Bloomsbury
October 2009
$14.99 AU
153p pb
ISBN: 978-0747599807
fp September 2008
Hate That Cat
Sharon Creech
from Bloomsbury...
Jack is back at school and still enjoying lessons with Miss Stretchberry. But he doesn't agree with everything about her, for example Miss Stretchberry likes cats, and Jack hates them. Or does he?
A delicious book perfect for reading alone, or aloud, that displays once again Sharon Creech's incredible skill as a writer of fiction for young readers.
If you have read this verse novel and would like to share your opinion of it with other readers please send your review or comments to YARR-A
In
this follow on from Love That Dog
Sharon Creech once again brings us into the world of Jack and his
poems. Jack is
in Miss Stretchberry’s class for another year and is still writing
poetry. He
is dealing with the loss of his dog, Sky and has no time for cats,
particularly
after a run in with the local black cat. He learns about new concepts
in poetry
such as alliteration and onomatopoeia and Creech deftly weaves in the
work of
well known poets in her story. Despite his Uncle’s dismissal of free
verse
(and that poetry should rhyme) Jack continues writing his poetry and
gradually
reveals more about himself and his mother, who is deaf. Miss
Stretchberry and
her kittens which she brings to school one day also slowly open Jack’s
heart
to the possibility that not all cats are mean and that another pet
could be
accommodated in his heart.
This
is certainly a worthy sequel and is a book to treasure. Despite being
told only
through Jack’s responses to his teacher we learn a lot about the
figures in
Jack’s life and his growing confidence in his poetry. It is a touching
story
and one that can easily be read in one sitting and allows for more than
one
reading. The addition of referred to poems and a reading list is also
most
welcome.