Bow wow meow meow: It's rhyming cats and dogs

Bibliography

Florian, Douglas. 2003. Bow wow meow meow: It’s rhyming cats and dogs. Ill. by Douglas Florian. San Diego: Harcourt, Inc.. ISBN 0152163956

Plot Summary

In this collection of poems about cats and dogs, poems celebrate the yapping bark of the Chihuahua, the oodles of curls of the poodle, the imperiousness of the Siamese, the “fur-ocious” roar of the lion, and much more. With humor and clever wordplay, Douglas Florian has captured the unique qualities that make cats and dogs our favorite animal companions.

Critical Analysis

This poetry collection uses a variety of poetic forms to describe the physical characteristics and personalities of various breeds of cats and dogs. Beginning with a poem about dogs in general, followed by odes to specific breeds, the first half of the book is devoted to dogs. The second half of the book follows the same pattern for felines. A table of contents at the beginning allows readers to locate their favorite poems quickly.

Poetic license is taken with words to emphasize traits, such as a bloodhound’s senses being “scent-sational”, and to get a laugh, such as playing in “jaguarundi-wear”. The text on the page also plays into the qualities of the featured animal. Each line about the poodle’s oodles of curls is formed into a curlicue, and the letter O’s are black spots in the poem about Dalmatians.

On the opposite page from each poem is a watercolor on brown paper bag painting. With a child-like style, the paintings give form to the imagery of the poem.

Review Excerpts

Book Links: “In this winning collection, both clever and silly, Florian again shows how much fun poetry can be.”

The Horn Book: “Twenty-one pithy poems celebrate our favorite domestic animals and their wild cousins. With a master's hand and a generous variety of creative devices, Florian melds sense, sound, and visual image”

Connections

* Invite discussion with children about the characterization of the cats and dogs in the poems. Do they know any dogs or cats that look like that, or act like that?

* Encourage children to create their own poems describing their favorite pet or wild animal.