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Lee Wardlaw

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Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku Hardcover – Picture Book, February 15, 2011

by Lee Wardlaw (Author), Eugene Yelchin (Illustrator)

4.6 98 ratings

Goodreads Choice Award nominee

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Sometimes funny, sometimes touching, this adoption story, told entirely in haiku, is unforgettable.

Book Details:

Format: Hardcover
Publication Date: 2/15/2011
Pages: 40
Reading Level: Age 4 and Up

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Product Description

Nice place they got here.

Bed. Bowl. Blankie. Just like home!

Or so I've been told.

Visiting hours!

Yawn. I pretend not to care.

Yet -- I sneak a peek.

So begins this beguiling tale of a wary shelter cat and the boy who takes him home.

Sometimes funny, sometimes touching, this adoption story, told entirely in haiku, is unforgettable.

A Look Inside Won Ton
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From School Library Journal

Gr 2-5-Text and illustrations work together to craft an unforgettable character in a shelter cat whose veneer of cynical toughness masks his vulnerability. As he gazes from behind the bars of his cage, he quips: "Nice place they got here./Bed. Bowl. Blankie. Just like home!/Or so I've been told." He's adopted by a boy and his family, driven home ("letmeoutletme/outletmeoutletmeout./Wait-let me back in!"); and given a name: "Won Ton? How can I/be soup? Some day, I'll tell you/my real name. Maybe." Yelchin's superb illustrations, graphite and gouache on watercolor paper, depict an angular blue-black-haired Siamese, capturing all facets of his singular, feisty, and playful personality. Wardlaw relates his tale using a series of senryu, three unrhymed lines similar to haiku; in a note, he explains that the form focuses on "the foibles of human nature-or in this case, cat nature." The book's overall design, with text laid carefully between and around eye-catching, brilliantly composed illustrations, complements the engaging tale. Won Ton's sweetly humorous story will steal the hearts of readers young and old.-Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Although the subtitle says haiku, as Wardlaw explains in her opening author�s note, the poems that make up this picture-book celebration of the child-pet bond are actually written in similarly structured senryu, a form that focuses on personality and behavior instead of on the natural world, as haiku does. Here the central personality belongs to a feisty shelter cat who has never known cozy domestic life: �Nice place they got here. / Bed. Bowl. Blankie. Just like home. / Or so I�ve been told.� Then a boy arrives, scoops the cat from his cage, brings him home, and names him Won Ton (�How can I / be soup? Some day, I�ll tell you / my real name. Maybe�). Both the tightly constructed lines and elegant, playful illustrations unerringly imagine a cat�s world, including the characteristic feline seesaw between aloof independence and purring, kneading adoration. Like Bob Raczka�s Guyku (2010), this title shows that poetry can be fun, free, and immediate, even as it follows traditional structure; �The Car Ride,� for example, reads, �Letmeoutletme / outletmeoutletmeout. / Wait�let me back in!� Yelchin�s expressive graphite-and-gouache artwork nods to the poetic form�s roots with echoes of Japanese woodblock prints and creates a lovable, believable character in this wry, heartwarming title that�s sure to find wide acceptance in the classroom and beyond. Grades K-3. --Gillian Engberg

Review

“Sometimes the full savor of a book only comes through silent absorption. That is manifestly the case with ‘Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku'…Children old enough to read will get the full force of the harmonious combination of Lee Wardlaw's wry verse and Eugene Yelchin's witty illustration.” ―Wall Street Journal

“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.” ―Chicago Tribune

“Gloriously illustrated by Eugene Yelchin, the story is a beguiling tale of a wary shelter cat and the boy who takes him home. It's an adoption story that's funny, touching, visually exciting and unforgettable.” ―Santa Barbara Family Life

“The poignant story of a shelter cat finding a forever home unfolds in haiku verse in this funny, lovely and original picture book…offering a beguiling mix of humor…and emotion--along with a painless lesson in the creative possibilities of this form of poetry.” ―Buffalo News

“Perfect pussycat poetry for anyone who has ever loved a shelter cat.” ―Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW

“[A]n unforgettable character in a shelter cat whose veneer of cynical toughness masks his vulnerability. Won Ton's sweetly humorous story will steal the hearts of readers young and old.” ―School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW

“Both the tightly constructed lines and elegant, playful illustrations unerringly imagine a cat's world, including the characteristic feline seesaw between aloof independence and purring, kneading adoration…[A] wry, heartwarming title that's sure to find wide acceptance in the classroom and beyond.” ―Booklist, STARRED REVIEW

“A surprisingly powerful story in verse.” ―Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Lee Wardlaw has published more than two dozen award-winning books for young readers, including Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku and Red, White, and Boom! She lives in Santa Barbara, California.

Eugene Yelchin is the author and illustrator of The Haunting of Falcon House, Arcady's Goal,and the Newbery Honor Book Breaking Stalin's Nose. He has also illustrated several books for children, including Crybaby, Who Ate All the Cookie Dough?, and Won Ton. He lives in California with his wife and children.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Henry Holt and Co. (BYR); First Edition (February 15, 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 40 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0805089950
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0805089950
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 2 - 7 years, from customers
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ NP
Grade level ‏ : ‎ Preschool - 2
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.81 x 0.33 x 11.23 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #949,999 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #424 in Children's Books on Adoption
- #2,024 in Stories in Verse
- #2,861 in Children's Cat Books (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.6 98 ratings

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Lee Wardlaw

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Lee Wardlaw swears that her first spoken word was 'kitty'. Since then, she's shared her life with close to 30 cats (not all at the same time!) and published 30 books for children, tweens and teens, including the multi-award-winning poetry book Won Ton - A Cat Tale Told in Haiku (illus. by Eugene Yelchin, Holt BFYR).

Lee's books have been honored by the American Library Association, the International Reading Association, the Children's Book Council, the National Council of the Social Studies, the National Council of Teachers of English, Bank Street College of Education, the International School Librarians Association, and more. She is an active member of the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators, and belongs to the Author's Guild, the California Reading Association, the Children's Literature Council of Southern California, Association Montessori Internationale and, yes, even the Cat Writers' Association!

Lee received a B.A. in Elementary Education from California Polytechnic State University and an A.M.I. Primary Diploma (ages 3-6) from the Montessori Institute of San Diego. She studied for her M.Ed. at Loyola University, Maryland. She was the Director and Head Teacher of a preschool for two years, and taught elementary grades for three years, prior to writing full-time. Lee still enjoys teaching, and has 40+ years experience giving presentations – both onsite and virtual – for students, teachers, parents, librarians, and writers.

Lee lives in Santa Barbara, CA, with her family, which includes two former shelter cats.

To learn more about Lee and her books, visit: http://www.leewardlaw.com

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5

98 global ratings

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Alexandra A. Munroe

A favorite gift to give!

Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2017

Verified Purchase

Beautiful story all written in haikus. The illustrations are captivating. Great for a child who is adopting a pet, or simply has pets. This book has another use; teachers can teach haiku to elementary students by reading this aloud.

One person found this helpful

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SK79

Delightful!

Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2014

Verified Purchase

This book is very clever and original, written entirely in senryu (similar to haiku). I used this in my 3rd grade classroom and had students do extensions where they wrote senryu verses from the boy's point of view.
I am very impressed with what the author was able to do in this format and how he was able to give emotion to the cat's story without being limited by the 5-7-5 syllable pattern. Bravo!

One person found this helpful

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Richard Gutierrez

My review should have been a haiku

Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2017

Verified Purchase

My 2nd grade class loved this book! It was a great way to introduce haiku poems. This book isn't as lyrical and beautiful as other haiku books aimed at children (like Wabi Sabi or If Not for the Cat), but it has a lot of humor and it's cool to see an entire story carried out in mini chapters of haiku. I will definitely be looking into the sequel.

One person found this helpful

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Jeri Popma

Cute Haiku!

Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2016

Verified Purchase

This story is so cute and it is written completely in Haiku! It will be a great example for my third graders, who will then be asked to write a shorter Haiku poem of their own. It will hopefully inspire them to go further than one stanza!

One person found this helpful

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jsoul6208

Wonton's story is the story of all adopted cats

Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2016

Verified Purchase

Brilliant concept! I'm an English teacher who loves cats, and my boyfriend loves haikus and cats. I bought this as a gift for the boyfriend, but of course stole it from him and took it to school to show my students. I had my students write their own poems inspired by Wonton's poems. I also challenged them to figure out the error in the title (we had studied Asian poems already, so the kids were able to point out that Wonton's poems are actually senryus and not haikus).

The book tells the story of a shelter cat, Wonton, and his settling in to his forever home. Each stage in Wonton's story is explored in a haiku (senryu) and paired with an illustration. Through Wonton's perspective, we get to see his confusion, fear, frustration, and, ultimately, pleasure.

3 people found this helpful

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zentrainer

This is a beautiful book!

Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2013

Verified Purchase

Someone gave it to me after I told them of how cats tell me their names. They will tell anyone if they listen close enough, which this book points out in a poetic way. Good for any age. Not so good for toddlers to hold but nice to read to them while they're in bed.

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Coolfunpigeon's family

One of our favorite books!

Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2024

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This is a good book to buy as a baby shower gift so the child can grow up reading this book and develop a love of reading! It a has nice pictures and a great story. We love this book and highly recommend buying it or taking it out from a local library.

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Lisa F.

A Cat-Lover's must read

Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2018

Verified Purchase

Our family LOVES this book. We were introduced to this author by our first grader's school. I purchased this book so she could follow along with her class. It is cleverly written in haiku form about a cat who "adopts a boy". For someone who is a cat lover, this story completely captures the attitude and demeanor of a cat. I was laughing through most of it as my daughter read it to me.

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Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku Hardcover – Picture Book, February 15, 2011

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