"Cats and Bats and Things with Wings" by Aiken Conrad was a series of poems about different animals. Each animal is different and there are different aspects of the poems, but the poems are written all in similar style. They are all the same types of poems. All of the poems rhyme, which most of the poems I read this week actually didn't rhyme. The poems were not connected and did not flow to make one big story, but they were just right and told a story about a single animal. ( )

Cats and Bats and Things with Wings is a book compiled of 16 poems. Each poem is about a different animal and provides the reader with information about that animal. This book is meant for children of all ages and contains many facts about a variety of animals. There are poems about animals that most children know, but there are some animals I had never heard of. There are poems about crocodiles, cats, and octopi, but also about Mandrills and Cassowaries. This book was very informative in a fun way. Each student could choose their favorite animal and write their own poem about that animal. ( )

Conrad Aiken, the American novelist and poet who won a Pulitzer Prize in 1930 (for his poetry), profiles various animals in this picture-book collection of fourteen poems, the only children's book (to the best of my knowledge) that he ever wrote. From the kingly lion, with "those powerful paws / those cutting claws / and o those mighty jaws," to the plump and kindly cat, who is so "Mysterious! / Whiskerious! / Imperious!," the animals depicted here come vividly to life. The poems themselves are playful, with a tripping cadence and rhyming scheme that make for an excellent read-aloud. Some of them are also a lot of fun to read on the page, as Aiken plays around with concrete, or visual poetry. The Owl, for instance, has a middle section in which the words tiptoe across the page, one per line, corresponding to the warning being given to mice, to beware of their strigine foes...

I stumbled upon Cats and Bats and Things with Wings quite by accident, while browsing through the children's poetry section of my public library this past weekend, and was immediately intrigued. I know little about Aiken, or his work, but am familiar with his name, as he is the father of celebrated children's author Joan Aiken (as well as her sister and fellow author, Jane Aiken Hodge). I hadn't been aware that he had written any children's books (as mentioned, this appears to be the only one), but thought I'd give the book a try. I'm glad I did, as I enjoyed the poems themselves, and the accompanying artwork by Milton Glaser. Recommended to young animals lovers and poetry readers. ( )

Poems are used to describe different characterestics of animals. Some of the lines in the poems have different structures in pattern of words used. Alliteration, and Assonance is used to enhance the word rhyming scheme in some of the poems. Word sounds, and spellings on different lines help the flow of rhyme in several of the poems.
These poems relate to myself by the descriptions used to explain the different animals, I have used in teaching my children these different types of animals.
Two extension ideas are reading the poems, and having students guess what animals the poems are about, The second idea would be to have students write details to describe other animals into some sort of poem theme. ( )