Children's Poetry Review

A Cat Named Fat
by Marie Gebel
ISBN-10: 1420871463
Review by Heather Froeschl



Fed up with morbid nursery rhymes, Marie Gebel tickled her tongue with new poetry for the youngest of people and published it. “A Cat Named Fat” is a delightful book to read aloud to a child, complete with colorful artwork and memorable thoughts.

Kids love rhythm and rhyme yet new poetry for very young children is sometimes hard to come by. Marie Gebel offers such delights as A Cat Named Fat about a feline who grows into his name, and Jack and the Mirror in which young Jack plays and waves to his friend inside…a game almost all babies play. Her poems are based on things a young child knows about, like love, Santa Claus, birthdays, and butterflies, Mom, and the magical moon. These happy poems are sure to make a child laugh and smile. An early exposure to poetry may infect a child’s life, for life, and such a chance is one we all must take.

Simple and sweet, this collection is one that will likely be read over and over again. Even the youngest of listeners will be enticed by the beat of the spoken words and the vivid illustrations. In time, adults will be listening to the same poems being read back to them by kids who have developed a love for verse…all thanks to “A Cat Named Fat” and Marie Gebel of course.

Poetry Review

Ordinary Poems for Extraordinary People
by Marie Gebel
ISBN-10: 059541897X
Review by Heather Froeschl




In verse, through which to speak her mind, Marie Gebel writes to everyone. Her collection of poetry, titled, “Ordinary Poems for Extraordinary People” is said, in her own words, to be for those who are kind, insightful, offbeat, and compassionate. Here you will see yourself and people you know, detailed in poetic style.

I know several teens that would love this book and relate to many of its poems, from Fashion Plate, the very first poem in the book, about being an individual rather than taking on assigned style, to Used to Be, which ruminates with memories of younger days. Yet readers of all ages will adore the works like, Pieces, where a person recognizes the various aspects of being human, and My Mind, in which the most valuable thing to cherish is the mind and not the possessions.

Poetry is often full of deep meanings and open wounds, and this collection has its share. Marie’s subtitle for the book is “An Undressing of the Soul.” It can be argued that it is also a mirror for the soul, since readers will be sure to see themselves within the words. The works are easy to read and understand, but what’s more is that they are easy to feel. The sense of emotions that come through is precisely why I enjoy reading poetry. “Ordinary Poems for Extraordinary People” is a delight.