Kirkus (starred review): “Perfect pussycat poetry for anyone who has ever loved a shelter cat."

Booklist (starred review): “…[a] wry, heart-warming title that’s sure to find wide acceptance in the classroom and beyond."

School Library Journal (starred review): “Won Ton’s sweetly humorous story will steal the hearts of readers young and old.”

Publisher’s Weekly: “…Wardlaw has a fine understanding of the feline mind, and each 17-syllable poem packs a big impact…A surprisingly powerful story in verse.”

Chicago Tribune: “From the front cover on, this nameless shelter cat steals the show, with wide eyes, a sinewy body and a blue-gray coat... The charm of the text is that we see everything anew, from the cat's perspective…”

Toledo Blade: “Teachers rejoice! Here is a book that makes haiku more fun than a writing exercise on syllabification. Wardlaw clearly understands cats and cleverly depicts typical cat actions…Yelchin's stylized Russian Blue with great blue eyes captures Won Ton's comically aloof attitude to perfection.”

BookPage: “…wonderfully innovative, telling a story through a series
of senryu that are compelling yet quite accessible to young readers …a touching tale, made even more dramatic by Yelchin’s sublime illustrations, [which add]drama, emotion, fun and beauty.”

Bookends: “…Yelchin appears as familiar with feline antics as author Wardlaw. This is a literary cat that can be believed in whether exhibiting indifference or indignance…There’s a really delightful story here too, wonderfully crafted poems and illustrations that are comic but also convey the very essence of cat nature….

“I love finding picture books that can be used to demonstrate topics with older students as so often the picture books are clear, direct and short to read.  Won Ton is a perfect book to use to demonstrate these poetic forms to students of all ages.  Put this on a visual presenter and read this one and students will be grabbed by the fun and the form.  Ask them to try their hand at creating a senryu about an animal or human in their lives.”

Read a hilarious review of Won Ton (written in zee French accent!) in Spider Magazine for Children:http://www.spidermagkids.com/books/miro/won-ton-a-cat-tale-told-haiku

The Tail Behind the Tale…
by Lee Wardlaw

A child’s first spoken word is usually “Da-Dad” or “Ma-Ma.”  Mine was “Pissy” – a one-year-old’s fusion of “kitty” and “pussy cat.”

Obviously, my affinity for felines goes waaaaay back!

While I was growing up, my family adopted numerous stray cats, including:

My son, Patterson, is also a card-carrying cat person.  So when our beloved Snowshoe Siamese, Beaujolais, died of cancer, we visited a local shelter to interview kittens.  It was an experience right out of ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’:  “That one is too shy. That one, too bite-y.  Ew! That one is sleeping in his litter box!  Hold on, wait.  Maybe…Yes! This one is Just Right.”

We signed the adoption papers and brought the mewling, gold-eyed ball of black fluff home with us – where he immediately skittered under Patterson’s bed and stayed for three whole days. When he finally ventured out to snub his first dish of food and bat at an Hawaiian shell lei, Patterson named him Mai Tai.

And so began our life together…

…and my idea for a new book.

Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku is based on the true story of Patterson’s and Mai Tai’s growing friendship.

As for why I wrote their story in haiku?  It seemed fitting. Cats embody haiku. They live in the moment; their beauty is compact, simple, vivid; they speak volumes in only a few words. If cats could talk, I’m pretty sure it would be in the poetry of haiku.

Lee, age 6, with her first cat, Pit-a-Pat

Lee, many years later, with her kitty, Koloa

Mai Tai & ‘Friend’

Papaya thinks he’s hiding!

Kool Kitty Links

	ASAP Animal Shelter Assistance Program A no-kill shelter in Santa Barbara County that provides a healthy, safe environment for adoptable cats.
	Kitten Rescue Los Angeles-based non-profit organization dedicated to saving abandoned cats and kittens.
	ASPCA Education Materials and resources for teachers, librarians, children and parents. Includes lesson plans and book lists.
	Mutts Comics Official Website Get the latest news about Mooch the cat (okay, and Earl the dog) and other Mutts Shtuff by Patrick McDonnell.
	LOLcats I Can Has Cheez Burger Laugh-out-loud kitty pix.
	Cat Writers’ Association (CWA) An organization of professionals who write, publish and/or broadcast about all things feline.
	Cats For Kids A website for young people, sponsored by Cats Protection, featuring feline facts, history, craft ideas, games, care tips and more.
	Cat Facts and Trivia An extensive list of everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-kitties, compiled by Glenda Moore.
	Free Kibble Kat 12-year-old Mimi Ausland, from Bend Oregon, started this site to help feed the hungry cats (and dogs!) at her local Humane Society. Her site has grown since its inception in April, 2008, 'feeding fine food to furry felines' in shelters across the country. Just one click of your mouse provides 10 pieces of kibble to a hungry kitty. Visit the site every day and play Meow Trivia to provide even more free kibble!

Lee's Favorite Cat Books

Curious Collection of Cats
Concrete Poems by Betsy Franco
Illustrated by Michael Wertz
Tricycle Press
Winner of the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, and a purrfect companion book to Won Ton!

All I Need to Know I Learned from My Cat
Written & Illustrated by Suzy Becker
Workman
Wise and witty! Delightful illustrations

Cat
by B. Kliban
Workman
A Classic.  Who can forget Wacka Wacka (not widely used) or Noko Marie, Don’t Mess with Me?

Catku
Written & Designed by Pat Welch
Andrews McMeel Publishing
Zen humor.  Aren’t all cats koans, anyway?

Earth Tigerlets
(As Explained by Professor Xargle)
Written by Jeanne Willis
Illustrated by Tony Ross
Dutton
This book still makes me laugh so hard I spit. Love those ‘shoe squishies’.

Friendship of Milly and Tug
Written by Dian Curtis Regan
Illustrated by Jennifer Danza
Holt
Heartwarming, humorous chapter book, written by one of my best friends.  Winner of the Cat Writers’ Association Muse Medallion.)

Grandma’s Cat
Written by Helen Ketteman
Illustrated by Marsha Lynn Winborn
Houghton
The perfect book to introduce young children to the finicky temperament of cats.

Hannah and Jack
Written by Mary Nethery
Illustrated by Mary Morgan
Atheneum
Sweet and clever story about a young girl who, while on vacation, sends postcards home to the cat she misses.

How to Save Your Tail
*if you are a rat nabbed by cats who really like stories about magic spoons, wolves with snout-warts, big, hairy chimney trolls . . . and cookies, too.
Written by Mary Hanson
Illustrated by John Hendrix
Schwartz and Wade
Another book that is soooo hilarious I almost spit each time I read it!  Okay, so the cats are the villains in this instance, but you willingly forgive Hanson because her fractured fairy tales are So. Freaking. Hysterical.

I Am the Cat
Written by Alice Schertle
Illustrated by Mark Buehner
Lothrop
Best. Poetry. Ever. (About cats, that is!)
My fav is ‘Sophie, Who Taunted the Dogs.’
Buehner’s illustrations are part comedy, part magic.  Look for the hidden pictures-within-pictures on each page!

Kat Kong
Written & Illustrated by Dave Pilkey
Harcourt
Oh my. This book is soooo silly.  Full puns that make you snort and groan. Read this one aloud with lots of vim, vigor and waving of arms.  Fav scene: When Kat Kong falls off the Empire State Building:  ‘Meeeeeeeeeeeeeowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!’

Kitten’s First Full Moon
Written & Illustrated by Kevin Henkes
Greenwillow
What can I say? Exquisite art, a simple but lovely story.  It won the Caldecott Medal, too.

Mutts: The Comic Art of Patrick McDonnell
Harry Abrams, Inc.
He’s a genius.  YESH!

Picasso and Minou
Written by P.I. Maltbie
Illustrated by Pau Estrada
Charlesbridge
Who knew it was a cat that nudged Picasso out of his Blue period?  Fascinating story. Gorgeous illustrations.
Winner of the CWA Muse Medallion.

Pussywillow
Written by Margaret Wise Brown
Illustrated by Leonard Wisegard
A BIG Golden Book
This was my favorite book at the age of 3.  I still love it today.  MWB was brilliant in her simplicity.
And the art: Me-WOW! Winner of the CWA Muse Medallion.

Splat the Cat
Written & Illustrated by Rob Scotton
HarperCollins
I love Scotton’s cats with their fuzzy exuberance.

Tales of Grandpa Cat
Written by Lee Wardlaw
Illustrated by Ronald Searle
Dial Books for Young Readers
Okay, shameless self-promotion. But wouldn’t you shamelessly promote if Ronald Searle had illustrated YOUR book?

When Cats Dream
Written & Illustrated by Dav Pilkey
Orchard
So you think Pilkey is just all Kat Kong and Captain Underpants?  Think again.  This man can PAINT!

Whiskers and Rhymes
Written & Illustrated by Arnold Lobel
Greenwillow
Original nursery rhymes written by the talented man who also brought us the chapter books about Frog and Toad.  A classic.