About.com Rating

I Knead My Mommy And Other Poems By Kittens is Francesco Marciuliano's second book about cats, having been preceded by I Could Pee on This And Other Poems By Cats, as well as I Could Chew on This And Other Poems By Dogs.

The author's support of  rescue and cat adoption is reflected in his dedication of this book:

Dedicated To
Fluffy and Ginger
two beautiful kittens my parents took in,
and to all the stray cats that need a loving home.

This enthralling book is lushly illustrated with photos of kittens in all kinds of settings, and is replete with cunningly funny poems describing ways kittens demonstrate their unique brand of love for their humans. As Francesco writes in his introduction: "...these kittens' poems will show you their world as seen through their eyes, and through their hearts...  A couple of scenarios that may sound familiar:

My First Toy

You weren't savvy enough to provide your new kitten with suitable toys. So he finds one himself with nice clawable wood, strings to bite and even a hidey hole:  your prized vintage Fender Guitar.

Another Way

It's your kitten's first veterinary visit and you and the whole vet team are challenged to complete an important part of the exam. However your kitten loudly lets you know that when you take your own temperature, you place the thermometer somewhere else!

Interview With Francesco Marciuliano

I was extremely fortunate to be granted a private interview with this extremely talented author.

He was even more personable than I had expected after reading his books.

Q: Have you lived with cats all your life?

A: I grew up with a very loving, very sweet Siamese cat named Bettina. (Who I recently named a character after in “Sally Forth” in honor of my childhood pet.) My parents also regularly looked after feral cats, feeding at one time 12 strays, a number I’m sure was never discussed by our neighbors. And shortly after college I adopted brother and sister kittens Boris and Natasha. (And if those names sound familiar to you, then yes, they were inspired by Tolstoy characters. And yes, that is a lie. They were inspired by “Rocky and Bullwinkle” characters.)

Boris and Natasha were with me for over 17 years, and when they passed away I became very, very depressed. So to help me work through that grief I started writing poems from their point of view. I wanted the poems to be funny and true just as my cats were—playful, loving, intelligent, at times infuriating and absolutely true to their dedication to listen to approximately about 15% of my cries of “No! Not the shelf with the glasses!” My first book, I Could Pee on This and Other Poems by Cats, was dedicated to—and made possible by—those two wonderful members of my family.

I don’t currently have a cat though I am adopting one or two this fall. That is why I Knead My Mommy and Other Poems by Kittens is dedicated to strays in general who need our love and help and two feral kittens in particular who my dad looks after every day, even building them a large Snoopy-like house for them right by my parents’ side door for inclement weather (my mom has developed pronounced cat allergies over the years).

Q:Do you consider yourself a cat man, a dog man, or an all-God’s creatures man, and why?

A: I’m one of those horribly annoying people who say they are both a cat and dog person, which to some is like saying you vote for both the Democrat and Republican nominee at the same time.

This is where I should note that in addition to growing up with cats I also grew up with several dogs. First there was our Great Dane “Splash,” because that’s what happens when you let a five-year-old name the dog. Then there was our beagle “Snoopy” because that’s what happens when you let someone who overly identified with Charlie Brown—minus the preadolescent alopecia and with a more varied wardrobe—name the dog. And then there was our beautiful dog “Panda,” a great name that happens when the family finally decides that perhaps they should let your younger brother name the dog instead. I Could Chew on This and Other Poems by Dogs is dedicated to all three dogs and features a photo of Panda and myself (in which I couldn’t look more early 90’s if I were wearing a Spin Doctors t-shirt and drinking Crystal Pepsi).

Also, growing up I had cats, dogs, bird, fish, turtle, newt, snake, raccoon…Well, the raccoon didn’t know it was a pet. The raccoon didn’t know why it was being followed by a small child who was calling it “Mortimer.” The raccoon eventually moved. What I’m trying to say is that eventually there may be such additional poetry books in the series as “Please, Not the Etsy Doily and Other Poems by Turtles,” “HAHAHAHA I’m Going to Outlive You All and Other Poems by Parrots,” and “I Could Uproot Your Primrose and Other Poems by Voles and Hedgehogs for British Gardeners.”

Over the past few years I’ve also really wanted a pet pig, something I’ve been discouraged against by both friends (who see my introverted nature as enough of an obstacle) and Manhattan rental agencies (who assure me a pig will lock me out of almost every one-bedroom apartment). But all this started when I made friends with a pig (as you do) while I was working as the script supervisor for an independent film. One day we were shooting on a farm and in the long downtime between takes I’d wander around and try to meet as many of the animals as possible (though not handing out business cards, because that would be an odd moment of networking). The family who owned the farm had a small white pig who they kept as a pet (allowed both inside and outside the house) and who I sat down with for a while. After I got up to return to filming it started following me around (sometimes loudly snorting for attention while cameras rolled). Later, when the cast sat down around the floor of the house for lunch, the pig approached me. At first I thought it was going to make a play for my sandwich. But instead it pushed my lunch away with his head, lied down on my lap, and fell asleep. Since then I’ve never been able to eat bacon, ham, pork or what have you again. I mean really, how could you?

Q: Can you tell me what were your future ambitions as a young man—a teenager? Did you want to be a writer then?

A: When I was around ten I wrote what was essentially my professional “bucket list.” Though the term “bucket list” wasn’t around then. And it wasn’t born out of the morbid belief I was as good as dead by age 11…but it was in the late 70’s when the killer bee swarm was heading north and the prevalent thought was either everyone moves to Canada to buy themselves another six months or we were all as good as dead.

But on that bucket list I wrote “Cartoonist,” “Humor Writer,” “Working with Puppets,” and “Jedi.” I did get to be a cartoonist thanks to my writing the comic strip “Sally Forth.” And I did get to be a humor writer thanks to everyone’s encouragement and continued support. I even got to work with puppets as the Head Writer of a PBS TV show called “SeeMore’s Playhouse.” And while the last professional goal on the list is a possibility thanks to an actual Jedi Academy in New York City, I don’t think the world really wants to see a fortysomething Padawan.

Q: What kind of books do you read for enjoyment? Who are some of your favorite authors?

A: I read almost everything by John Irving and Don DeLillo, though they take exceptionally different narrative paths. I really like Thomas Pynchon, though Gravity’s Rainbow (much like David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest) will be the book I may never, ever complete (but that didn’t stop me from referencing it in a “Sally Forth” Sunday). And when I want to experience brilliant and laugh-out-loud humor I read Christopher Moore and Carl Hiaasen.

Q: Can you disclose any future plans?

A: I have my first non-poetry cat humor book coming out next year (I apologize but I’ve been asked to remain a bit mum on details). I also have a puppy book to be published. And I’m currently working on three manuscript proposals, one for beginner readers, one of middle-school readers, and one that oddly enough is not about animals at all…well, actually, part of it is. One can only stray from cats, dogs, and all other creatures before wanting to rush back to them.

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If your interest is piqued after reading the foregoing review and interview, I highly recommend you read I Knead My Mommy And Other Poems By Kittens . I would readily rate it 20 Stars rather than the Five Star limit here.

Disclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.