Bobbi Katz

Now available!

This lyrical tale of my daughter's yearning for a dog was first published by the Feminist Press in 1972. The NYTimes singled it out in a round-up of "feminist" titles for kids as being an authentic and convincing story. Canine behavior expert Sue Sternberg, who gives help to pet owners on National Public Radio says its her story, too.

Now beautifully re-illustrated in full color by Jane Manning, everyone, regardless of his or her age, who ever longed for a dog will know I really understand just how it feels.

-Bobbi

A QUESTION FOR THE BRAVE:

What could you learn from a man who devotes his life to the study of monsters? Not just witches, ghosts, and vampires, but also invisible monsters. They might be hiding inside your own computer, your family's washing machine, or your town's library.

Dare to learn the truth from...

Praise for The Monsterologist: A Memoir in Rhyme

"Calling all young monster-wannabe's! If you want a blueprint for becoming Bluebeard or a crack at the Kraken, ghostwriter Bobbi Katz' memoir-in- rhyme THE MONSTEROLOGIST will provide you with the perfect job descriptions. Guaranteed to provide shivers and quivers (and giggles) galore!"
— Mary Ann Hoberman, Children's Poet Laureate, and author of A House is a House for Me

"THE MONSTEROLOGIST (a.k.a. Bobbi Katz) clamps a verse reverse half-Nelson on each of her ghouls and pins them in seconds flat. Her poetremendous lines, paired with Adam McCauley's trollishly clever illustrations, bring these beasties back from the dead and lock them in a room from which they will never escape your imagination."
— J. Patrick Lewis, author of Please Bury Me in the Library

"This book gives me the creeps! But that's a good thing, as Bobbi Katz brings monsters to life in this Who's Who of Monsterhood, from Grendel to the Golem, from Yeti to Kracken. And Adam McCauley's clever and audicious illustrations work hand-in-hand (or should that be claw-in-claw?) with the poems to create a match made in the nether world."
— Paul B. Janeczko, author of Hey, You! Poems to Skyscrapers, Mosquitoes, and Other Fun Things

Have you noticed how many people are reading, writing, and listening to poetry? Poetry Festivals featuring day after day of verse draw huge crowds. Why? Maybe we're so flooded by language, by endless sound-bites trying to sell everything from soap to politicians, that we're trying to give words new meaning. But imagine...

A Scarcity of Words

What if words were suddenly endangered
like cheetahs and pandas and elephants?
What if words became scarce,
the supply suddenly limited?
Would people panic, hurrying to say things
just to get them said
or would they hoard their thoughts like misers?
What if words were being used up so fast
that they had to be rationed
and you could only have a certain amount?
Which fifty, which twenty, which ten words
would you choose
to recycle, respect, repeat, replay,
write or say
if words were suddenly endangered... and precious?

Copyright c1995 by Bobbi Katz

Kids often ask me how a poem begins or where I get my ideas. Their questions gave me this answer.

Spider Work

I didn't mean to write a poem.
  A tingling starts a single spinneret
   I cast
     a
     line
       that
         may
     or may not rhyme
       but
       d
        a
         n
        g
         l
        e
       s
    trembling,
  beckoning me
   to weave
  a web of words:
a poem to house my spiderling.

Copyright c2006 by Bobbi Katz

Cat Kisses

Sandpaper kisses
on a cheek or chin-
that is the way
for a day to begin!

Sandpaper kisses-
a cuddle, a purr.
I have an alarm clock
that's covered with fur.

Copyright c 1974 Bobbi Katz