Rating: 
Summary: brilliant!
Review: Henry Beard has both a good knowledge of the original poems and of cats. His spoofs are tremendously clever, and he chooses the most common poems in English literature, so most people will recognize them. I laughed myself nearly sick. It's as good as jogging! ;-)
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful read, delightful parody
Review: Henry Beard presents a collection of well known verse, written ostensibly as they would have been penned by the cats of famous authors.
From Dylan Thomas' cat writing "Do Not Go Gentle to That Damn Vet", to Robert Louis Stevenson's Cat who writes:
Squealing mousie in a trap, woke me from my morning nap,
wasn't he so very sweet,
to tell me it was time to eat?
A must read for the well read poetry fan.
Alan McClendon
Rating: 
Summary: Very Cute
Review: I love poetry and I love cats. This book gives me the opportunity to enjoy both. Henry Beard is a wonderful poet and so witty. I share the poems every chance I get. I am delighted to find out that he has written other books and will read as many as I can. I actually like some of his cats' versions of famous poems better than those penned by the original authors.
Rating:
Summary: My favourite poetry book
Review: I love poetry and I love cats. This book gives me the opportunity to enjoy both. Henry Beard is a wonderful poet and so witty. I share the poems every chance I get. I am delighted to find out that he has written other books and will read as many as I can. I actually like some of his cats' versions of famous poems better than those penned by the original authors.
Rating:
Summary: A furball is a furball is a furball
Review: In undergraduate school one of my English professors used to photocopy good poetry parodies for us. When she photocopied Henry Beard's "The End of the Raven," I was smitten for life. This is a wonderful little book. Beard keeps the original meter and rhyming scheme of the poems parodied and it is priceless to compare the two side by side. A gem of a book for anyone who appreciates keen wit and a masterful command of the English language. After all, who could possibly not fall in love with someone who declares, "Do not go gentle to that damn vet/ Hide, hide when your appointment date is set" ?
Rating:
Summary: A furball is a furball is a furball
Review: In undergraduate school one of my English professors used to photocopy good poetry parodies for us. When she photocopied Henry Beard's "The End of the Raven," I was smitten for life. This is a wonderful little book. Beard keeps the original meter and rhyming scheme of the poems parodied and it is priceless to compare the two side by side. A gem of a book for anyone who appreciates keen wit and a masterful command of the English language. After all, who could possibly not fall in love with someone who declares, "Do not go gentle to that damn vet/ Hide, hide when your appointment date is set" ?
Rating:
Summary: Made me howl!!
Review: It took reading Douglas Hofsteder's stuff to appreciate how hard it is to translate poetry, especially silly poetry, into another language. He illustrated it with various translations of The Jabberwocky. The problem is getting just the right "look and feel" of the original. These parodies are translations, if you will, from, Eliotan, cummingsian, Chaucerian, etc. into Beardian. The author carries it off, and he does it brilliantly. Fun read! Made me howl!
Rating:
Summary: Made me howl!!
Review: It took reading Douglas Hofsteder's stuff to appreciate how hard it is to translate poetry, especially silly poetry, into another language. He illustrated it with various translations of The Jabberwocky. The problem is getting just the right "look and feel" of the original. These parodies are translations, if you will, from, Eliotan, cummingsian, Chaucerian, etc. into Beardian. The author carries it off, and he does it brilliantly. Fun read! Made me howl!
Rating:
Summary: Love Cats and Poetry
Review: The only thing wrong with this book is that one has to both love cats and be educated in poetry. (In other words, there's no one else I know who can appreciate this book!) I like some of Henry Beard's poems even better than I do the originals. I'm especially glad that he chose to interpret some of my favorite poems (e.g., "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," and "Xanadu.") Henry Beard is extremely talented; this sort of thing is very hard to do. (I know; I've tried.) This is a MUST for anyone and everyone who loves cats and poetry.
Rating:
Summary: Love Cats and Poetry
Review: The only thing wrong with this book is that one has to both love cats and be educated in poetry. (In other words, there's no one else I know who can appreciate this book!) I like some of Henry Beard's poems even better than I do the originals. I'm especially glad that he chose to interpret some of my favorite poems (e.g., "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," and "Xanadu.") Henry Beard is extremely talented; this sort of thing is very hard to do. (I know; I've tried.) This is a MUST for anyone and everyone who loves cats and poetry.
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