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Raining Cats and Dogs
A collection of nine poems about cats and nine poems about dogs, bound together in an upside-down book
29 pages, Library Binding
First published October 1, 1993
16 people want to read
About the author
Jane Yolen
945 books3,217 followersJane Yolen is a novelist, poet, fantasist, journalist, songwriter, storyteller, folklorist, and children’s book author who has written more than three hundred books. Her accolades include the Caldecott Medal, two Nebula Awards, the World Fantasy Award, three Mythopoeic Awards, the Kerlan Award, two Christopher Awards, and six honorary doctorate degrees from colleges and universities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Born and raised in New York City, the mother of three and the grandmother of six, Yolen lives in Massachusetts and St. Andrews, Scotland.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 5, 2014
This poetry book is a great addition to any classroom! At first glance, this book, Raining Cats and Dogs is a collection of poems about cats. The poems describe how the cats look, how the play, how they sleep and how they purr. Then 'magically' as the student continues to read, the poems are changed to poems about dogs. The collection of dog poems show off the authors playful spirit. However personally, since I am a HUGE dog lover, I was not a fan of the particular poem, It's Not Fair. Children will love this book because it has the ability to connect to a student if like like cats or dogs. The cute poems are accompanied by fun illustrations that help tell the story of the poems. The author Jane Yolen is an award winning children's author. Her take on this front-to-back and back-to-front poetry collection is just an exciting way to expose students to different styles of poetry. The book consists of short rhyming poems to more in depth poems that tell the dog or cat's story.
I thought this book of poems and illustrations was overall adorable!
I thought this book of poems and illustrations was overall adorable!
November 13, 2019
A sweet book and set up really cute.
February 4, 2022
We stumbled onto this magical book some 20 odd years ago when my children were little. All 5 of them fell in love with it.
Now all these years later, I've searched long and hard to find a copy of it for each new grand.
What a great intro to verse as well as to the to the magical writings of Ms Yolen!! All of my family has grown up with her many great books!!
Now all these years later, I've searched long and hard to find a copy of it for each new grand.
What a great intro to verse as well as to the to the magical writings of Ms Yolen!! All of my family has grown up with her many great books!!
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April 26, 2016Title: Raining Cats and Dogs
Author: Jane Yolen
Illustrator: Janet Street
Genre: Poetry
Theme(s): Animals
Opening line/sentence: I am CAT I am silk and Velvet
Brief Book Summary: This upside-down book creates poems that are all based on cats and dogs. If you read it one way all the poems focus on cats, if you switch to the other side all the poems focus on dogs. When you hit the middle where the cat and dog poems collide, the page has two poems “Raining Cats” and “Raining Dogs”.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, 1993)
It's hard to know which end's up when it's "raining cats and dogs." This engaging collection of poems, nine about each of the classic antagonists, does a flip-flop to read from both ends to the middle, with an additional symmetry in its subject sequence ("I Am Cat"/"I Am Dog"; "Alley Cat Speaks"/"House Dog Speaks," etc.). Yolen brings insight and affection for both species, plus her usual wry wit and deft versifying, to the poems (all but three new), tying the book together in the middle with a topsy-turvy spread accommodating the punning nonsense of "Raining Dogs" ("Dogmatically,/They're splashing down,/And currents cover/Half the town") and "Raining Cats" ("A cataract,/A waterfall...Catastrophe,/They're purring clown/On top of me"). Meanwhile, Street captures the lighthearted spirit of the verse and the movement of the creatures in exuberant stylized illustrations in rainbow bright colors.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
Carolyn Phelan (Booklist, Dec. 1, 1993 (Vol. 90, No. 7))
This upside-down volume can be read from either direction: one half is a collection of nine short poems about dogs, but flip the book over to find a second title page and nine cat poems. The feline and canine meet midway through the book in a double-page spread with merging, dreamlike illustrations of the two poems "Raining Cats" and "Raining Dogs," featuring dozens of dogs and cats held aloft by parachutes as they gently fall toward streets below. Kids will enjoy the creative format and the bright, naive watercolor artwork as much as the poems themselves, which are generally pleasing and often clever, though seldom memorable. An attractive picture book of poetry on a popular subject, or rather two popular subjects.
Response to Two Professional ReviewsEvaluation of Literary Elements: I think this book is really intriguing because it flips so you can read it both directions. By adding this feature to the book it can make it really interesting for kids to read. I also thought that the illustrations were very full of life and added to the poems.
Consideration of Instructional Application: For this book I would start by giving a mini lesson on poems. After the mini lesson I would read this book and then have the students create their own poems. I would start by making their topic animal related, since that’s what all the poems in the book are based off of and then we could broaden the topic.
Author: Jane Yolen
Illustrator: Janet Street
Genre: Poetry
Theme(s): Animals
Opening line/sentence: I am CAT I am silk and Velvet
Brief Book Summary: This upside-down book creates poems that are all based on cats and dogs. If you read it one way all the poems focus on cats, if you switch to the other side all the poems focus on dogs. When you hit the middle where the cat and dog poems collide, the page has two poems “Raining Cats” and “Raining Dogs”.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, 1993)
It's hard to know which end's up when it's "raining cats and dogs." This engaging collection of poems, nine about each of the classic antagonists, does a flip-flop to read from both ends to the middle, with an additional symmetry in its subject sequence ("I Am Cat"/"I Am Dog"; "Alley Cat Speaks"/"House Dog Speaks," etc.). Yolen brings insight and affection for both species, plus her usual wry wit and deft versifying, to the poems (all but three new), tying the book together in the middle with a topsy-turvy spread accommodating the punning nonsense of "Raining Dogs" ("Dogmatically,/They're splashing down,/And currents cover/Half the town") and "Raining Cats" ("A cataract,/A waterfall...Catastrophe,/They're purring clown/On top of me"). Meanwhile, Street captures the lighthearted spirit of the verse and the movement of the creatures in exuberant stylized illustrations in rainbow bright colors.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
Carolyn Phelan (Booklist, Dec. 1, 1993 (Vol. 90, No. 7))
This upside-down volume can be read from either direction: one half is a collection of nine short poems about dogs, but flip the book over to find a second title page and nine cat poems. The feline and canine meet midway through the book in a double-page spread with merging, dreamlike illustrations of the two poems "Raining Cats" and "Raining Dogs," featuring dozens of dogs and cats held aloft by parachutes as they gently fall toward streets below. Kids will enjoy the creative format and the bright, naive watercolor artwork as much as the poems themselves, which are generally pleasing and often clever, though seldom memorable. An attractive picture book of poetry on a popular subject, or rather two popular subjects.
Response to Two Professional ReviewsEvaluation of Literary Elements: I think this book is really intriguing because it flips so you can read it both directions. By adding this feature to the book it can make it really interesting for kids to read. I also thought that the illustrations were very full of life and added to the poems.
Consideration of Instructional Application: For this book I would start by giving a mini lesson on poems. After the mini lesson I would read this book and then have the students create their own poems. I would start by making their topic animal related, since that’s what all the poems in the book are based off of and then we could broaden the topic.
March 31, 2012
I thought this book was rather cute! It is a two sidedd book, so if you have the book flipped one way, you can read all the poems about dogs. Then, if you flip it upside-down, you can read all the poems about cats. The two sides join on the middle pages where there are 2 poems about it rainging cats and dogs.
I would probably have to say I favored the cat side (since I was cuddling with my cat when I read it) but the dog side also reminded me of my dog. The poems are pretty cute, and several of them actually have some really good use of similies, metaphors, etc. that I think kids would really enjoy figuring out and reading about. Overall, a very cute poetry book for really young kids.
I would probably have to say I favored the cat side (since I was cuddling with my cat when I read it) but the dog side also reminded me of my dog. The poems are pretty cute, and several of them actually have some really good use of similies, metaphors, etc. that I think kids would really enjoy figuring out and reading about. Overall, a very cute poetry book for really young kids.
April 4, 2012
I really liked the style of this poetry book. One part that I really liked was that one side was all poems about cats, then if you flipped the book over the other side was all about dogs. Each cat poem, related to the corresponding style of poem about dogs on the opposite side. Overall, these were all very playful, rhyming, poems which were fun to read and you could picture a cat/dog in your mind for each poem! This book would make a good way to show kids that you can create many different styles of poems all about the same topic. Loved it!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews