Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats

I think 30 years is a decent span of time between seeing “Cats,” the musical and finally reading the poems, don't you?

“Skimbleshanks: The Railway Cat” has the same meter as Lightnin' Rod's “Hustler's Convention” lol

It's no “Ode to Spot”.

Adorable poems with delightful turns of phrase (other than some racial language that sends you crashing back to the 1930s). Some of the greatest cat names ever imagined. If you're hoping for some additional context to help make sense of the musical, though, you won't find any.

Cure and funny.

Well a book is a book,
And a cat is a cat.
And calling the former the latter,
There's just no good in that!

This book is so famous,
For Eliotism.
And yet he still shames us,
With too much racism...

The Poems are hilarious and the illustrations are beautiful. It's the perfect book for a cat lover. Great to read and re-read.

Unexpectedly simple. Quietly true. And it's all poems. By T. S. Eliot, no less. And all about cats.