual story.
  
  White's digital 2-page spread illustrations have a classic 1950's retro feel going on, though his color palette swings wildly with color through the fullness of the book. Four pages of backmatter, with a paragraph about each type of cat, help to flesh out the cat breeds.
  
  This could be very useful with examples on how to write poetry for younger students.
  
  Optional purchase for grades 1-4
• 
  Lydia

  A bookful of cats with a haiku poem describing each.

  Whimsical drawings, a single haiku per page, a cat lover's paradise! At the end of the book, the author includes short notes on each of the cat breeds presented origins.

  No content issues.
• 
  Tibia

  3.5. The most simple of Rosen's Haiku books, so children should understand and enjoy. It's my favorite! I also especially enjoy the art of Lee White. "Maine Coon. Crouched before the couch, suddenly, cat has all night for just one sound:. Mouse. "
• 
  Rosie Mujica

  Lots of fun poems that capture the merriment and wonder of our favorite feline friends.
• 
  Anne Bennett

  Darling illustrations accompany the haiku poems about different breeds of cats. I was charmed.
• 
  Melissa

  3.5 stars maybe?