Won Ton: a Cat Tale Told in Haiku by Lee Wardlaw

Wardlaw, Lee. Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku. New York: Henry, Holt, and Company, 2011.

ISBN: 9780805089950

“Won Ton: a Cat Tale Told in Haiku” is a great story about a shelter cat who finds a new home.  The book has no table of contents, however, the book is broken up into sections: “The Shelter”, “The Choosing”, “The Car Ride”, “The Naming”, “The New Place”, “The Feeding”, “The Adjustment”, “The Yard”, and “Home”.  Within each section, there are several haikus which expand upon the theme of the section and tell the story.  The book is told from the cat’s point of view.  The only acknowledged humans in the story are the young boy and his sister.

The Feeding

Sniff. Snub. What is this

Stuff? True, I liked it once. That

Was then, this is now.

Fine. If you insist.

I’ll try Just. One. Nibble. But—

I won’t enjoy it.

What do you mean “Ewww”?

How is my tuna breath worse

Than peanut butter?

Sorry about the

Squishy in your shoe. Must’ve

Been something I ate.

If I were to introduce “Won Ton” to a class, I’d first introduce the poetic form of haiku.  I’d explain that the haiku poem is comprised of 17 syllables.  The poems are typically three lines with a pattern of syllables 5-7-5.  We’d analyze the poems in “Won Ton” for this format.  The students should get into groups and pick one of the sections to write another haiku which could be added to the topic of the section.  Each group should write as many as they can; we’d share as a class.