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Summary: Excellent book!!!!!!
Review: If you liked "CATS" then you will really dig this book. It's a good intro. into T.S. Eliot and great for kidos. I really love it and the poems really capture cats and they're really cute. So buy this book cause it's really spiffy :) The only thing it's missing if you compare it to the play is "Memory" the song. But it's still worth it to get it! :)
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Summary: A lot of fun to read..
Review: If you've read The Wastland or any of the other, more substantial poems by T.S Eliot, you may be shocked at Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. But don't be fooled, even in the simple subject matter there is genius in Eliot's writing.This is the only poem book of Eliot's that I own and it's a great deal of fun to read. My favorite cat is Macavity. If you've seen the musical Cats (which I haven't), here's the inspiration. This is also a great first book to get younger people interested in poetry. The language Eliot uses is flowery and catchy, and the subject matter is centered on those cute furballs. Enjoy.
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Summary: My Seven Year Old Son Loves This Book!
Review: My son fell in love with the musical and he wanted the book it was based on. When it arrived he was so happy! He is in first grade and this book has really helped him learn how to read. He almost has it memorized. I never thought a seven-year-old would like reading T.S. Elliott.
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Summary: If You Ever Had Even One Cat
Review: My title may be somewhat off, since people cannot have cats, who merely allow us mortals to be in their presence from time to time, as the need arises. TS Elliot knew cats well! For those who have been around cats, this book will delight you. I can't speak for those who have never been around cats, but can tell you that my nephew loved to have these stories read to him, . . . over and over again. Fun reading for kids, including us big kids.
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Summary: If not for yourself, how about your kids?
Review: OK, the musical has been going on and on for some time now, PBS has it on tape, but have you actually sat down and read these poems out loud? My daughter of 5 years watched Cats on PBS and loved it, and enjoyed hearing the poems as well for bedtime reading. TS Eliot as a childrens' book - well, why not? if not as well for yourself!
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Summary: a wonderful collection
Review: Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats is a volume of children's poetry first published in 1939. Eliot initially wrote the poems for his god-children, but this is no simplistic children's literature. T.S. Eliot was a master of his craft. The poems are simple stories about a variety of cats, each with a distinct personality and behaviors. The poems have a rhythm all their own and it matches the personality of the cat being described. While a poem about Bustopher Jones has an arch, airy tone, the poem about Skimbleshanks speeds along like the train he is on. This is an absolutely delightful collection. It wasn't until recently, when I saw the musical for the first time, that I learned that this collection was the basis for the musical: Cats. Not only did the musical bring to life the cats described by Mr. Eliot, but I was surprised by just how many songs in the show took the lyrics directly from Eliot's poems. That is a mark of a great collection of poems: that when they are lifted into song, those poems can make a great musical with few changes. Whether you like poetry, or not, I would recommend this collection. I do not read a lot of poetry, but I loved this collection. Whether you like cats, or not, I would still recommend this book. The way Eliot tells about the cats, you would almost swear they were real people and not just an animal.
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Summary: Who Says Poetry Can't Be Fun?
Review: On the one hand the poems in this collection are a bit of light nonsense, on the other they do offer bits of practical advice, like the last lines of the final poem: "You'll save yourself time, and you'll spare yourself labour/If jist you make friends with the Cat at the door." Bits like this pop up every now and then, but by and large the poems are observations in rhyme about various types of cats you may know and love (or hate depending on your feelings toward cats in general or specific): the fighting cat, the troublemaking cat, the streetwise cat, the lounging cat, etc. All of them very light, all of them very fun. Edward Gorey's illustrations are a perfect complement to these poems, demonstrating at once both the whimsical side and subtly sinister nature of our feline friends. If you're not into poetry - or you like poetry so long as it rhymes - this book won't disappoint. If you've tried Eliot before - you read "Prufrock" and "Waste Land" in school, but they made your head hurt - give the poems in this book a try, they're lighter both in theme and their demands upon you, the reader.
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Summary: CATS Before It Was a Musical!!!
Review: T.S. Eliot, the master of poetry, is the real auhtor of the famed musical "CATS." Meet Macavity:The Mystery Cat, Mr. Mistoffelees, Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer, and many more in this witty book of rhymes. Also helps you learn the lyrics to many CATS songs!
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Summary: Pleasing to the eye as well as the mind!
Review: The marriage of Eliot's words and Gorey's illustrations are superb. This addition belongs on every collectors self.
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Summary: Cats rule!
Review: The poems are great. The drawings are wonderful! I loved it!
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