If Not for the Cat[IF NOT FOR THE CAT][Hardcover]

by JackPrelutsky

If Not for the Cat <> Hardcover <> JackPrelutsky <> GreenwillowBooks

Genres: Poetry, Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Cats, Nonfiction, Teaching

Hardcover

First published September 21, 2004

Reviews

[Archit · Rating 4 out of 5]

If Not for the Cat, is a collection of riddles in form of Haiku which will tickle youngsters as well as elders.

[Flo · Rating 3 out of 5]

[Kerry Crabbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would have been 5 stars, but there was no capybara.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this! These poems really resonated with me. The were so evocative, the words painting such excellent pictures of the animals they spoke of, and my children had fun guessing what each animal could be based on the riddle in the poem. Some of them also seemed to illuminate little truths or quirks about humans, too, making them so relatable. For example, the "if only it weren't for THIS or THAT, I would be content" -- ah, how many of us have felt that one time or another. And how many of us have met people like the parrot, "gaudily feathered/ with nothing at all to say / I can't stop talking" ;-) I don't think I can pick a favorite haiku here, the whole collection is just wonderful!

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again, Jack Prelutsky uses his poetic talents to engage young readers. In IF NOT FOR THE CAT, Prelutsky writes 17 haiku poems that are in a riddle format. The reader can use the illustrations and words to guess what animal the haiku is about. I am struck by the high-level of vocabulary in this book. I love the fact that instead of using simple everyday language, Prelutsky challenges the young audience to gain an understanding of words such as scarcity, nasturtium, undulate and gelatinously. Children love a challenge and these excellent words promote higher level thinking and better writing skills. I really enjoyed this book.

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ted Rand's gorgeous illustrations illuminate the delicate haiku created by Jack Prelutsky. My favorite:

Boneless, translucent,
We undulate, undulate,
Gelatinously.

No, no, my favorite:

I am slow I am.
Slowest of the slow I am.
In my tree I am.

Or, no:

Raucously we caw.
Your straw men do not fool us.
We burgle your corn.

Okay, so I love them all; these and all the others. This is a marvelous introduction to haiku for youngsters, and a treat for the adults who read them aloud and feast our eyes on the illustrations. The gentle riddle of each haiku (who are these creatures?) answered in the illustrations (jellyfish, sloth, crow) is perfectly tied to the rhythm and language style of the clues. Cannot recommend this highly enough!

[Julie Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This gorgeously illustrated collection of haiku poems about different animals would be fabulous for a unit on haiku or any kind of poetry in a Middle Grade/upper elementary classroom (I'm thinking it's so perfect for 4th grade for some reason). The vocabulary is vivid and advanced. I actually learned something about a few animals despite just basking in the language and art.

[Jillian -always aspiring- · Rating 3 out of 5]

How do you judge a picture book? The art was beautiful, the haiku were lovely, and it was nice.

[N_carlyl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picture Book-This book caught me by surprise. At first, knowing it was written by Jack Prelutsky, I thought I'd love the book because he usually writes really funny poetry. However, after reading the first page, I thought this was not the typical Prelutsky piece I knew. The title caught my attention but then it was referred to on the first page, so I really wasn't too curious after that. However, something about it kept me reading. Perhaps, it was because I don't like starting something and not finishing it but also because I wanted to know where the story was going. Prelutsky wrote about 20 different riddles in haiku form. He uses amazing vocabulary and adjectives that make the reader want to grab for a dictionary. I thought this book would be a great text to use with my students as a cumulative, fun, informal assessment at the end of our habitat unit. I could read the haiku and they'd have to guess the member of the animal kingdom that Prelutsky was alluding to. These aren't your typical animals either. He writes about jellyfish, hummingbirds, and eagles to name a few. But the best part is how his words are paired with the illustrations. They are absolutely breathtaking because of the vibrant colors and realistic drawings. Kids of all ages would enjoy this book of haikus. I think it would be an engaging read aloud for grades 1-4 and a nice mentor text for 5th or 6th graders to use when studying different forms of poetry.

[Lynsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute way to introduce little kids to haiku and poetry in general. I think kids can find some humor in it, as well. The artwork is very nice and adds to the enjoyment of the poems.

[Dolly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful collection of poems about various animals. The poems are written so that the reader can then guess which animal is being described, which made for a lot of fun for us as we read this book aloud.

We had family visiting and so our girls and their two cousins took turns reading each poem and we'd all say what animal the poem described.

The haikus are fun to read aloud and the kids were excited when they'd correctly guess the animal. We really enjoyed reading this book together and I believe it's earned a rare 5-star rating.

This book was featured as one of the selections for the April 2019: Haiku poetry books discussion for the Picture-Book Club in the Children's Books Group here at Goodreads.

[L13_Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever as always - Jack Prelutsky. This picture book is a collection of haikus. Each one of the seventeen haikus describes an animal. The description is written as a haiku but is also a riddle. Children will delight at the detailed illustrations in vibrant colors. Each page is another challenge as children try to figure out the riddle and the animal described. Some of the vocabulary is difficult, which makes the descriptions even more challenging. Children may need a dictionary to address some of the vocabulary. May be appropriate for 2nd - 4th graders. Makes for a terrific read aloud and model for writing haikus!

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Jack Prelutsky's work and this is another great example of why he's considered the children's poet laureate. Regardless of whether my son likes this one or not (I am going to try and quiz him on what each haiku is describing), I'm giving it a five star.

He seemed to enjoy it, although not as much as me, of course. Several of the animals in the front were harder for him to recognize, but there were enough that he knew and felt confident about identifying when I asked him what they were. So, he enjoyed it more for the pictures, while I enjoyed the haiku and illustrations equally.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever haiku about animals. I want to write haiku like Prelutsky. A little advanced for Kindergarten kids, but good for teaching rhythm, rhyme, creativity. Fun to do as riddles.

[Jcraig2 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Title: If Not for the Cat
Author/Illustrator: Jack Prelustky
Reading Level: MG
Book Level: 3.9
Book Summary:
This haiku book is full of riddles. Can you guess who's voice the poem represents?

Bookshelf Mentor Writing Trait:
Voice- This book provides a great opportunity to introduce students to Haiku poems but also riddles. In every classroom I've been in Riddles are a fun way to close or open the day with students. Riddles are engaging and require higher level thinking skills. In this book, every poems is a riddles. I would read this aloud and encourage students to think about who's voice is represented in each riddle/poem. I would then ask students to write down their answer before I reveal the voice. In this way I would connect students to the idea that they can develop a character and help their readers understand the voice of their character without directly saying who or what their character is. I would then have students write their own poem (challenge students to try haiku) by adapting a character voice for an everyday item (i.e. pencil, eraser, desk, chair, light bulb) without revealing what the item is. Then I would have them read them to their buddy class and see if those students can guess what item their poem is about.
Other suggestions:
This book would also be a fun way to include a study on descriptive language use and word choice. It is important in Haiku poetry and riddles to choose your words carefully.

[Vanessa Dioses · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the genre of poetry and is intended for the ages of 4 to 8 years of age and nominated for the "Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award." This book has the Japanese poetry Haiku written in it, about different animals. The book uses 17 poems to identify characteristics of each animal. I rated this book the way i did because, i thought the book was great! The bold lettering to the bright colors, and colorful illustrations were really great. The characters consist of several different animals throughout the story like, a mouse, a jellyfish , a skunk and many more. I really liked the wide double paged spread of the pictures. With, bold lettering on each page of Haiku poetry is read very clearly. I definitely think this book is great for young reader's. I read the book to my two young niece's and they loved it! I could use this book in many ways for classroom activities like, for English poetry or Science with the animals being presented in the book. I actually did use this book for a school project myself. I really liked how the book quizzed you at the end asking "which animal am I?"

[Elaina Albarado · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute poetry picture book for young readers but is also has some tricky words for youngsters. This poetry book is filled with haikus about various different animals. I liked how each haiku related to each of the animals. I think that this poetry book could be a good starter book for introducing young children to haiku poems. This book is short and simple which I feel like could help the children easily understand haiku poems and how to write them. Especially since this book is about animals it could keep the children interested and also could teach them a little something that they don't know about each animal. The illustrations in this book had some very scratchy textures and colorful images as well as simple shapes at the same time. I would recommend this book to students who are just starting to learn about haikus because it is portrayed in a simple way that young children could understand.

[Kaci Beesecker]

This picture book is a collection of haikus. Each one of the seventeen haikus describes an animal. The description is written as a haiku but is also a riddle. It's a fun animal guessing book with BIG words (gelatinously, raucously, burgle, gaudily), but it just works for the book without making it feel pretentious or ridiculous. On each page, an animal describes itself in a sentence and an accompanying illustration. The reader can guess what animal it is based on these clues.

This would be a good book to use in the classroom to teach the students about poems, especially haikus. It would be a good book for upper elementary as some of the vocabulary used is higher level. The students would be interested in the animals that are shown on each page and would help them to better understand the meaning of each haiku.

[Judy & Marianne from Long and Short Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

How would life be if there wasn’t a cat?

This book doesn’t delve deeply on that subject, but what it does is show haiku about animals and makes the reader think. If not for the cat chasing him and the lack of cheese, the mouse would be happy. This book encourages discussion and has some beautiful paintings within.

I picked up this book thinking it might be a humorous book, but it was thought-provoking instead and I liked it. I liked how each haiku discusses the animal pictured and does it in a way that opens up discussion. What does the reader think?

The paintings are fantastic, and this book is good for younger readers or those being read to. It’s great for asking questions and wondering.

If you’re looking for something different, then this is the book for you.

[E & E’s Mama · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun animal guessing book with BIG words (gelatinously, raucously, burgle,gaudily), but it just works for the book without making it feel pretentious or ridiculous. On each page, an animal describes them self in a sentence and an accompanying illustration. The reader can guess what animal it is based on these clues. Elliot obviously didn’t understand it all, but I think he liked the sound of those big words because he’d chuckle when I’d rad them!


*Borrowed from my mother-in-law’s collection of children’s books

[Marsha · Rating 5 out of 5]

These elegant haikus illustrate how much can be said in a very few words. The accompanying illustrations are masterpieces of riotous hues, delicate strokes or bold outlines, thought-provoking contrasts. The massive elephant whose ears do indeed nearly block out the yellow sun is followed by a tiny luminescent moth, drawn to a candle placed in such a realistic candleholder you expect to be able to lift it from the page.

This is a book of humor, wonder and skilled artistry. It points out the sophistication behind the deceptive simplicity of this quintessential Japanese poem.

[Madelyn Schaffer]

A book about lots of different animals with beautiful illustrations. This book uses a variety of advanced words that many students likely would not know. I would use this book in first or second grade because of the high vocabulary words. In the classroom during read aloud I could ask students what they think these vocabulary words mean. There are context clues to figure out what the words mean. An activity that to be used in the classroom could be using the poems without the pictures to guess what the animal is. The illustrations would be revealed when the animal is identified.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently revisited If Not for the Cat, a book of haiku written by Jack Prelutsky. Before retiring, I used this book when introducing my second grade students to haiku. The haiku are simple and amusing. The paintings by Ted Rand accompany the haiku perfectly. I enjoyed rereading the book, remembering my students and our poetry unit with fondness. It’s a quick, enjoyable read for adults and highly recommended for using with elementary students studying haiku and/or poetry.

[Oksana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Poetry
Grade level: 3-5
Plot: Haiku's about different animals and what they are like or what they do.

I chose this text as one of my favorites because I can see using this in my class when teaching about haiku's. Each page can be used to talk about the structure of each haiku. The artwork also complements each haiku and brings it to life. I can see allowing student to draw pictures to their own haiku's just like the book. This is the perfect book for a poetry lesson on haiku's.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haiku. I love using this for children's poetry programs especially. I like to read the poem and ask the kids to see if they can guess the animal mentioned. After a poem or two, they get the rhythm and really get into it and guess the animals in no time flat. I use this with a bunch of other children's poetry books, but the illustrations in this make this one of my favorite haiku books to use.

[Kali Hilliard · Rating 4 out of 5]

K-2; poetry; The Book consists of a collection of Haikus, which allow for pauses through out the story. The lack of words makes it easier for beginning readers to get a glimpse of vocabulary but also follow the story with the vibrant images displayed!

[Larissia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though it’s about animals, there is an undertone of humanism in the haikus. The kangaroo and the moth one spoke to me as humans the most because we tend to keep going back to the thing that hurts us, and we have to procreate to continue our generations.

[Taylor Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poetry
Awesome illustrations. I would use this as an interactive game. Each page has a poem about an animal. I would read the poem and have students guess what animal it was before I showed the picture.
I would recommend a read aloud for first or second grade

[Sarah Underwood]

Some difficult vocab for kids, but a lot of these haikus are fun. It would be great to do a program where kids write their own animal haikus or poems and everyone has to guess which animal the haiku is about

[Hannah Dull · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: poetry
Grade Level: P-3

This book could be very useful in a classroom setting. It would be a great aid in a poetry unit. I definitely think this has tons of great haikus. The illustrations were done well too!