Sometimes I need a smile. A rough day. Unexpected money leaks for broken appliances, car repairs, doctor or vet bills. Teenage angst living in my house. Everyone knows the sort of days I mean....we all have them. That's the time when I drag myself home and just need a dose of cute. An infusion of happy to offset the Really Horrible Day. That's why I buy books like this one! Poems written by pets (well, poems dictated by pets...ha ha). These books are little.....4x6.....but they pack a huge cuteness wallop! And....they never fail to make me smile, even on the day our refrigerator died....in the middle of a pandemic.

This particular volume of poems -- I Knead My Mummy -- is penned by kittens. I laughed and smiled as I read about 3 am leg climbing, toy killing and general destruction. Before I returned to work full time, I fostered orphan kittens for the local humane society. Very rewarding....but time consuming and difficult at times. This book reminded me of all the tiny fur faces that stayed with me for awhile before continuing on to their forever homes. :) And had me noticing, the frayed arm of the couch in my office, the tiny holes in my curtains, the 2/3 dead carpet tree..... Kittens are cute, lovely, adorable.....and destructive little fur demons. :) But I love them.

And I love poetry penned in their names, too!

My favorites:

Black Kitten

I purr
I nuzzle
I lick
I cuddle
I run
I leap
I play
I sleep
But if you think that is an evil omen
If you think all that is pure bad luck
Then yes, you will endure great misfortune
Because without me your life will suck


Looking Good

Lick
Lick
Slobber
Lick
Lick
There
Now all your left arm hairs
Point in the same direction
And Glisten
And smell of seafood surprise
And you're welcome.

Each poem is accompanied by a full color photo of a cat or kitten being very feline. And the front cover is quite colorful and cute -- three kittens getting into mischief. This book is tiny and only 109 pages....but it's incredi-cute, funny and fun. I highly recommend it -- and the other little tomes in this series featuring cats and dogs. They have such awesome titles as: I Could Pee on This (Cats) and I Could Chew on This (dogs) and some are even self-help books - You Need More Sleep: Advice from Cats.

These books are also attractive. Full color, hardback with dust jackets. They would make attractive gifts for animal lovers, or for display on a bookshelf or coffee table. ( )

The photos in this book of poetry are great, but the poems are not as strong as those in I Can Pee on This. I enjoyed "Rainy Days" and a couple others very much, but most of the poems were simply mediocre. ( )