Praise for What Cats Think
"This book perfectly encapsulates everything that is elegant and enigmatic, sinister and sassy in feline behavior....These verses will work well when teaching children that poetry comes in many forms, not just rhyming couplets....The rhythmic text and dynamic art will delight all readers, but cat lovers will take extra pleasure in the quintessentially feline traits celebrated in this book."—School Library Journal
"Are cats capable of poetry? They are in this volume...Color pours off each page in van Hout’s vibrant, bold illustrations—a mix of acrylic ink, oil pastels, and gouache. Her felines expressively embody Spray’s emphatic free verse, which authentically gives voice to cats’ changeable emotions."—Publishers Weekly
“Evocative, whimsical art portrays a wide array of cats exhibiting various activities, behaviors, and moods, and in lively free-verse poems, they individually explain the motivations behind them….van Hout’s art takes center stage in this imaginative picture book feline aficionados especially will enjoy.”—Booklist
“Rating: E…Fun to say words and phrases (slobbery, slathering kitty-eaters describe dogs) and bright large drawings of cats will make the verses appealing to young listeners.”—Resource Links
“[A] delightful tribute to domestic felines....Readers need not be cat lovers to thoroughly enjoy this book. What Cats Think is fun, imaginative and loaded with personality! Highly Recommended.”—CM Magazine
“Colorful, expressive pictures of cats are accompanied by brief text.”—Kirkus Reviews
“With What Cats Think, Mies van Hout and John Spray have given us the context for cats’ looks and sounds that will remind us of the depth of feline reasoning and expression. It’s not surprising to many that cats have been celebrated and worshipped throughout history and it’s best we not forget this.”—CanLit for LittleCanadians
“There is much to pore over in What Cats Think and I enjoy that it doesn’t necessarily have a linear direction to it: that means that whether a reader is absorbed by the artwork, or particular cats, or particular poems- Spray’s poems are whimsical and should be hugely appealing to younger and older readers!- or whether a reader wishes to enjoy the picture book beginning to end, the story simply works.”—Fab Book Reviews
“[Mies van Hout’s] wonderful, warm and witty mixed media artwork bless the pages of this fascinating book....John Spray’s free verse text celebrates the cats presented. Each turn offers a double page spread with featured feline accompanied by tremendous variety in tone and temperament....You don’t have to love cats to love this book. It’s a charmer!”—Sal’s Fiction Addiction
“What a great way to have kids both explore their own emotions and relate to animals in their lives.”—Canadian Bookworm
10/01/2019
Gr 1–4—Anyone who has spent time with a cat is well acquainted with their mannerisms. This book perfectly encapsulates everything that is elegant and enigmatic, sinister and sassy in feline behavior. Free-verse poems provide glimpses into the minds of cats, always with a clever, subtle sense of humor. These verses will work well when teaching children that poetry comes in many forms, not just rhyming couplets. The illustrations are simply gorgeous, with each spread showcasing a single vibrantly hued cat in different poses that perfectly complement the text. The pouting cat that got in trouble for taking turkey off the counter is giving readers the cold shoulder. The haughty princess is looking down her aristocratic nose. The angry cat (beware of throwing away a beloved scratching post) is shown with glowing red eyes and spiky black hair standing on end. The emotion in the verse is palpable in the coordinating illustration. VERDICT The rhythmic text and dynamic art will delight all readers, but cat lovers will take extra pleasure in the quintessentially feline traits celebrated in this book.—Alyssa Annico, Youngstown State University, OH
2019-06-23
Colorful, expressive pictures of cats are accompanied by brief text.
Each double-page spread features a feline portrait. From a swirly green, blue, and yellow cat stretching ecstatically to a cozy, curled-up kitty in warm shades of pink, red, and orange, 20 different cats are featured. The vivid artwork dominates. Bright hues, scribbly lines, and high-contrast backgrounds combine to create pictures that pop, and the relatively large trim size adds to their impact. The accompanying words, unfortunately, fail to match the illustrations' intensity. They are written in a repeating pattern that includes the title, four lines/phrases, and (usually) a single word as the fifth and final line. Some are convincingly catlike. One cat's angry diatribe over a thrown-away scratching post and another sly cat's plan to pin the pet fish's demise on the dog both seem believable and offer a hint of humor. Others depict situations that feel predictable, preachy, or even confusing: Why does one hearth-loving old cat claim to have 20 lives? Changes in type and font size as well as multiple exclamation points and ellipses are presumably meant to indicate emphasis but make for a too-busy read. The paintings were apparently originally published with poems by five different authors in the book's original, Dutch edition; Spray's text is original to this Canadian import.
Arresting illustrations and prosaic observations don't quite make a coherent whole. (Picture book. 5-9)
