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Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku [Hardcover]

Lee Wardlaw , Eugene Yelchin
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)

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Book Description

February 15, 2011 4 - 8 years
Sometimes funny, sometimes touching, this adoption story, told entirely in haiku, is unforgettable.

Book Details:
  • Format: Hardcover
  • Publication Date: 2/15/2011
  • Pages: 40
  • Reading Level: Age 4 and Up

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Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku + GUYKU: A Year of Haiku for Boys
Price for both: $25.89

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Product Description

Nice place they got here.

Bed. Bowl. Blankie. Just like home!

Or so I've been told.

 

Visiting hours!

Yawn. I pretend not to care.

Yet -- I sneak a peek.

 

So begins this beguiling tale of a wary shelter cat and the boy who takes him home.

Sometimes funny, sometimes touching, this adoption story, told entirely in haiku, is unforgettable.


A Look Inside Won Ton
(Click on Images to Enlarge)



From 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 (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Product Details

  • Age Range: 4 - 8 years
  • Hardcover: 40 pages
  • Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR); First Edition edition (February 15, 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0805089950
  • ISBN-13: 978-0805089950
  • Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 7.7 x 0.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #139,309 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lee Wardlaw swears that her first spoken word was 'kitty'. Since then, she's shared her life with close to 30 cats (not all at the same time!) and published close to 30 books for children, tweens and teens, selling more than one million copies world-wide.

Lee's newest books include: WON TON - A CAT TALE TOLD IN HAIKU (Holt, illustrated by Eugene Yelchin), recipient of the 2012 Lee Bennett Hopkins Children's Poetry Award and the 2012 Myra Cohn Livingston Children's Poetry Award, among others; RED, WHITE AND BOOM! (Holt, illustrated by Huy Voun Lee), a CCBC Best Books of the Year and a Parents' Choice Award "Recommended" Book; and 101 WAYS TO BUG YOUR FRIENDS AND ENEMIES (Penguin), winner of the Forward National Literature Award for Humor.

Lee grew up in Santa Barbara, CA, where she attended Cold Spring Elementary, Santa Barbara Junior High and Santa Barbara High school. She graduated with honors from Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo, with a degree in education, and taught elementary school for five years before deciding to write full-time. Lee earned her AMI Primary Diploma from the Montessori Institute of San Diego, and will receive her M.Ed. from Loyola University, Maryland, in 2014. She has 30+ years experience presenting lively and interactive writing programs in grades K through 8th. Since 1988, she has also taught a variety of workshops and classes for educators, librarians, parents and aspiring writers.

Lee's books have been honored by the American Library Association, the International Reading Association, the Children's Book Council, the National Council of the Social Studies, the National Council of Teachers of English, Bank Street College of Education, the International School Librarians Association, and more. She is an active member of the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators, and belongs to the Author's Guild, the California Reading Association, the Children's Literature Council of Southern California, the North American Montessori Teachers Association, Association Montessori Internationale and, yes, even the Cat Writers' Association.

Lee lives in Santa Barbara, CA, with her husband, teenage son, and three former cats.

To learn more about Lee and her books, visit: http://www.leewardlaw.com

Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
(18)
4.8 out of 5 stars
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
A substitute teacher came up to my reference desk seeking, "Fun haiku books" to turn into lesson plans with their kids. That's the sort of open-ended question that can render your brain blank for a moment or two. Suddenly every haiku book for kids you've ever encountered flees from your brain. You're left gaping like a fish, desperately scanning your poetry shelves for one, just ONE, haiku book that will help. Then, if you're really in trouble, you start thinking of books that are so new to your library system that it's no good to remember them anyway. For instance, the last time this happened I found myself thinking of Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku. A spirited little story that couldn't be simpler, the first person narrative of a feline in a new home is told entirely in haikus. With plenty of things to love for poetry and cat lovers alike, Won Ton takes an old form and renders it furry.

Split into little unnumbered chapters ("The Shelter", "The Choosing", etc.) we hear the tale of a cat named Won Ton (though that's not his "read" name, mind). A shelter kitty, Won Ton is adopted by a nice boy and goes off to start a new life. For a cat there are plenty of things to explore and figure out. There's the couch that makes for an excellent scratching post and the moths that make for "a dusty snack". In the end, Won Ton makes it clear that he's not his boy's cat. The boy is his boy. And finally, " `Good night, Won Ton,' you / whisper. Boy it's time you knew: / My name is Haiku."

It's interesting that right off the bat the Author's Note makes it clear that the book isn't told in haiku at all but rather senryu. Actually, I'm being facetious. Senryu, which focuses on "the foibles of human nature - or in this case, cat nature" appears to have been developed from haiku itself.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Mee-WOW! Wish I could give this 10 stars! February 20, 2011
Format:Hardcover
This large format, color illustrated book supposedly is for kids. Sure, kids will love the gorgeous pictures, and enjoy the read-aloud text. But adult cat lovers will fight over this book--good luck getting it away from parents to give to the children! Lee has captured the essence of cat-liness in delightful verse, and the gorgeous evocative paintings match the story with clever, humorous, and touching illustrations.

It's clear that Lee (author) and Eugene (illustrator) know cats, know shelters, and know cat lovers. This book will surely help youngsters grasp an important appreciation for kitties. Shelters and cat lovers alike will embrace the book. Won Ton (aka "Haiku") is a purr-fect litter-ary feline ambassador. Bravo!

--Amy Shojai, CABC, author of 23 pet care books and founder/past president of the Cat Writers Association.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars I got cat class and I got cat style April 16, 2011
Format:Hardcover
This sassy collection of narrative poems tell the story of Won Ton, a shelter cat taken in by a young boy. Technically, the poems are not haiku, but, as Wardlaw explains in the author's note, senryu, identical to the haiku form, with a three line 5-7-5 syllable format, but instead "the foibles of human nature -or in this case, cat nature- are the focus, expressed by a narrator in a humorous, playful or ironic way."

The difference between haiku and senryu is immediately apparent. Rather than conjuring a soothing, reflective, meditative mood common to haiku, these poems are irreverent, funny and witty. Wardlaw perfectly captures the essence of Won Ton's catlike nature. I had initially assumed that Yelchin's illustrations (with clean lines that punctuate the text nicely) were digitally-enhanced, but they were created old-school, with graphite and gouche on watercolor paper. Won Ton is depicted as a lean, black cat with wide blue eyes and an expressive range of emotions.

Each poem is such a short little gem, it's hard not to quote the whole book, but I have a few that I must mention. On being in the shelter, Won Ton says, "Gypsy on my left/Pumpkin, on my right. Together/we are all alone." Woefully bored cats stare out of cages, while Won Ton sits with his back turned, paws tucked in. Just after being chosen, Won Ton says, "Latch squeaks. Door swings wide./Free! Free at last! Yet, one claw/snags, clings to what's known." Oh my gosh. Who hasn't felt like that at least once in their lifetime? Here's another of my favorites, after Won Ton has finally started to settle in to his new home. "Your tummy, soft as/warm dough. I knead and knead, then/bake it with a nap." What great imagery!
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5.0 out of 5 stars Clever story from a clever cat June 3, 2013
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
As the winner of this year's Maine Chickadee Book Award I recommend this book to animal lovers and literature lovers alike.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Clever May 22, 2013
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
We have a cat named "Wonton" so when I heard about this book from someone at a pet shop, I couldn't wait to find it. Of course I checked Amazon first and there it was. Price was good too! My granddaugther loved it!!
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Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I bought this book for my niece last year, after being deeply charmed by the regal main character, a shelter cat who finds himself lording over his new home.

If you love cats and new ways of storytelling, this book is for you!
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5.0 out of 5 stars Hot hit with my students in 2 elementary schools March 26, 2013
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I had to buy this for myself since I can't keep it in at the library. Even the kids who normally don't like cats loved Won Ton.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book
We checked this book out at the city library and I liked it so much I bought a copy for my daughter, and another one for the library at her elementary school. Read more
Published 6 months ago by A Mom
5.0 out of 5 stars Love this book
This is a Wonderful story and it has beautiful illustrations! Highly recommend! It teaches the poetic art of haiku! Great for all ages!
Published 7 months ago by Dylan R.
5.0 out of 5 stars Unique and Fun
Won Ton is a unique and fun book to share with children and adults. And with a twist at the end, it is also clever.
Published 13 months ago by A. S. Wang
5.0 out of 5 stars Cat lovers will be smitten with this book!
The chapter headings and the pictures tell an adorable story of a shelter cat who is adopted by a boy and his family. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Deborah Sandford
4.0 out of 5 stars A cat's life, told in haiku
The whole story of a cat's life, from his time in the animal shelter to his new home with a little boy, is in this book, all told in haiku. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Debnance at Readerbuzz
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful story, and a poetry lesson, too!
My 6 year old twin boys love cats. They do not love writing. But after reading Won Ton, they happily composed their own haiku. Read more
Published 20 months ago by S. Bumgarner
5.0 out of 5 stars Saucy, Sassy, Supreme Cat
Book about supreme
Cat, told by supreme cat, wows
Readers through haiku

The cat, an independent, saucy creature, is adopted from an animal shelter. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Ohioan
4.0 out of 5 stars Good Poetry Intro and Motivator
This is a good book for kids to get excited about Hiaku and start writing their own poetry. I liked that it was focused on a cat from a shelter and could be used to encourage pet... Read more
Published 24 months ago by Halesr
5.0 out of 5 stars So SO wonderful!
Awe! I love this book!!

"Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku" (which, once you've finished you'll appreciate this title even more! Read more
Published on May 29, 2011 by A. Williams
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