Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats (1939)

I bought it as a memento from my husbands childhood in England. He was telling me about it, as I am a retired teacher now, still interested in children's books. Very old school, but it helps to have real life help to explain the poems' concepts to me!

Wonderful collection. My son's favorite is "The Naming of Cats". Early on, the poetry teaches an appreciation of language and rhythm and words. Think we started reading it to him 6 month to a year. Of course, he was more engaged because we had a great cat.

A slender, sly and witty book. Edward Gorey's drawings enliven and illuminate T.S. Eliot's verse. I didn't particularly enjoy the stage production of "Cats", but I found this book a delight. A must for cat lovers.

These are most of the lyrics. Beautifully written by T.S. Eliot (long gone), with humor and love for these animals which I am not paricularly fond of. But he gives them great character and individuality. Illustrations are at least equal to the poetry -- brilliant.

This book has a type of magical quality that enraptured me from the very beginning. I wasn't sure about it initially, but Eliot's prose changed my mind. Personally, I would recommend this book to anyone with a fantastical imagination or if you just want a few poems to read. And after wards you might be inclined to watch the musical CATS which is based off Eliot's poems. The song lyrics are almost exactly the same as the poetry; I couldn't help humming along while I read. Happy reading!

Beautiful cover, great illustrations the children enjoy as Axel Scheffler has illustrated so many favourites - Room on the broom, snail and the whale etc. A perfect introduction to T.S. Eliot for the family.

Even if there weren't other reasons for buying this book...the Edward Gorey illustrations alone would make it worthwhile. No one beats a good Edward Gorey illustration. He's one of a kind and his art enhances Cats perfectly.

This collection of cat poems originally written by T.S. Eliot for various godchildren and later collected and illustrated by Edward Gorey is a delight for ages 9 to 90. My family all enjoy it and we don't even own a cat.