An interspecies war of verse!An orange-and-white cat channels Shakespeare, feathered quill in paw, while his creative nemesis-a pug-clacks away at a green typewriter. The origin of the two foes' conflict isn't quite clear, but they battle in rhyming couplets, haiku, and galloping verse. "I hope it shan't disturb you that I plan to write some poems today," Cat begins. "I hope it ‘shan't' disturb you, Cat, that I intend to do the same," Pug retorts. The ensuing scansion and prosody are remarkable, making for a truly rollicking read-aloud with extreme emotional highs. Both animals are fat and joyous, Cat's dignity neatly offset by Pug's crude hilarity: "Can I write a poem with my butt? / I don't know! / Oh can I write a poem with my butt? / Here I go!" In the illustration, Pug's fuzzy posterior hovers above the typewriter. There are even some moments of poetic instruction toward the end, when the two animals reconcile their differences and collaborate: "If a line is too long… / then we can enjamb it! / If a rhyme's almost rhyming… / it's not wrong; it's just slanted!" It starts to drag in the middle, as this is slightly longer than an average picture book, but there's plenty of humor and energy to keep audiences large and small enthralled.Delightful. (Picture book. 4-8)

Debut author Stohler takes -use your words- to literary, witty extremes via roly-poly Pug and orange, fluffy, and equally rotund frenemy Cat. Stirring the pot on what are clearly long-standing issues between them, the two engage in a poetry face-off. Cat, who is not a little snobby, fussily assembles a quill, an inkstand, and a bust of Shakespeare before hurling all manner of verse at Pug: -Don-t poke the haiku/ this fresh toasty haiku, plump/ with soft little words.- Pug, who has gathered a typewriter, a pizza, and a large bag of cookies, counters with a poetry slam pose and a multi-stanza manifesto: -Can I write a poem with my butt?/ I don-t know!/ Oh can I write a poem with my butt?/ Here I go!- As the versifying escalates, expressively inky digital vignettes grow ever more rambunctious and gravity-defying; the typewritten text follows suit, skipping and swooping around the page. Eventually, poetry works it magic on both characters, who enthusiastically embrace each other, the muse, and all the tools in the meter toolkit, including slanted rhyme, enjambment, and poetic contractions. They-re poets, and boy, do they know it. Ages 4-8. Agent: Thao Le, Sandra Dijkstra Literary. (Aug.)