A "mean, fat, black, cat" sounds like my own life! From the owner of one to another...I feel those words! Jack is entering another year of school with Miss Stretchberry as his teacher. Her love of poetry and teaching the children in her class to love and write poetry is evident in the way Jack shares his own feelings. Throughout the book, we see Jack work through his emotions, fears, and worries in his prose. He grows an appreciation for famous poets such as Poe and Tennyson. And he eventually grows to appreciate that fat, mean black cat. This is a lovely book that gives us a glimpse inside the mind of a young boy who is inspired by a passionate teacher who encourages creativity and exploration within poetry. The end of the book shares the poems that Jack mentions throughout the book, so we can experience them for ourselves.

Hilarious book written in verse about a boy that hates a mean cat and ends up liking the cat. It has the right amount of sweet and funny. ( )

In this book, Jack hates cats and he hates poetry (despite the book being written in verse). Over the year, he learns both things aren't that bad, and he grows as a person. I believe this would be a good book for children to read because it could help them get acquainted with poetry. It can be an especially helpful book to those who feel overwhelmed by bigger novels or children who are reluctant to read poetry. Reading this book from the point of view of someone else who doesn't love poetry may help them. I know when I was a kid I hated poetry so reading a book like have this probably would've helped me appreciate it from a younger age.

Just as good as the last one. I love Jack's voice and how he expresses himself through poetry. I love getting little glimpses into his life. I loved reading Jack's musings about hearing and deafness and how we experience poetry and life in more than just sound. I didn't love that Jack was interpreting for his mom at the poetry recital. If the teacher wanted to be inclusive she should have hired an interpreter. ( )

Hate That Cat is told from the perspective of a elementary school boy as a practice in writing poetry, in the form of a kind of poetic journal written for his teacher. As a sequel to Love That Dog, Hate That Cat picks up right where Jack left off, in Mrs. Stretchberry's class, after he has lost his beloved yellow dog.

This book would be great for students to hear as they are learning about reading, listening to, and writing poetry. I think that kids would really relate to the struggles Jack has using the different elements of poetry as his teacher requests, and the frustration when someone, like Jack's Uncle Bill, tells us what is and isn't poetry. The book opens the door to poetry free verse, and juxtaposes it with the other poetic elements. I really enjoyed reading the poems that were mentioned in the book at the end of the poem, and relating my interpretation of them to what Jack thought about them.