A cat up a tree: what could be more familiar? Yet in this seemingly ordinary event lies a world of humor, pathos, and wonder. The story unfolds one poem at a time, sweeping the reader into a pageant of characters, all of whom think they know best what to do with the cat.

But does the cat need catching? The fireman and cat-catcher, a little girl, a wary robin, and an overzealous mayor, among others, all have their point of view.

Effortlessly changing mood and voice, evoking everyday wishes and secret longings, the poems here cast a rich storytelling spell from which no one, young or old, cat-lover or not, will emerge unmoved.