The Language of Cat and Other Poems

It is always good to come across a new name in children’s poetry and Rachel Rooney is one to note. Having had more than 60 of her poems accepted for anthologies, Rooney has served her apprenticeship and deserves to have her first collection published in Janetta Otter-Barry’s new poetry list for Frances Lincoln. Rooney also knows her young audience well, as she is a teacher and experienced at running writing workshops. The title of the book, The Language of Cat, could be misleading as, apart from one lovely poem, the subject matter has little to do with animals. But it’s certainly got a lot to do with language, including the special way poets use words. Indeed, poetry itself is her most popular subject and Rooney writes persuasively, and often amusingly, about the ‘P’ word: ‘Then who plucked the T from a thorn/ carved an ivory pen out of a horn/ and dipped it in ink…’ Other poems are thoughtful, quirky, sensitive, amusing, occasionally edgy. Hers is a welcome new voice; she has a lot of talent and has earned the Poet Laureate’s positive recommendation on the back cover. ‘A box of delights’, indeed.