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Won Ton and Chopstick by Lee Wardlaw Book Review

Won Ton and Chopstick: A Cat and Dog Tale Told in Haiku by Lee Wardlaw
Illustrations by Eugene Yelchin
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co.
Release Date: March 17, 2015

Won Ton has a happy life with his Boy, until...
Ears perk. Fur prickles. 
Belly low, I creep…peek…FREEZE!
My eyes full of Doom.

A new puppy arrives, and nothing will be the same.

This is a unique book, one that I'm sure young children may be able to enjoy, but will not understand on a certain level. It is also the third book I have read in the past month featuring Haiku, which makes me wonder what it is about this particular poetry form that draws in writers? At the risk of angering the poetry community, and with the hopes that someone will actually answer this question, I wonder if it isn't because it is one of the easier poetry forms? I mean, I am a terrible poet, but at least my Haikus make some sense. 

I can see this book fitting well in a literature/poetry class for middle school students, where poetry is being taught as a narrative form. It is simple, but easily desconstructable and therefore a great learning tool. As with any special format book like this too, there is the possibility that it may inspire a new generation of young poets, which I certainly hope is the case because as bad as I am at poetry, I appreciate it as an art form in itself. 

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