First published 2008
Jack sits in Miss Stretchberry's classroom again, still unsure about poetry but ready for whatever comes next. This year brings new challenges: metaphors, alliterations, onomatopoeia, and one particularly troublesome black cat. The cat lives near Jack's bus stop, stuck in a tree and clearly in distress. Jack tries to help, but the ungrateful animal scratches him for his efforts. Meanwhile, Miss Stretchberry introduces her students to poets like William Carlos Williams, Valerie Worth, and T.S. Eliot. Jack struggles with these new forms and techniques, trying to find his own voice through verse. As months pass, something shifts. The mean cat that once seemed so hostile becomes less threatening. Jack discovers that poetry can capture his real experiences, even his complicated feelings about that scratching, hissing creature. By year's end, Jack learns to see the cat differently and finds new ways to express what matters to him.
Genres: fiction, contemporary, poetry
Vibes: emotional, intimate, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family
160 pages · Library Binding · HarperCollins