Jack PrelutskyIf Not for the Cat

This book is a wonderful addition to a classroom or a home. I use it in my 3rd grade classroom to use while teaching poetry and the kids love it. I usually introduce the idea of haiku, then read them the poems in this book, keeping the pictures to myself. As I finish each poem I have them guess the nature-related subject the poem is referring to. Then we discuss how haiku poetry is generally about nature. After that I have them write a haiku of their own. It usually comes out in the style of this book! The kids love to guess each other's animals from the poems.Great book, really! The kids love for me to read it to them over and over again, even though they already know what animals the poems are about.

I love using this book with my students of all ages. There is a great lesson on Writing Fix.org which outlines everything you need to do for a perfect writing activity. My students love writing haiku riddles for each other and ask to write more each week!

A wonderful book, each story introduces (effortlessly) a difficult word. The pictures are great ans stories smart and some bordering on existential-fun for kids and parents alike. a word of caution-don't buy anything from kids collection pro - these are scammers selling used stuff as new and then refusing your money back.

Not only is the haiku poetry in this book captivating, but the pictures are beautiful too. I've used this book in various classrooms and read the poem and asked the students to identify the animal being described. It is a good activity to use in a classroom setting and not only exposes the class to haiku, it also enriches their imagination.

This is such a sweet book..................even though it is aimed at children, it caught my attention in the waiting room of our vet's office. I was recently involved in an arts exhibit where writers in our community wrote haiku poems and we visual artists made art to express our reactions to or interpretations of the poems. It was very successful and so is this collaboration between Prelutsky and Rand.

Like the variety of haiku animals. Good for teaching students ho two write haiku. I like Prelutsky's writing and this is just another book added to my collection of his writing.

I'm a teacher and I bought this book for my 1st graders. I thought it would be great to teach inferences (and it is), but the vocabulary is very advanced. I like the book, I I still plan to use it, but I will have to do a lot of scaffolding and switching around of the words to help my ELLs and other students.

Jack Prelutsky work is always a good read to the young minds.gk