Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats (FF Classics) (Faber Children's Classics)

by T. S. Eliot

These lovable cat poems were written by T. S. Eliot for his godchildren and friends in the thirties. They have delighted generations of children since, and inspired Andrew Lloyd Webber's brilliant musical Cats.

• ISBN10: 0571069452
• ISBN13: 9780571069453
• Publish Date: December 1953
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 18 October 2003
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Faber & Faber
• Edition: 2nd Revised edition
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 46
• Language: English

Reviews

[Jo]

Originally posted on Once Upon a Bookcase.

Ever since seeing the recording of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical of Cats, I've been intrigued by the book of poems the musical was inspired by, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot. It's a charming book of poetry that will delight child and adult alike - especially those who love cats!

It was great to see familiar characters within the poems, such as Macavity, and Munojerrie and Rumpelteazer, who were very memorable from the musical. Was sad to see Grizabella - the cat who sings Memory in the musical - doesn't actually feature in the original poetry book, but there are quite a few characters that did originate from Practical Cats. From what I remember, the lyrics are pretty close to the original poems, so I would hear the the music in my head as I read. Saying that, there's no storyline like there is in the musical; no Jellicle Ball, no cat being chosen to go to the Heaviside Layer to be reborn by Old Deutronomy.

Axel Scheffler's illustrations are quirky and familiar from the picture books Scheffler has illustrated. Seeing what the cats get up to along with the poems will have young children giggling as they're being read to.

A wonderful book of poetry, and a great addition to any bookcase.

Thank you to Faber & Faber for the review copy.

[clairelm]

And we all say....
As a massive fan of Cats the musical and having been to see it recently, I sang all of these wonderful, jolly poems by T.S. Eliot. From Macavity to the Naming of Cats, some of the Jellicle Cats are described in wonderful poetry, accompanied by gorgeous illustrations which bring the poems to life.