Boris - Hardcover

Rylant, Cynthia

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 015205412X ISBN 13: 9780152054120

Publisher: Harcourt Childrens Books, 2005

Synopsis

Boris is a big gray cat who loves sleeping and playing and exploring and hunting. And his owner loves him for all of his simple cat ways.

But Boris, typical as he may be, is part of a much larger story in this moving exploration of love, longing, compassion, and most of all, the continuous give-and-take of companionship.

Newbery medalist Cynthia Rylant's powerful collection of poems is sure to find its place in the hearts of readers of all ages, especially those who have been lucky enough to experience the many joys and hardships that come with true friendship.

About this title

About the Author

CYNTHIA RYLANT is the acclaimed author of more than eighty books for young people, including the beloved Mr. Putter & Tabby series, the Henry and Mudge series, and the novel Missing May, which received the Newbery Medal. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

Reviews

Grade 8 Up–This is a memoir told in 19 poignant vignettes. The free-verse poems, with marvelous use of space and line endings to create pacing and suspense, celebrate Boris the cat in Rylant's signature, dry-but-endearing style. None are exuberant, yet readers will certainly enjoy the recognition of feline (and human owner/friend) behavior. The language is delicate and precise. The vocabulary is not erudite or fancy, but it is mighty expressive. The selections encompass companionship, bewilderment, tenderness, apprehension, wry laughter, and all those emotions pet owners (and friends and parents) experience. It's a grand experience, this set of poems, this rumination on the cat and the human condition. Everyone with a pet (and without) will read and remember this title, and come back to it.–Cris Riedel, Ellis B. Hyde Elementary School, Dansville, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Gr. 7-10. This small book, written in terse free verse, introduces Boris, a gray cat who gets himself adopted, even though his unnamed narrator-owner (apparently Rylant) had no intention of getting a new pet. Like almost every cat owner, Rylant feels that her pet is remarkable. His name in his previous home was Hunter, and the moniker was well deserved--so much so that when a new cat moves next door, Rylant fears for its safety (ultimately, the two cats become best friends). Although Rylant, master of the perfectly chosen adjective, beautifully shares the affection she feels for Boris, this is, ultimately, a self-indulgent work. The book's subtext is the inevitability of change, and the larger lessons here are for middle-age women going through their own transformation: the narrator worries about no longer being cute enough to avoid traffic tickets, mourns children growing up, and tentatively welcomes relocation. This can be appreciated for the sway of the writing or for its celebration of cats, but probably those most affected won't be young people. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

They were smart
to put a storefront
humane shelter
on the street I walked.
I was new in town.
Everybody else was used
to those cats in cages
in the windows.
They kept on walking,
trained not to glance over,
lest they lie awake
at night thinking about
that long-haired tabby
waiting
waiting
waiting.
But I hadn't been trained.
I tried not to look.
I have never been able
to go to a humane shelter.
But now
they had brought one to me.

I'd buried my last cat
two years before.
I had only dogs now.
Dogs that didn't get into
howling, spitting fights
in the middle of the night.
Dogs that didn't spray
or leave chunks of
frothy hair ball on the
carpet exactly where I
place my feet
in the morning.
I had buried my last cat.
I was a dog person now.
But they'd put a storefront
humane shelter
on the street I walked
every day.
And I was new in town.
I lasted two months.
Then I went inside,
swearing I'd get only one,
and only a girl,
and no more.
Working hard to keep
my heart together.
Cages, cages, eyes.
They can't be too sad.
Cats sleep 80 percent
of the time.
They are all right,
could be worse.
Don't look at that dog
over there.
The one storefront dog
in the cage.
You will break apart.
Not made for shelters.
Ashamed of it.
But not made for shelters.
At first I thought,
I'll choose this one,
this nervous one.
I'll choose this one,
this old battered one.
I'll choose this one,
this bright one.
Cages, cages, eyes.
And then last cage,
last cage,
there you were, Boris.
With your gray sister.
And you stood up
and stretched
and purred
and promised, promised
you would be good if
I took her, too,
because she had
kept you alive
all those days and days and days.
Three months in a cage,
Boris, with your sister,
living in the moment
with only your memories
of leaves and rooftops
and warm brown mice.
I promise, you said,
and I believed you,
and I took home
two cats-one more
than I wanted, and
a boy at that-
but you promised,
and I knew.


Copyright © 2005 by Cynthia Rylant

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work
should be mailed to the following address: Permissions Department,
Harcourt, Inc., 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, Florida 32887-6777.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harcourt Childrens Books
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 015205412X
• ISBN 13: 9780152054120
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 5
• Number of pages: 74