Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku

by Lee Wardlaw Narrated by James Yaegashi

Overview

Award-winning author Lee Wardlaw's books have been honored by such prestigious groups as the American Library Association and the Children's Book Council. Using a Japanese form of short poetry that concentrates on humanlike foibles, Won Ton follows a shelter cat as he gets a new home. When the cat, who considers himself a prince of his kind, is given the name Won Ton, he's aghast. ''How can I be soup?'' he asks. But soup or not, Won Ton and his new owner soon find a way to live happily together.

Editorial Reviews

Kristi Jemtegaard

…loving but unsentimental…Eugene Yelchin's sinuous draftsmanship, playful perspectives and sunny palette provide just the right counterpoint to this tale of a cat with attitude to spare.
—The Washington Post

Publishers Weekly

Wardlaw (101 Ways to Bug Your Parents) has a fine understanding of the feline mind, and each 17-syllable poem packs a big impact—especially in the first section, which imagines the emotional life of a cat in a shelter. "Visiting hours!/ Yawn. I pretend not to care./ Yet—I sneak a peek." Warily, Won Ton considers the boy who is his new owner—"Won Ton? How can I/ be soup? Some day, I'll tell you/ my real name. Maybe." In the final pages, boy and cat grow to trust each other, and Won Ton reveals his real name: "Boy, it's time you knew:/ My name is Haiku." Yelchin's (Seven Hungry Babies) sleek cat is all eyes and sharp angles. The Japanese haiku theme (technically, Wardlaw explains in a note, the poems are senryu, focusing on "the foibles of human nature") is carried through with elements and backgrounds lifted from old woodblock prints. The final page, a delicate painting of the boy nuzzling the cat, is a fitting reward for the boy's patience and Won Ton's resilience. A surprisingly powerful story in verse. Ages 4–8. (Feb.)

From the Publisher

Sometimes the full savor of a book only comes through silent absorption. That is manifestly the case with ‘Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku'…Children old enough to read will get the full force of the harmonious combination of Lee Wardlaw's wry verse and Eugene Yelchin's witty illustration.” —Wall Street Journal

“From the front cover on, this nameless shelter cat steals the show, with wide eyes, a sinewy body and a blue-gray coat....The charm of the text is that we see everything anew, from the cat's perspective.” —Chicago Tribune

“Gloriously illustrated by Eugene Yelchin, the story is a beguiling tale of a wary shelter cat and the boy who takes him home. It's an adoption story that's funny, touching, visually exciting and unforgettable.” —Santa Barbara Family Life

“The poignant story of a shelter cat finding a forever home unfolds in haiku verse in this funny, lovely and original picture book…offering a beguiling mix of humor…and emotion—along with a painless lesson in the creative possibilities of this form of poetry.” —Buffalo News

“Perfect pussycat poetry for anyone who has ever loved a shelter cat.” —Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW

“[A]n unforgettable character in a shelter cat whose veneer of cynical toughness masks his vulnerability. Won Ton's sweetly humorous story will steal the hearts of readers young and old.” —School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW

“Both the tightly constructed lines and elegant, playful illustrations unerringly imagine a cat's world, including the characteristic feline seesaw between aloof independence and purring, kneading adoration…[A] wry, heartwarming title that's sure to find wide acceptance in the classroom and beyond.” —Booklist, STARRED REVIEW

“A surprisingly powerful story in verse.” —Publishers Weekly

School Library Journal - Audio

Gr 1–4—A cat sits in a shelter. There are other cats around him, yet he is alone. Will anyone choose him? Yes! But adjustments must be made…mostly by his new owners because, after all, he IS a cat. Wardlaw's book (Holt, 2011) strikes just the right notes. Written in clever and evocative haiku, this delightful story follows Won Ton as he settles into his new home and neighborhood. This cat clearly has personality, and James Yaegashi puts a subtle purr in his voice as he brings the cat to life vocally, changing the pacing of his performance to match the mood changes of the text. Listeners will smile in recognition of the vicissitudes of catdom, and come away feeling as if an errant tail has just flicked past their ankles.—Teresa Bateman, Brigadoon Elementary, Federal Way, WA

School Library Journal

Gr 2–5—Text and illustrations work together to craft an unforgettable character in a shelter cat whose veneer of cynical toughness masks his vulnerability. As he gazes from behind the bars of his cage, he quips: "Nice place they got here./Bed. Bowl. Blankie. Just like home!/Or so I've been told." He's adopted by a boy and his family, driven home ("letmeoutletme/outletmeoutletmeout./Wait—let me back in!"); and given a name: "Won Ton? How can I/be soup? Some day, I'll tell you/my real name. Maybe." Yelchin's superb illustrations, graphite and gouache on watercolor paper, depict an angular blue-black-haired Siamese, capturing all facets of his singular, feisty, and playful personality. Wardlaw relates his tale using a series of senryu, three unrhymed lines similar to haiku; in a note, he explains that the form focuses on "the foibles of human nature—or in this case, cat nature." The book's overall design, with text laid carefully between and around eye-catching, brilliantly composed illustrations, complements the engaging tale. Won Ton's sweetly humorous story will steal the hearts of readers young and old.—Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA

DECEMBER 2012 - AudioFile

Children will enjoy the adventures of a cat named Won Ton as he makes the journey from animal shelter to his new home and from aloofness to caring. This story is written in haiku—actually senryu, a genre that focuses on the foibles of human, but read cat, nature. Wardlaw captures high points in Won Ton’s life, including the moment he is chosen, as well as when he is named, and his enjoyment of the warm napping spot he finds on the stomach of the person he calls “my boy.” James Yaegashi is outstanding in delivering the haiku and in making this audio flow from poem to poem as a story. Within each haiku, he brings auditory delight. He elongates yawns to underscore boredom and changes his tone to one of panic when Won Ton is catnapped for a sister’s tea party. The oft-repeated high-speed refrain “Let me out, let me out, let me back in!” elicits laughter. A.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

In 33 senryu (Japanese poetry similar to and derived from haiku but focusing on human—or, here, feline—foibles instead of nature), Wardlaw relates the tale of a grey shelter cat. In his cage he thinks, "Gypsy on my left. / Pumpkin, my right. Together, / we are all alone." During visiting hours one day, though he takes pains to appear disinterested, the grey cat hopes the boy who rubs his chin just right will selecthim. He does! And after a scary car ride comes the naming. "Buster? Bubba? SPIKE? / Great Rats! Those don't befit an / Oriental prince." Won Ton might be what the boy calls him, but he has a secret name...he won't tell just anyone. Won Ton survives new food, being catnapped and dressed up and a trip to the backyard. And he finally calls the boy's house home. Wardlaw's terse, traditional verse captures catness from every angle, while Yelchin's graphite and gouache illustrations telegraph cat-itude with every stretch and sinuous slink. Perfect pussycat poetry for anyone who has ever loved a shelter cat.(Picture book/poetry. 4-9)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171253622
Publisher:	Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date:	06/15/2012
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	Up to 4 Years

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