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*Picture book, preschool through 2nd grade, humorous
*Harry, a little boy, as main character
*Rating: Harry Goes to Dog School is right up my family’s alley. My 2-year-old LOVES “woof-woofs,” and this book teaches a lesson in a subtle way–the grass is not always greener on the other side. Although for just one day, I wouldn’t mind laying around, chewing on my bone. . . (smiles)

Short, short summary:

Harry wants to be a dog. He is driving everyone crazy in the family by licking his sister instead of kissing her good night, growling and chasing a cat up the tree, and growling at his oatmeal. His parents decide to send him to dog school. At first, he loves it. He is the star of the class–rolling over and fetching. However, he isn’t so crazy about lunch or nap time. His dog teacher says she can use some help, and he likes that but it is exhausting. He soon misses all the things that boys love to do–play baseball, watch TV, and eat chocolate ice cream! He decides, on his own, that he would like to be a boy and go to regular school–most of the time. . .

So, what do I do with this book?

1. You can teach children to make a pros and cons list with this book. What are the pros of being a dog? What are the cons? What about the pros of being a kid? The cons? Then talk about how people use pros and cons to solve “real” problems–like what to play at recess. You can use this to solve a problem in your classroom or school.

2. Because the text doesn’t come right out and tell students why Harry decides he wants to be a boy again, this is a good discussion point. Students have to infer! from the illustrations and text what is going on in Harry’s mind and even in his parents’. This is a great way to introduce inferring to elementary-aged students.

3. Do your students/children ever wish they could be someone else? Start with this “story” starter: If I could be someone/something else for one day, I would choose . . . (Examples: the President, a dolphin, my mom, a teacher, my baby brother, a cat, etc.) Then they copy their sentence down on their paper (older students can write a few detail sentences, too) and draw an illustration to go with it.

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*Picture book for preschoolers through third graders, history?–you’ll see what I mean. . .
*Man’s best friend as main character/topic
*Rating: Do You Have a Dog? is one of those books I wish I would have written. Brilliant!

Short, short summary:

This book starts out asking the reader if he/she has a dog and lists (in poem/rhyme) some qualities dogs might have. Then it goes on to tell about famous historical figures and their dogs. I love this idea. Included in the book are the dogs of Empress Josephine Bonaparte, Annie Oakley, Orville Wright, Billie Holiday, Admiral Richard Byrd, and of course that famous dog, Seaman who belonged to Meriwether Lewis (and more!). Each page gives a few facts about the dog and the person–the illustrations also help immensely to tell what each person is “famous” for and to show us their dog.

So what do I do with this book?

1. Use the poems and illustrations in this book as a starting point for students to research more about each individual. Give them extra points or some kind of bonus if they can find out any more about the person’s dog or other pets.

2. Try to find out other famous people–either historical or contemporary–and their dogs. When students find someone and do a little research, have them write up a page about the person and their dog. They can also illustrate it. Or do pets of presidents–our current president has a dog.

3. For younger children, talk about the characteristics of a dog. Compare and contrast dogs and cats using a Venn diagram. Allow children to choose which one they would rather have for a pet.

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*Picture book, contemporary for preschool through first graders
*Scooter the dog as main character
*Rating: Kids will love Scooter in the Outside and see a bit of themselves in this dog without knowing it. That’s the best kind of picture book. Scooter is exploring his independence–something children are doing all the time with mixed results!

Short, short summary: Scooter the dog belongs to Lucy. He loves to go for walks, but they only go so far each time–to the corner. Scooter wants to go farther (Editor’s note: My 18-month-old daughter can really relate to this; we are constantly stopping her from doing all sorts of dangerous, independent things!), but Lucy won’t let him. One day, the front door is left open, and Scooter goes out and GOES AROUND THE CORNER! Then, he becomes a bit scared at what he encounters. Luckily, he also encounters Lucy, and she brings him home. It’s a rather sweet ending, especially for anyone who has a dog that is a member of the family.

So, what do I do with this book?

1. Scooter in the Outside is definitely a fun read. Bowen has included some onomatopoeia: “Ba-Dump” is Scooter running up the stairs. “Thwappa” is wagging his tail, and so on. Plus the illustrations are lovely, and children will like to look at them and discuss what Lucy and Scooter are doing in each. I highly recommend reading this to a class or as a bedtime story.

2. Discuss with children how Scooter felt once he went to THE OTHER SIDE. Why did he feel that way? Why did Lucy put limits on him? See if they can make the connection between Lucy and Scooter and what you do for them either as their parent or teacher. Why is it important to have limits/boundaries?

3. The bond between a pet and his owner is something special. Children will want to share information about their pets after reading this book. Allow them to draw and write a sentence or two about something they love to do with their pets. If students do not have a pet, they can draw an activity they like to do with a friend OR you can visit a humane society OR have some guest dogs come into the classroom–then all children can draw about pets.

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I had the best of intentions to do a blog post on this book: That’s My Dog before I went out of town. However, I’m still getting my stuff together and now my dear daughter is crying. So, I will do this book justice with three activities on another day, but I want to tell you that if you have never checked it out, you must do so at the link below.

It is a book that will help children understand adjectives, how to make their writing more specific, word choice, superlatives and more. Plus, my daughter as a toddler LOVES DOGS–so even she can appreciate the book because she loves the illustrations and the simple text.

Go to your library, check out this book!

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If you haven’t visited my picture book giveaway yet for Chickens on the GO!, please do so now. You don’t want to miss this SUPER CUTE picture book. Click here.

Now on to this FUNNY, FUNNY picture book that dog owners EVERYWHERE have to check out–this is another one of those picture books that are perfect for any age reader.

*Picture book, preschooler through third grader, fantasy–since the dogs and cats are writing letters
*Loveable dog and not-so-loveable cat as main characters
*Rating: If you love Dear Abby or any of the self-help talk shows, you will love Mr. Mutt. He solves all the dogs’ dilemmas. See if you recognize any of these going on in your home with your poor, mistreated dogs. . . (I love this book!)

Short, short summary:

Mr. Mutt accepts letters from all his dog fans, and they write him with the most common dog dilemmas of the day. For example, there’s “Famished in Florida” whose people have put him on a diet! He is so hungry his stomach is growling louder than he growls, and he also complains that the fat cat gets fancy food from a tiny can, while he gets tasteless gravel from a giant sack! Mr. Mutt sympathizes with Famished and explains to him where he can get some food–on the counter tops, the trash can, the baby’s high chair (MY DOG HAS LEARNED THAT FOR SURE!), and to top off the meal–a drink from the toilet. Then Mr. Mutt reminds Famished he is a top dog and that cats are spoiled rotten. Of course, Mr. Mutt has a cat to deal with himself, the Queen, and she writes her own opinions down. Help Me, Mr. Mutt continues in this fashion with dogs writing letters full of problems to Mr. Mutt, and he answers them back with the best dog advice, and The Queen cat also gives her two cents. It is so cute and funny, and I really think adults will get a huge kick out of it, too.

So, what do I do with this book?

1. Kids will love writing a letter to Mr. Mutt–especially if Mr. Mutt can answer them back! They can either write as a dog OR write as a human with a pet question. Kids would enjoy getting a letter back from The Queen, too. One huge classroom letter would do.

2. The end of the book is told in mostly illustrations and “newspaper” clippings. The rest of the book is told in letter form with help from the illustrations. This is a form of organization, one of the 6 + 1 traits of writing. What do kids think about the organization? Can they tell the end of the story, even though it is not traditionally told with words? Also discuss with students how picture books have much of the story in illustrations, too, and how it is important to pay attention to both the words and pictures in a picture book. (Another part of the organization is there is an overall problem–the cat/dog dilemma, and then several little problems with the individual letters.)

3. If you have to teach parts of a letter or letter writing, what a great book to do it with. It’s much more fun to learn about letter writing from a humorous picture book like Help Me, Mr. Mutt than it is from a Language Arts textbook.

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Hello, Zorro!

So who's Zorro? He's a bossy pug who moves into Mister Bud's territory, disrupting his orderly life. The picture book begins:

"Mister Bud had it pretty good.
Everything was just about right."

An experienced reader just knows things won't stay that way. And they don't. As soon as Zorro sticks his what passes for a snout into the household, things change. The two dogs have trouble sharing--toys, favorite sofas, food dishes, well, pretty much everything. Luckily, the two quickly realize they have something in common--they both have the same routine, and doing things with a buddy is much more fun than doing them alone.  Soon the pair are terrorizing the neighbor's cat on their daily walks and napping on the same cozy rug. In short, they become best friends.

Carter Goodrich, the author/illustrator, was the lead character designer for Despicable Me, and his talent for showing each dog's personality in the art is evident. Mister Bud is the epitome of a contented dog enjoying his doggie lifestyle until Zorro arrives. And Zorro is the quintessential pug. Little in size but with a big dog's personality, Zorro doesn't let any creature, no matter how large, get anything over him. (I confess here that I am the proud owner of a pug and can attest that Zorro's portrayal rings true.)

My only quarrel with this delightful book is that the conflict between the two dogs is over almost as soon as it starts. I'd have liked there to be a bit more of a struggle before the two learn that joining forces is always better than going it alone. But that's a small quibble. Kids will enjoy reading about this mismatched pair who discover that even when everything is just about right, it can still get better.

Say Hello to Zorro!
by Carter Goodrich
Simon & Schuster, 48 pages
Published: 2011

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*Picture book for preschoolers through first graders
*Cute pup as main character
*Rating: The Dog Who Loved Red is an excellent way to teach or review colors with small children! Cute story and even cuter illustrations.

Short, short summary:

Raja the dog loves red! He chews on red things in the house, and so Tanvi takes him to the park. Raja sees his friend Champ, a Dalmatian, and they like to play with an old, red ball together. But the ball gets lost. Of course, Raja has no problem tracking it down because it’s red! While he is retrieving it, he runs into all sorts of colors like a big, blue hose and a violet gate. When he comes home, he has a rainbow of colors on him, and he gets quite a reward! (I won’t reveal it, but dogs won’t want to listen to the last page. )

So, what do I do with this book?

1. While children are enjoying the cute story in The Dog Who Loved Red, allow them to pick out the different colored objects that are listed in the book. For really young children, you can ask them to pick out the object in the book and then pick out something with the same color in the classroom or at home.

2. Raja’s favorite color is red. Make a bar graph of your students’ favorite colors once you finish this book. Give each student a stickee note (square-shaped) and ask them to write their favorite color on it out of the colors mentioned in the book. Across the bottom of a chalkboard or dry-erase board, write the color words. Then ask students to bring up their stickee notes and create a bar for each color. To do this, students “stack” their stickee notes one on top of the other to create a bar. When the activity is over, everyone will be able to see what the most popular color is in class.

3. As a shared writing activity, write a new ending for the book. What is a different treat that Raja could get for finding the ball?

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