Won Ton

December 6, 2010
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.

December 1, 2012

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

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.