bow wow meow meow: it's rhyming cats and dogs (Bccb Blue Ribbon Nonfiction Book Award

by Douglas Florian

Award-winning picture book creator Douglas Florian's latest collection features twenty-one hilarious poems about dogs and cats.

Genres: Poetry, Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Nonfiction, Cats, Humor

56 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Laura Noto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary-
Bow Wow Meow Meow is a poetry picture book about cats and dogs. It can be read by preschoolers to 3rd graders. It is a collection of 21 poems that each focus on a different breed. The first 11 poems are about animals in the dog family and the rest are about animals in the cat family. The poems are a variety of structures and they are accompanied by colorful watercolor paintings.
Response-
This book would be a fun read aloud as well as a great example of different forms of poetry. Most students enjoy reading about cats and dogs, and this could capture the attention of any class. A lot of the poems rhyme and some of the poems are visually attractive. They are on funny topics that many students could relate to.
I read this book to my class and then pointed out how we could model our poems to look like these. There are also a lot of other teaching options with this book (reading, rhyming, syllables, personification, poetry structures….) and you could motivate animal-loving learners to complete activities with this fun book.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

First sentence:

"Dog Log"
Rolled out of bed.
Scratched by mhead.
Brought the mail.
Wagged my tail.
Fetched a stick.
Learned a trick.
...

Premise/plot: Bow Wow Meow Meow is an animal-themed poetry collection by Douglas Florian. There are twenty-one poems in all. Eleven poems feature dogs. (One of the dog poems is about a wolf.) Ten poems feature cats. (Only four poems are about house cats. The other six are about BIG cats: lions, cheetahs, leopards, panthers, etc.)

One of my favorite poems is "The Siamese"

I am a cat.
A cat I am.
My ancestors
Were from Siam.
My ears are brown.
My eyes are blue.
And I'm the boss, you know,
Not you!

My thoughts: I really, really loved this one. I liked Zoo's Who, which I reviewed earlier today, but I LOVED this one even more. I had favorite dog poems and favorite cat poems. Overall, I think most readers will find at least one or two poems to absolutely love.

Text: 5 out of 5
Illustrations: 3 out of 5
Total: 8 out of 10

[Libby Erwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

My initial reaction to Bow Wow Meow Meow by Douglas Florian was very positive. This book is a compilation of short poems about cats and dogs and each poem is very different. For example, the poem about poodles is written in curly circles, because of the curliness of those animals, whereas the poem about Dalmatian dogs is full of spots within the writing, reflecting the spots of those dogs. I found this not only interesting but exciting because it makes it fun for children to read but also teaches them about different defining aspects of animals. Each poem is paired with a picture that perfectly describes the poems message, allowing you to put a picture to an image that was already created in your mind. The variation of poems makes it easier to read than other types of poetry books, another reason I enjoyed this book so much.

The purpose of this book would stem mostly back to enjoyment for a young reader, grades Kindergarten through first would be ideal. You could read this to students when discussing animals, their home lives (considering cats and dogs are the most common home pets), or even when discussing a poetry unit because of the variety that this book shows. Due to the fact the pictures relate directly to what the poem is about, not every picture is completely accurate and could be used to show humor and stretching a child imagination. This could potentially also be used for students in an art class, showing when pictures are taken literally (such as yanking a tail off of a Manx, or a jaguar playing basketball in his underwear). This book could provide an introduction to poetry for young children and get the ball rolling on what a poem encompasses and just how diverse and unique each one can be.

[Tami Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

1st - 3rd Grade: Read aloud or Independent Reading

Florian uses water color paintings to illustrate each poem; the image supplements the text to give the beginning reader a visual of the animal from his poem. He uses the art of rhyming in the form of short poems to aid the reader in fluency; even a beginning reader can predict the up coming words and find the humor in Florian’s poems about cats and dogs. The text in this book would be a good transition from picture books to easy to read, however the the size of the book is large, making it difficult for small hands to manipulate, therefore the book would make a good read-a-loud. I believe that most children will be able to relate to this book, because they like cats and dogs, and are curious about the different breeds. I do not recommend this book as a beginning reader's independent reading, more of a read aloud when introducing a poetry lesson.

Language Arts/Science

Lesson Plan Idea: Language Arts - Have students write a poem about their favorite animal.
Science- Find real life pictures of these animals and research to determine if Florian’s poems are accurate descriptions of each.

[Becca Kostick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bow Wow Meow Meow: It's Rhyming Cats and Dogs is on my favorites self because it's a poetry book all about different kinds of cats and dogs that students might have at home. The pictures in this book are absolutely adorable, looking almost as if children created them, which is fun to look at and see the picture of whichever car or dog students are reading the poem about. Intermediate grades would enjoy having this book as a reference for when they are learning and writing about poems.

In the classroom setting, as stated above, this book is a great resource and reference for students to have when they are learning and writing poems. Students can also take poems in the book and adapt them to make them their own. Another way students can use this poetry book is by finding one of their favorite cat or dog from the book and make their own poem. This could make for a great reference for students to be able to write poems and create silly poems of their own! What a great book for students to have around the classroom.

[L12aliciacarrera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Douglas Florian writes short poems about dogs and cats in this often humorous book. A total of 46 very short rhyming poems are included alongside illustrations that are done in watercolor. The paintings are done on primed brown paper bags that makes them that much more interesting. The paintings are simple and are sure to be enjoyed by younger readers. Most of the poems are predictable and visually not overwhelming for beginning readers. Florian has chosen a topic that is very familiar to most young children. Most children love cats and dogs and will be very eager to pick this book up. What a better way to get to read about those loveable animals and learn about poetry at the same time!

This book would be appropriate for Kindergarten-Third grades. It would be a wonderful mentor text to use to help teach poetry. The poems alone can be utilized to reread and help build fluency.

[Becky Long · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bow wow meow meow

Grades K-4th

Douglas Florian created a cute, rhyming, colorful poetry book all about dogs and cats. Most of the poems are very graphic and describe the type of cat or dog the poem is about. The art work is painted water colors that are only images of the animal in the poem which gives a beginning reader a clue about what the poem is going to be about. The text barely takes up space on the page, while the illustrations cover the entire page which is quite a contrast. Children will enjoy this book of poetry because most kids like animals and they will enjoy the rhyming nature of these poems.

Science and Fine Arts

Science Example: Have children research the different types of dogs and cats and compare their similarities and differences between the species. Then discuss which one would make a better pet and why.

[Sarah Hannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Personal Reaction - I liked how this book used shape and rhyme to express itself. I also love animal so I had an easy time enjoying this book. These poems were expressive in their shape and had child-like illustrations to get the point across.

Purposes:
-Read-aloud for second-grade.
-Curriculum:
-Discussion of shape poetry in a poetry unit
-Introduction into an animal unit with poetry just to keep poetry fresh in the student's minds.
-This is a simple fun way for students to make connections about animals and share those options on the paper in a simple rhyming poem that kids can express themselves using shape and putting poems where they wish.
Enrichment/Enjoyment:
-Fun poems about animals that are enjoyable for children and have illustrations the kids can relate to.

[(NS) Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This clever collection of 21 dog and cat poems will entice all animal lovers. The rhyming text is engaging to both children and adults alike. The watercolor paintings which are primarily pastel colors are great fun, revealing a particular characteristic of each animal. One of my favorites was the poodle poem which is typeset in swirls which depicts the oodles and oodles of curls that poodles have.
This is a wonderful selection to read aloud to younger children, and it offers older students models of simple and engaging poems.

This book would be appropriate for students in kindergarten thorough fifth grades.

[Kira Dickson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Copyright:2003
Number of Pages:Unknown
Book Format: Hardcover
Reading Level: PreK-2
Genre: Poems
Lit requirement: Gryphon Award Winner or Honor Book

summary:
This is a collection of rhymes and poems about cats and dogs. It is split up into two sections with the first section about dogs and the last section about cats. The poems/rhymes are short and rhymes.

response:
I liked this book because first it has cats in it and the pictures are nice, but also because the rhymes are good and can get stuck in your head. I would recommend this book.

[(NS)Jennifer Reiner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my themed book.

In this story there are twenty-one humorous poems about cats, dogs, the wold and other animals. Each animal is represented on an individual page. There are short and long poems. Each poem has unique language. The watercolor paintings are wonderful and shows the characteristics of each animal. This is a great book to read aloud to younger children. It also gives older students a great model when writing poetry on their own. The book is great for all readers.

[Haley Sterritt · Rating 3 out of 5]

For use in early grades to introduce poetry. Short and simple poems about different types of dogs and cats (including wild cats like jaguars). It also shows different styles of writing poems like swirling the words and having different amount of lines, indenting some words to the right and some to the left.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of cute and short poems about canines and felines would be a nice classroom read to inspire elementary school students to write their own poetry.

[Dew Park · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this book because it gives me examples of dogs and their personalities versus different types of cats and their personalities. It was more interesting to write poems not only of one kind of dog and cat but also of several kinds of dogs and cats. I admired that short poems contained the characteristics of various dogs and cats.

[Erika Snider · Rating 2 out of 5]

I personally didn't like this one. I think it's a great poem book about cats and dogs, however, I'm not sure how interesting it would be for kids. Kids may be bias and choose only the section about cats or the section about dogs. Also vocab was a little advanced as well as the structure. This would be a good read for some kids 9 to 10 years old in my opinion.

[Kaila Daniels · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book because it gives you examples of dogs and their personalities versus different types of cats and their personalities. I would use this book to introduce comparing and contrasting. For an activity I would have them compare and contrast between a dog and a cat.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a neat poetry book each page has a fun new poem and the way the use the words is so much fun it compares dogs to cats and all the different types

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

The poems are cute enough, but some of the illustrations were creepy to me (the bloodhound in particular.)

[Nandini Sinha · Rating 4 out of 5]

The poetry was really good, sweet, and funny.

[MacKenzie Nichols · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poetry, cats and dogs, rhyming

[Katrina Schmidt]

This book includes twenty-one rhyming poems about cats and dogs. The poems range from barking Chihuahuas and pointing pointers to leopards leaping and purring Persians.

[Lilly Loaf Of Bread · Rating 5 out of 5]

A MAZE ING !! Cute poems about our favorite furry friends!

[Samantha Sharp]

This book contains 21 poems all titled after different animals, and each poem is centered around that animals’ characteristics/ appearance/ etc.

[Lauren Rhodes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Literature Requirement Gryphon Award Winner
Bow Wow Meow Meow is a book of poems. Composed and flowing and glowing and shown with glee. I see all who take a peak at this book will marvel at it's degree of creativity. Whoopee, Yippee with this book there is a guarantee of jubilee.
This is a lovely fun book about poetry from the perspective of animals such as a Bloodhound a Bulldog and Poodles. This book of poetry incorporates many different styles of poetry for example, concrete poems where the words of the poem take on the shape of the poem's topic in this case the many curls of Poodles or the spots of Ocelots. Some poems fonts often take the shape of the animal being talked about for example, the one titled The Dalmatian has a font that is spotted how wonderful and unique! The pictures of the many poems found in this book give a visual and colorful image that helps the reader imagine for example, a Bloodhound sniffing out a scent or a Poodle covered and hidden by curls upon curls. This book doesn't only include canines it has some feline poems as well. The images themselves in this book were done in watercolor primed in brown paper bags with collage a fun wonderful activity to have students complete/ emulate the books design. I would recommend this book for newborn to wise souls who are young at heart. Douglas Florian has done an amazing job creatively articulating the many different types of animals through poetry and lovely imagery.

[Brittany Watts · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a poetry book. the intended age group for this book is ages 5-10. this book is a collection of poems about dogs and cats. In my opinion I did not like this book but felt as if it had a lot of useful information therefore i rated it with 4 stars. Firstly, some of the rhyming throughout this book either did not rhyme or had me confused. Also, the illustrations in the book are horrible. If you didn't know the title of the poem they you most likely were not going to know what the drawing was a picture of. Even though I say i believe the book will still be appealing to young readers hence why I rated it 4 stars. The book teaches children the different type of cats and dogs there are. More importantly the way the words are layed out across the page is what will grab the readers attention the most. For example for the poem on poodles the sentences are twisted into curls because poodles have curly hair. Finally, I believe the book in general is appealing to children because the cover of the book is very bright pink therefore it stands out more than any other book. When using this book to work with children I would read the children the poems and than have them write a poem about their favorite animal.

[Michele Crouse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bow Wow Meow Meow is a collection of poems about the different breeds of cats and dogs. Each short poem is about a different breed and teaches children the unique characteristic of that specific breed.

The general age range for Bow Wow Meow Meow is primary. The poems are short enough for beginner readers to read. Also its a great book for primary children because if the teacher chose to read this book to their students then the pictures help the children visualize what the animal is suppose to look like.

On one page of the book is the short poem and on the other page is the painting of the animal the poem is describing. The paintings are watercolors, and pastel colors. The art in this book is representational because the watercolors makes the paintings feel realistic. The illustrator is mocking the size and shape of the animals. For example, for the dachshund they made really long like a snake, and the bulldog's face is huge.

I personally think this book should be read to young readers. It helps teach them how to describe a specific breed of dog or cat. Also it's a great rhyming book. Easy enough rhymes to know what is going to be said next.

[Crystal Lough · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bow Bow Meow Meow is a poetry book. It won the Maryland Black Eyed Susan Award. This book includes many different poems. It has poems such as Dog Log, The Whippet and The Wolf. I think this was an awesome poetry book. First off, the book includes a table of contents. This is a great text feature to get students farmiliar with while reading books. The book's cast topics of poems are good because you are more likely to have the children at least have one poem they are interested in. The pictures are interesting because they are actually painted on primed brown paper bags with water colors. This resulted in some very soft nice pictures. On one of the pages the font is spiralled to match the curls on the poodles fur which was very appealing. I think children would find this book appealing because of the pictures, topics and bold print. I could use this book in the classroom to focus on fluency.

[Judy Lindow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each illustration is a piece of art and could stand alone. The poems are delightful - some better than others. There is word play, text play, and humor. For example in the poem, The Dalmation, the "o"s in the words of the poem are black-filled to match the idea and word "spot"; in the poem, The Poodles, the words are written on the page in curls.

I didn't laugh a lot, but smiled plenty; for example, in the poem The Pointers, "Some pointers point at foxes. Some pointers point at hares. Some pointers point a pheasants. Mine points at Frigidaires.

One of my rules about any book is, it gets 4 to 5 stars if it's about dogs or cats. Most children will agree. I noticed there are a lot more reviews for this Florian book than there are for the earlier, first books published in 1991. One reason may be that they reach a broader ager group, probably PreK - 3rd, depending.

Illustrations done in watercolor on primed brown paper bags with collage - Bostonia and Cinderella - Sabon.

[Kelli Varich · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Bow Wow Meow Meow" is poem anthology about both cats and dogs, and the different breeds of each. The poems are written in different formats to add a sense diversity to the book. The poems not only talk about the physical characteristics of the animals, but also the personality traits of the breeds. For example, the poem about chihuahua mentions the way they generally bark. The poem about the black panther describes its habits when looking for prey in the middle of the night.

The artwork is done with watercolor on primed brown paper bags. The details on each animal aren't the most detailed, which adds to the story because every dog or cat of that breed do not look the exact same, so the images show the more general look and idea of them.

[Katie Bathke · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book Bow wow meow has not only a dedication page but a table of contents in the peri-text. The table of contents lists which page you can find the poem of which animal you want. Also in the peri-text part the authors note is in the front of the book but the back of the book lists some more of his books and what critics thought about them. That is something very different that I have never seen in a picture book before. The pages have very good rhyme. Each page has the words on it and then the next page has a picture with a border around it. This makes it very easy to read because you know the pattern how where the words are going to be.