Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats

I received this book from someone who spoke of it with stars in her eyes. For this person, it was a real gem that she never got tired of, even after dozens of re-readings. And without having had a monumental crush like her, I can understand what she means.

What it is

Poems written in the 1930s by T.S. Eliot and illustrated by Nicolas Bentley, all about our best friends the cats. 🐱

These are the kind of poems we could read to our children before bedtime. Each one is only two or three pages long, they are delightful to read aloud, and they are a lot of fun. For example, here are the first few lines:

The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,

It isn’t just one of your holiday games;

You may think at first I’m as mad as a hatter

When I tell you, a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.

First of all, there’s the name that the family use daily,

Such as Peter, Augustus, Alonzo or James,

Such as Victor or Jonathan, George or Bill Bailey –

All of them sensible everyday names.

[…]

We are immediately charmed, aren't we? It reads so well, and so quickly. You meet a dozen cats, and it's already over.

Impressions

Charmed within seconds, no good reason to stop, I kept a smile on my face until the end. If only I had English-speaking children: I would have loved to read it to them. Instead, I read it to my cats. It was very good too.

It is unfortunately not available on leslibraires.ca, so I give you the Amazon link. I will have tried!