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The final, quiet days of summer before the turning of the season and the chill of back-to-work autumn are a perfect time to slow down, turn off the electronics, and refresh the soul by reading poetry. On the other hand, what could be more fun than an internet quiz about cats?

We sat down with Oxford Scholarly Editions Online, and fired up the search, looking for cats stalking the pages of literature. We found some lovely stuff, and something more – a literary reflection of the cat’s unstoppable gambol up the social ladder: a mouser and rat-catcher in the seventeenth century, he springs up the stairs in the eighteenth century to become the plaything of smart young ladies and companion of literary lions such as Cowper, Dr Johnson, and Horace Walpole.

Image credit: Cat with OSEO, © Oxford University Press. Do not re-use without permission.

The post Whose muse mews? appeared first on OUPblog.

        

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I almost forgot…Slowly but surely!

About the Book

Title: The Cat Who Lost His Meow | Author: Angela Muse | Illustrator: Helen H. Wu | Publication Date: June 1, 2014 | Publisher: Independent | Pages: 32 | Recommended Ages: 3+

Summary: Chester the lazy calico cat has suddenly lost his meow. He’s looking everywhere, but can’t seem to find his voice. When Chester puts himself in a frightening situation he not only finds his voice return, but he also finds his courage. This experience makes Chester appreciate things a little bit more than he had before.

Priced at only $.99 during this promotion.

About the Author: Angela Muse

Angela Muse

Angela Muse was born in California to a military family. This meant that she got used to being the “new kid” in school every couple of years. It was hard trying to make new friends, but Angela discovered she had a knack for writing. In high school Angela began writing poetry and song lyrics. Expressing herself through writing seemed very natural. After becoming a Mom in 2003, Angela continued her storytelling to her own children. In 2009 she wrote and published her first rhyming children’s book aimed at toddlers. Since then she has released several more children’s picture books and released her first young adult romance series, The Alpha Girls, in 2012.

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter

* $50 Book Blast Giveaway *

Prize: $50 Amazon Gift Card or PayPal cash (winner’s choice)

Contest ends: July 29, 11:59 pm, 2014

Open: Internationally

How to enter: Please enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.

Terms and Conditions: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. A winner will be randomly drawn through the Rafflecopter widget and will be contacted by email within 48 hours after the giveaway ends. The winner will then have 72 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, a new draw will take place for a new winner. Odds of winning will vary depending on the number of eligible entries received. This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. This giveaway is sponsored by the author, Angela Muse and is hosted and managed by Renee from Mother Daughter Book Reviews. If you have any additional questions – feel free to send and email to Renee(at)MotherDaughterBookReviews(dot)com.

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What a wonderful little video clip! If you’ve read Catherine Friend’s The Perfect Nest, you’ll enjoy watching this Perfect Nest in Ireland

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Cat Says Meow: And Other Animalopoeia

by Michael Arndt

Chronicle Books               2014

978-1-4521-1234-3

Age 2 to 4           28 pages

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“Dog says woof . . . pig says oink . . . cow says moo. Animals and the sounds they make are paired up in playfully compelling ways in this eye-catching illustrated gift book featuring bold colors and an engaging use of onomatopoeia. Kids and parents will delight in discovering the ways in which the letters that spell out each animal’s sound are key elements of that animal’s illustration. With so much to see and to sound out, kids will relish this unique visual and educational experience, brimming with color and letters.”

Review

“Hi!”

“Woof!”

“Meow!”

“Quack!”

How do you say hello? Ask any of the animals in Cat Says Meow and you will get the answer you probably are expecting, but the animal may look a tad different from normal. The duck still says quack, but look closely at the animal that just spoke to you.

Its left eye looks like the letter “q.”

Its beak looks like a large “u.”

Its right eye looks like an “a.”

The wing looking like a large “c.”

Its legs that look like an odd “k.”

There is something odd going on. Still, if it looks like a duck, and it quacks like a duck, then it must be a  . . . wait a minute, that duck says “quack” and it is made out of the letters quack, which spells “quack!” This has to be a coincidence.

Well, there are 25 animals in all, each greeting you in their native tongue, and each looking mostly normal. Take the cow. It greets you by saying, “Moo.” It looks normal as normal can be . . . wait, again. This cow is a bit odd looking.

Its right eye looks like an “m.”

Its left eye looks more normal, but still it looks suspiciously like an “o.”

Its nose looks like another “o.”

“Moo” says the cow that looks like moo.

There is a definite trend going on. A random turn of the thicker than usual pages brings me to an owl, which says, “Hooo.” An owl that looks like “hooo” and says, “Hooo.” Interesting. A pattern has definitely emerged from Cat Says Meow. Every animal, on every page looks like it sounds.

The author calls this animalopoeia, a word he has trademarked. Each animal, which the author also drew, looks like it sounds. A dog is “woof,” a lamb is, “baa,” and a horse is “neigh.” Onomatopoeia means words that sound like the actual act or thing. The words cough, growl, and boom are onomatopoeia. In Cat says Meow, all of these words are animal sounds. The author has coined these sounds Animal*opoeia. This is Michael Arndt’s debut children’s book.

Cat Says Meow is a great little book for teaching your child about 25 common animal sounds. As in reading, the words in each animal shape are formed from left to right, top to bottom. The large, singular illustrations little kids will easily recognize and will enjoy speaking like the animals and hearing you do the same.

Michael Arndt explained Cat Says Meow and Other Animalopoeia and animalopoeia in particular, “[aim] is to promote verbal and visual literacy as well as foster a love of animals at an early age.” Part of the Arndt’s proceeds from Cat Says Meow go back to animal rescue organizations, groups that are also dear to me. The next time you hear a familiar “meow” and think it is your Fluffy, take a quick look,  it could be an animalopoe*ia.

CAT SAYS MEOW: AND OTHER ANIMALOPOEIA. Text and Illustrations copyright (C w2014 by Michael Arndt. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Chronicle Books, San Francisco, CA.

Youtube video found by Erik at ThisKidsReviewsBooks. His review is HERE.

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Learn more about Cat Says Meow and Other Animalopoeia HERE.

Buy a copy of Cat Says Meow and Other Animalopoeia at Amazon—B&N—Chronicle Books—your local  bookstore.

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Meet the author/illustrator, Michael Arndt, at his facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/animalopoeia

Find more books at Chronicle Books’ website:http://www.chroniclebooks.com/

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The Great Gitana… in color.

I’m learning to live with  the lines  and imperfections in an illustration, and trying some new techniques. There’s always something to learn.

The Great Gitana will tell your Yuletide fortune for but a few shillings.

oIn an effort to assuage the annoyance of my cat Iggy towards all the doggies I’ve been drawing lately, I present to you:

“Cat’s Pajamas”

So, when you get a chance, swing by here and check out my fellow SkADaMoers (yes it’s a word. I know because I just made it up.)

Cheers!

“Melon Collie”

What’s with all the dogs lately? At least that’s what my cat Iggy seems to be saying, as she stomps across my keyboard. So I added a feline counterpart, for fear of retribution.

So hey, stop on by here and check out what the other SkADaMoers are up to

Here, Kitty!

Gato de los Muertos

Happy Dia De Los Muertos!

Actually, not sure that’s an appropriate salutation, but I do know that I love the art and culture of this Latino holiday! So in honor of the day and of all our dearly departed I thought I’d do a quick skeleton sketch… skeltch if you will.

So for more sketchy goodness, why not check out my fellow SkADaMoers here. Oh, and if I’ve left anyone out or I have the wrong link or what not, give me a shout!

THE BREMEN TOWN MUSICIANS

The donkey, the largest of them, approached the window and looked in.

“What do you see, Gray-Horse?” asked the rooster.

“What do I see?” answered the donkey. “A table set with good things to eat and drink, and robbers sitting there enjoying themselves.”

“That would be something for us,” said the rooster.

“Ee-ah, ee-ah, oh, if we were there!” said the donkey.

Then the animals discussed how they might drive the robbers away, and at last they came upon a plan. The donkey was to stand with his front feet on the window, the dog to jump on the donkey’s back, the cat to climb onto the dog, and finally the rooster would fly up and sit on the cat’s head. When they had done that, at a signal they began to make their music all together. The donkey brayed, the dog barked, the cat meowed and the rooster crowed. Then they crashed through the window into the room, shattering the panes.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

A couple of weeks ago the Illustration Friday word of the week was “totem.” I’m telling you, time flies, because I’m just getting to it up now. Better late than never, I suppose!

. Is It Big or Is It Little? by Claudia Rueda Eerdmans Books for Young Readers 4 Stars . Back Cover:  To a mouse, nearly everything looks big—but to the cat that chases him, things look a bit different. Opening:  Is it BIG? Or is it little? Is it DEEP? Or is it shallow? About …

Proof that cats do indeed watch television.

After his people watched the entire “Mission Impossible” weekend marathon, Miles, wanting to get “in touch” with the wild feline within and sneak up on his food, took the matter into his own hands.

If only he hadn’t miscalculated the height from the kitchen light to the floor, he’d be in kibble heaven right now!

Okay, this post is based on how I remember things, not on how they actually were.

So, back a little past the very break of the dawn of time, I studied Children's Literature. I wasn't much older than a child myself, but I had missed reading It's Like This, Cat by Emily Cheney Neville and other books of that ilk.  Judy Blume may or may not have been on the scene back then.  This was, after all, a LOOONNG time ago.

So, we approached books that dealt with parents fighting, divorce, any kind of abuse, any kind of economic struggle or family difficulty - dead or dying parents, alcoholism, (gasp!) drugs!!!, even sexual awakening as if the books dealt with "problems".  That's what we (or maybe just I) called them, "problem novels". 

As opposed to what?  Dull boring, diaries of someone's life in which they never have problems?  Who would even read a book like that? Look at Nancy Drew!!!  Her books are teeming with snaky problems. 

My granddaughter's favorite lift-the-flap book, Where's Spot?  BEGINS with a problem.  Spot didn't eat his food and Mom Dog can't find him.  Huge problem.

Anyway, even today when doing reader's advisory, I approach some titles with the caveat, "This is a problem novel.  The main character has some really gritty issues to deal with."

And most of the books in this category of mine, fall into the deeply dramatic, heart-wrenching, oh-my-gosh how-will-this-poor-kid-survive description.  Think of Vanessa Diffenbaugh's The Language of Flowers , a cross-over title, whose main character barely survives foster care, homelessness, and a surprise pregnancy before a hopeful ending.

But SOME problem novels approach their subjects with sympathy and a sense of hope.  Almost Home by Joan Bauer saddles poor Sugar Mae Cole with an absent, gambler father, a fragile - though not at first - mother and homelessness.  And yet, because this is Joan Bauer who is writing, we know that Sugar will find friends wherever she goes and that the people who help her will be genuinely helpful, not ineffectual or snakes in disguise.

In Pregnant Pause by Han Nolan, the 16 year old heroine has a problem growing in her belly and the problem's father, her now husband, is an even bigger problem.  All the prospective grandparents, in their attempt to...actually I don't really know what they thought they were doing.  I learned that prospective grandparenthood can be a problem in and of itself. - Anyway, they didn't help much. 
That said, this book was fun to read and it had an upbeat ending.

I know that real life is gritty and painful.  I know that kids suffer; some die.  I also know that these books are written to open young readers' eyes to the problems that others suffer; and to show those young readers who are suffering that help is out there.  Both kinds of "problem" novels are needed - the ones that hit hard and make us gasp with the cruelty of life; AND the gentler books that show us the wounds and then offer a salve that will leave the smallest scar.

Right now, I want the latter.  Death has become all too real to me.  I want my tales of woe with a huge serving of hope on the side.

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Did any of you refer to certain teen books as "problem novels" or did I make that up?  Let me know.