bow wow meow meow: it's rhyming cats and dogs

Douglas Florian (Insectlopedia, The Mammalabilia) is at it again. The 21 poems and paintings in his new collection, Bow Wow Meow Meow, will tickle young dog and cat lovers—and just about everyone else, too. Florian’s painting of a poodle, essentially a riot of curls and a pink hair bow, accompanies a four-line concrete poem cleverly typeset in swirls on the opposite page:

Poodles have oodles and oodles of curls,
Which makes poodle boys look like poodle girls.
The curls may have whirls, while the whirls may have swirls.
Poodles have oodles and oodles of curls.

Florian has fun with bulldogs, pointers, Siamese, and Manx, but he doesn’t limit himself to domestic breeds. Wolves, lions, and ocelot ("Why ocelots have lots of spots puzzles ocelot") are also featured. All the paintings have wonderful juvenile appeal—-many of them are flat-out funny—-and the leopard painting, in particular, is worth the price of the book. In fact, you may need two copies: one for framing and one to savor with the kids. (All ages) --Jennifer Lindsay