Boris

by Cynthia Rylant

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780152058098
Publisher:	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing
Publication date:	12/08/2010
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	82
Sales rank:	112,644
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.20(d)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

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.

Read an Excerpt

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

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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.

Editorial Reviews

"Makes a great introduction for readers not comfortable with poetry. The poems tell an accessible, compelling story . . . Warm and tender."--The Horn Book

"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."--School Library Journal

From the Publisher