Old Toffer's Book of Consequential Dogs - Hardcover

Reid, Christopher

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0571334091 ISBN 13: 9780571334094

Publisher: Faber & Faber Children’s, 2019

Synopsis

T. S Eliot's Old Possum's Practical Cats finally gets the companion volume that Eliot had envisaged.

First published in 1939, T. S. Eliot's best-selling, much-loved collection of practical cat poems, Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, has become one of the most successful poetry collections in the world. Now, an official canine companion will be available.
Written by award-winning poet – and like Eliot himself a fellow former editor of Faber and Faber - Old Toffer's Book of Consequential Dogs is the first companion volume to Eliot’s original volume. Originally conceived by Eliot himself, Old Toffer's Book of Consequential Dogs includes a selection of paired poems about all manner of memorable "pollicles" (Eliot’s companion name to his "jellicle" cats) that are as witty, varied and exquisitely compiled as Eliot's cats.
Meet Dobson the Dog Detective, Flo the Philosophical Foxhound, and Frazzlesprat, a dog who would really rather be a cat and a host of other humorous hounds.

About this title

About the Authors

Christopher Reid is the author of many books of poems, including A Scattering (winner of the Costa Book of the Year Award 2009), The Song of Lunch, Nonsense and The Curiosities. For his first collection of poems for children, All Sorts, he received the Signal Award 2000. From 1991 to 1999 he was Poetry Editor at Faber & Faber, where T.S. Eliot once worked. His Letters of Ted Hughes appeared in 2007 and he is now editing a selection of Seamus Heaney’s correspondence for publication in a few years' time.

Elliot Elam is a self-trained illustrator living in Walthamstow in London. Over the years he has illustrated for all sorts of publications, including the BBC, The Big Issue, The Guardian, Penguin Books, and Victoria University Press. Elliot has also built theater sets and painted scenery and carnival floats at Disneyland.

Reviews

K-Gr 3-Reid, an award-winning British poet who has written books for both adults and children, was Poetry Editor at Faber & Faber from 1991-1999 and winner of the Signal Award in 2000 for All Sorts, his children's book of verse. He has written Old Toffer's Book of Consequential Dogs as a companion volume to Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats at the invitation of the Estate of the late T.S. Eliot who created the book's title, and then never had a chance to write the poems himself. Reid admits, in his first poem, that he is "trying to imitate the style/Of T.S.E., who thought it fun/To faze and flummox everyone/With far-fetched and old-fangled words." In the 21 poems that follow, Reid provides an enjoyable and intriguing introduction to a variety of dog species, singling each of them out for the distinctive inbred traits and characteristics that their owners find most appealing (e.g., "Flo: the Philosophical Foxhound;" "Molly: A Dog of the Night;" and "Frazzlesprat, a dog who wanted to be a cat.") ­VERDICT Cleverly worded and presented, this collection pairs beautifully with Eliot's famous book of feline poetry and offers an enjoyable reading/listening treat for many ages.-Susan Scheps, formerly at Shaker Public Library, OH α(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

I’ve rounded up a rowdy assembly
Of my own Consequential Dogs
As counterparts to Eliot’s mogs.
Mine are a rough and ready bunch:
You wouldn’t take them out to lunch . . .
But if they strike you as friendly, funny,
Full of bounce and fond of a romp,
Forgetful of poetic pomp,
I trust you’ll take them as you find them
And, at the very least, not mind them.

Edition details

• Publisher: Faber & Faber Children’s
• Publication date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0571334091
• ISBN 13: 9780571334094
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Elam Elliot
• Number of pages: 64