The Cat and the Cuckoo

From the Publisher

Publishers Weekly A small-sized volume of verse, The Cat and the Cuckoo (1987) features poems about wild and domestic farm animals by renowned British poet Ted Hughes, illus. by Flora McDonnell. These quirky poems range from a lightly witty view of a sleeping dog: "He's just a sack of snoring dog./ You can lug him like a log"-to the serious metaphysical meditations of a crow: "Hear ye the Preacher:/ Nature to Nature/ Returns each creature." McDonnell's vivacious duotone art depicts each animal with a folksy whimsy. Booklist With physical immediacy, the 28 poems in this children's collection by the late British poet laureate bring readers and listeners close to each animal's sounds and movements. Sometimes the viewpoint is of a child right there watching, as when pigeons "clatter up, and veer, and soar in a ring / It's as if the house suddenly sang something." Sometimes Hughes imagines the animal's experience, not to personify it, but to be it, move like it: "With a rocketing rip / Squirrel will zip / Up a tree-bole." There's feeling, too, in the particulars--the half-domesticated goat with "Lumps of torn hair / Glued here and there." Opposite each poem, McDonnell's black-and-white wash illustrations, with big frontal close-ups of the animal in a farm setting, capture the silliness as well as realism and mystery. First published in England in 1987 and now reissued, this exuberant read-aloud collection will prepare kids for Hughes' unforgettable adult poems about fierce animals and nature. School Library Journal Stylized ink drawings accompany a collection of poems first published in Britain in 1987. As in Moon Whales and Other Moon Poems (Viking, 1976; o.p.), illustrated by Leonard Baskin, Hughes's often stark images are paired with black-and-white drawings. Unlike Baskin's art, though, McDonnell's lighthearted portraits do not seem in harmony with the images that Hughes's words paint. The poet's animals are most true to their animal nature-his Crow "-lifts a claw-/A crucifix/Of burnt matchsticks"; his Cuckoo "-leaves her [the Linnet] to weep with a worm in her hand." Words, if not pictures, keep these creatures strong and wild.-Kathleen Whalin, York Public Library, M.-- to weep with a worm in her hand." Words, if not pictures, keep these creatures strong and wild.

Publishers Weekly

A small-sized volume of verse, The Cat and the Cuckoo (1987) features poems about wild and domestic farm animals by renowned British poet Ted Hughes, illus. by Flora McDonnell. These quirky poems range from a lightly witty view of a sleeping dog: "He's just a sack of snoring dog./ You can lug him like a log"-to the serious metaphysical meditations of a crow: "Hear ye the Preacher:/ Nature to Nature/ Returns each creature." McDonnell's vivacious duotone art depicts each animal with a folksy whimsy. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature

In these twenty-eight poems of domestic and wild animals, Hughes gives us new perspectives on these creatures. While many of the animals are familiar to American children—such as the cat and dog, squirrel, crow and donkey—there are some others that are less familiar such as the hedgehog, shrew and The Red Admiral butterfly. As for me, I will never look at a lowly worm in the same way. Each poem just begs to be read aloud and has a fine cadence. The alliteration in "Peacock" is marvelous. "A perfect Peacock on the lawn/ Pranced proudly through his paces./ Pecked at old pancakes, flared his fan/ Like a hand of neon aces." The illustrations are in black, white and gray tones that complement but never overwhelm the poems. McDonnell selected one image from each poem and focused on that. The small sized book fits easily into one's hand. The poems were originally published in 1987 and the McDonnell illustrations were added to the British edition in 2002. This is the first American edition in 2003. 2002, Roaring Brook Press,
— Sharon Salluzzo

School Library Journal

Gr 3-6-Stylized ink drawings accompany a collection of poems first published in Britain in 1987. As in Moon Whales and Other Moon Poems (Viking, 1976; o.p.), illustrated by Leonard Baskin, Hughes's often stark images are paired with black-and-white drawings. Unlike Baskin's art, though, McDonnell's lighthearted portraits do not seem in harmony with the images that Hughes's words paint. The poet's animals are most true to their animal nature-his Crow "-lifts a claw-/A crucifix/Of burnt matchsticks"; his Cuckoo "-leaves her [the Linnet] to weep with a worm in her hand." Words, if not pictures, keep these creatures strong and wild.-Kathleen Whalin, York Public Library, ME Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Quirky, clever, mysterious, and lyrical poems about 28 wild and domestic farm animals comprise this collection, originally published (by Sunstone Press, with different illustrations) in England in 1997. A lonely ram bleats at the moon, a hedgehog hatches fleas. A dog sleeps: "He hogs the fire, he bakes his head / As if it were a loaf of bread. / He's just a sack of snoring dog. / You can lug him like a log. / You can roll him with your foot. / He'll stay snoring where he's put. / Take him out for exercise / He'll roll in cowclap up to his eyes." The pigeons are more elegant: "Up on the roof the Fantail Pigeons dream / Of dollops of curled cream. / At every morning window their soft voices / Comfort all the bedrooms with caresses." Hughes's slightly mismatched rhyme and meter lend an awkward charm to his subjects. McDonnell's (Giddy Up! Let's Ride, 2002, etc.) whimsical and folksy duotone paintings portray each animal in a countryside setting, sometimes with a human child or two observing; combined with the small-cut size of the volume, they give a comforting feel to these poems that sometimes veer wonderfully into dark animal thoughts. Similar in intrigue to the animal poems of Richard Michelson or Douglas Florian, similar in insight to the "small" poems of Valerie Worth, Hughes's poems are rich and musical, and will appeal to young readers. The few Briticisms may be as foreign to some American readers as the setting-yet neither detracts, as each poem encourages readers to observe something in a new way. (Poetry. 7-11)