A Curious Collection of Cats

About Betsy Franco

BETSY FRANCO has written over eighty books for children and young adults, including picture books, poetry collections, and novels. Among her acclaimed math-themed titles are Mathematickles! and Bees, Snails, & Peacock Tails. Betsy's feline poetry collection, A Curious Collection of Cats, was her first book with Tricycle Press. She lives in Northern California with her husband, Doug, and gets tremendous inspiration from her three creative sons.

About Michael Wertz

MICHAEL WERTZ is a talented Bay Area artist whose work has appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, the Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times. His work has been recognized by Communication Arts, American Illustration, and the Society of Illustrators.  His "Dog Blog," featuring illustrations of 100 dogs in 100 days, was featured in Bark magazine. Visit www.wertzateria.com.

Praise

An ABC Best Book for Children

Starred Review, The Horn Book:
"An ideal match of subject and form....Cat-lovers will feel a shock of recognition....Together, poet and artist convey the silliness of cats and their humans without ever being silly themselves....From acrobat-flipping to toilet-bowl-sipping, couch-scratching to dog-catching, words and pictures blend together to create a funny celebrate of all things feline."

Review, Language Arts, July 1, 2010:
"Every cat lover and classroom will want to add this purrfect book to their libraries, and will certainly want to share this on ewith a cat or two."

Review, Booklist:
"Cat lovers will recognize the standoffs with arching backs, the cozy touch of the 'purrfect' scarf on their shoulders, and the tech-savvy cat who walks across the keyboard to add her own note to an e-mail to a friend.”

Review, San Francisco Chronicle:
"Thirty concrete poems that stretch, crouch, pounce, and purr across the pages, like their feline subjects."

"Every cat lover in the universe ought to own this endearingly wacky collection of poems accompanied by purrfect art. It's an homage to burnish a coffee table...or freshen a litter box. Cats, as Betsy Franco knows, read too." —J. Patrick Lewis

"Step aside Mr. Eliot! Make room for Ms. Franco's fabulous cast of felines. This marriage of concrete poetry and art is one to pore and purr over again and again." —Lee Bennett Hopkins

Awards

HONOR Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award