Won Ton and Chopstick
July 03, 2017
FICTION, CHILDRENS
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Each day I spend time in the children's picture books. It's so fun to walk among all the bins and let my eyes wander over the artwork. Recently I picked up Won Ton and Chopstick by Lee Wardlaw/Eugene Yelchin. I was pleasantly surprised. Not only is the artwork lovely but the book is written in a pattern called senryu. Senryu is similar to the Japanese poetry called haiku. For those who aren't familiar haiku, it contains 3 unrhymed lines containing a pattern of 5-7-5 syllables respectively. Usually haiku is about nature, whereas senryu is about human nature (or cat nature!) I immediately checked out the book as I am fascinated by haiku. So to start, the story is told like a poem in 3 senryu sentences on each page. And it is so cute! Won Ton is a cat living the good life with his boy, until one day when his life is disrupted by a puppy joining the family. As we follow along we see how Won Ton deals with the change. Will he and the puppy be friends? Read this sweet story to your kids to find out. Not only will you be treated to a good life lesson, but your eyes will enjoy the artwork, and you will learn about a form of poetry from half way around the world.
