As the title states, this book contains stories and poems about cats and dogs. It relates the joy and pleasure they brought to their owners and the grief experienced when their pet passes away. Pat has written these poems and stories, over time, about the animals’ life and after some of the animals passed on. The aim and purpose of the book is to help young people, starting with preteens, deal with grief through the reading of these stories and poems. It tells about the lives of these special cats and dogs. This is a self-help book of sorts. It is Pat’s hope that it will help preteens, teenagers, young adults, and even adults who have lost pets to know that others have also lost pets, how difficult it was, and how they dealt with the loss of the pet. Sometimes it helps when one pet dies to immediately get another one. That is sometimes difficult, as you feel no other pet can replace the one you lost. It is a blessing that many people rescue pets from the pound and animal shelters. There are also organizations that rescue dogs from being euthanized. Dogs and cats have meant much to many in different ways. They can be a therapy to senior citizens and shut-ins. They lift us up when we are having a bad day. The pets were given a good home. They were given love. They were like family. They gave unconditional love in return. The book includes pictures of the cats and dogs that go along with the stories and poems. For those of you who have had animals you loved and lost, other animal lovers can feel your pain. Hopefully, these poems and stories will serve to let you know others grieve as you do. You are not alone.

A moving selection of poems for dog lovers, accompanied by charismatic line drawings, from a poet with an "unfailing mastery of her medium" (New York Times Book Review). Reflecting on her long and celebrated career in poetry, two-time National Book Award finalist Linda Pastan was struck by the number of dogs that have appeared in her poems—whether as the primary subject or in the briefest of allusions. Dogs run through these poems, so to speak. The poems span the lighthearted to the serious, from the antics of training a recalcitrant dog to the grief at a beloved dog’s death. With warmth, dignity, and quiet power, Pastan explores the many roles of these devoted animals, from household pet to Argos, Pluto, and the Dog Star. "Envoi" We’re signing up for heartbreak, We know one day we’ll rue it. But oh the way our life lights up The years a dog runs through it.

Poems perfect for a year in the life - a dog's life, that is! Day in, day out, our dogs are there for it all. But they see holidays quite differently than we do - Halloween, for example, is when you can't tell the real cats from the costumes! And, of course, dogs have special days of their own, like Hole Digging Day or the dreaded Visit to the Vet Day. Perfect for dog lovers of all ages, this clever book by one of the leading children's poets celebrates all those days and more, looking at a whole year in the life of our canine companions.

An illustrated collection of children's poetry which celebrates the lives of a wide variety of animals.

A heartwarming collection of short verse celebrating our beloved pets and the wonder of life Daniel Ladinsky is the internationally acclaimed poet known for his inspired, contemporary renderings of works by Hafiz, Rumi, St. Francis of Assisi, and poet-saints East and West. Patrick McDonnell is the venerated author, artist, and creator of the beloved MUTTS comic strip. In Darling, I Love You! these two artists have collaborated for the first time to create a delightful, universal collection of sweet, welcome-to-the-moment poems about the essential places animals and wonder hold in our lives and in our hearts, accompanied by line drawings of the illustrious MUTTS characters that readers have come to know and love. “Pet owners will chuckle knowingly about the way the speakers shift between simple observations and deeper statements . . . that remind us why humans need animals as much as they need us.” —The Washington Post

Throughout the world, people spend much of their time with animal companions of various kinds, frequently with cats and dogs. What meanings do we make of these relationships? In the ecocritical collection Reading cats and Dogs, a diverse array of scholars considers the philosophy, literature, and film devoted to human relationships with companion species. In addition to illuminating famous animal stories by Beatrix Potter, Jack London, Italo Svevo, and Michael Ondaatje, readers are introduced to the dog poems of Shuntarō Tanikawa, a Turkish documentary on stray cats as neighborhood companions, and the representation of diverse animal companions in Cameroonian novels. Focusing on “Stray and Feral Companions,” “The Usefulness of Companion Animals,” and “Problematizing Companion Animals,” Reading Cats and Dogs aims both to confirm and topple readers’ assumptions about the fellow travelers with whom we share our lives, our streets and fields, and our planet. Fifteen contributors from various countries reveal the aesthetic, ethical, and psychological complexities of our multispecies relationships, demonstrating the richness of ecocritical animal studies.

A beautiful collection from much-loved poet Pam Ayres, compiling her best verse dedicated to animals, illustrated by Ellie Snowdon. Now a Sunday Times bestseller. 'Oh WHY must you bark at the postman? Why must you batter my ears? I know it seems rum But the postman has come Every morning for SEVENTEEN YEARS.' From her very first encounter with a friendly golden Labrador at just three years old, Pam Ayres has been enchanted by animals. Now, for the first time, in this beautiful new illustrated work, she has gathered together her life's work of poems, new and old, dedicated to her love of them. This definitive collection brings to life the charming characters and voices of all creatures great and small through Pam's poetry over the last five decades. From delightful tales of our British wildlife in 'I'm a Starling Me Darling' and the difficulties of keeping farm animals in 'Fleeced', to her hilarious observations of our pets in 'Ode to a Jack Russell' and poignant reflections on the end of their lives in 'Tippy Tappy Feet', Pam Ayres on Animals is a celebration of animals everywhere.

Full-color photographs accompany two hundred poems about animals.

This beautifully illustrated book pairs poetry with nonfiction, telling the fascinating stories of the animals who have found homes in our city landscapes across the world, from the pythons traveling Singapore's sewers to the monkeys living in India's temples. Humans may have built towns and cities, but we aren’t the only ones who live in them. Given the smallest chance—a park, a garden, a window box; a basement, a subway tunnel, a bridge—wildlife manages to survive in the city. Among colorful illustrated pages buzzing with city life and animal activity, you'll discover the host of wild animals who live among humans: butterflies, bats, spiders, honeybees, coyotes, and more. Each animal’s story is told through a short poem accompanied by an informational paragraph. Some poems are comical, some poignant, and all make the reader see the world in a different way. After a rousing exploration of animal life, find definitions of the various types of poetry forms used in the book: haiku, cinquain, sonnet, terza rima, villanelle, triolet, reverso, acrostic, and free verse. Look around—you may discover neighbors you didn't know you had!

"Hurry-scurry! / Flutter-flurry! / Running! Racing! / What's he chasing?" With loving exasperation and bewilderment, these playful poems muse about why cats do what they do.