Tuesday Tucks Me In by

Told from the perspective of Tuesday, a service dog for a veteran of the U.S.Army, this book offers the readers a unique glimpse into the life of two very special friends.  Short text and photographs makes this book a unique read for elementary and middle school students.  Students will enjoy "spending the day" with Tuesday and Luis as they narrate their daily encounters and challenges.  See how Tuesday makes a great friend and support for Luis.  Would be excellent to be used in conjunction with a lesson on Veteran's Day.

Text:  5 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations:  5 Buckeye leaves

*As with any book, preread before sharing with students and know your audience!  Some students may have relatives in the military and have a unique perspective to add.

Dog vs. Cat by Chris Gall

Mr. and Mrs. Button have decided to buy a pet....unfortunately neither of them knows that OTHER one is doing so.  Mr. Button comes home with a dog and the same day Mrs. Button comes home with a cat.  Since the Button's only have one room for the new pets, they must share.  Each animal arranges their side of the room.  It is quickly apparent that these two pets are quite opposite.  Dog and Cat spend lots of time trying to make the other one leave.  There is no compromise and getting along with these two pets....UNTIL a new arrival appears at the Button house.  Funny book with a surprise ending.  A closer look at the illustrations, including the end pages, will provide kids and adults with lots of laughs!

Illustrations:  5 Buckeye leaves (Spend time on the endpages too!!)
Text:  5 Buckeye leaves

A Perfect Place for Ted by Leila Rudge

Poor Ted!  He has been at the pet store, well, FOREVER!  No one ever notices him.  Ted decides it is time to head out on his own to find a "job" that is perfect for him.  He tries the circus but that does not work out for him.  He tries a pet pageant but that does not work either.  Nothing Ted tries seems to be a good fit.  Then one day he sees a young girl placing posters up.  She is looking for a "furry friend" to be her friend.  Finally a perfect fit for Ted and his new friend, Dot.  A very sweet, simple story about fitting in and finding the perfect place for you.  I absolutely LOVE the illustrations.  A definite purchase book! 

Text:  4 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations:  5 Buckeye leaves

Dog Days of School by Kelly DiPucchio

Charlie is NOT a fan of school.  He is just tired of it all - practicing letters, drawing pictures, just tired.  One night Charlie wishes on a star that he could be a dog and the next morning, Charlie is a dog and Norman is a boy.  For the next week Norman goes to school and Charlie lives the life of a dog.  Charlie    gets to live the life of a dog - with NO SCHOOL!  He should be ecstatic.  But is he?  Is this what he wants?  Freaky Friday meets dog and boy….

Text:  4 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations:  4 Buckeye leaves

The Night I Followed The Dog by Nina Laden

This book is a little older (1994) but has become a favorite of the 4 year old since we got it at the library!  One morning a boy decides to open the door just a little earlier to let the dog in, and discovers his dog jumping out of a limo wearing a tux.  The boy decides to follow his dog that night and finds a whole new world.  The doghouse he helped build has a living room, bathroom and huge closet.  He follows his dog to a part of town he has never seen before.  A place where dogs hang out without having to follow the orders of masters.

"See all the sofas?  We can sit on the sofas here.  We can get treats without having to lie down, roll over, or play dead."

The text is written large and some of the words actually looks like the word being described.  For example, the word "leashes" looks like a leash with the letters changed.   We are really enjoying this book.  Great fun!

Text:  5 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations:  4 Buckeye leaves

Zorro Gets An Outfit by Carter Goodrich

Zorro and Mr. Bud are back!  But now Zorro has an outfit!  Zorro does NOT like his outfit and is teased and laughed at by the other dogs.  Mister Bud tries very hard to cheer his buddy up but nothing works.....until they meet Dart another dog at the park, a dog in an outfit.  He is fast and stylish and suddenly Zorro does not think his outfit is so bad anymore.  In fact he feels kind of sorry for Mister bud for not having an outfit.  Simple book written about friendship self image and self confidence.  Kids will be amused by the fun pictures.  

Text:  4 Buckeye leaves

Illustrations:  4 Buckeye leaves

Dog In Charge by K.L. Going

When the humans leave the house, Dog is left in charge of the 5 cats.  Dog's plans are simple:  sit and stay. The cats have other plans!  Dog spends the entire time hunting hiding cats and cleaning up after the bad cats.  Dog is worried when the humans come home, he will no longer be a favorite.  Kids will love the antics of the cats as well as the dogs reaction to the troublesome cats.  Fun book written in an interesting style - a touch of graphic novel within a picture book.

Text:  4 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations:  5 Buckeye leaves
Endpages:  5 Buckeye leaves - Awesome!  Big points for silly faces on dog by the 4 year old here!

A Ball For Daisy by Chris Raschka

Yesterday AM I hit refresh MANY times on the computer.....big day for us book addicts.....the announcing of the ALA awards at the midwinter meeting. This years Caldecott went to Chris Raschka's a Ball For Daisy. In this wordless picture book the dog Daisy has a red ball that she appears to like very much. However the ball is damaged and thrown away. Daisy is noticeably upset when the ball is gone. Only on thing can cheer her up. A great book to get kids thinking and writing (or verbalizing) their own words to go with the pictures. Kids will love Daisy and be able to identify with the SAD Daisy when the ball is thrown away!

Click here for an article about his book!

The Twelve Days of Christmas Dogs by Carolyn Conahan

I will admit I am not an animal person....dogs are cute - from afar BUT for the dog lovers this is a cute and fun book! I also love when authors take a popular song/story and change it for a new theme - yes, I have mentioned this before too! As you can probably guess, this book is a new Twelve Days of Christmas. With each new "day" new dogs appear.

"On the fourth day of Christmas my best friend gave to me...

four collie dogs,

three French dogs,

two turtle dogs,

and a pug puppy under the tree."

I think my favorite is on the tenth day of Christmas, "ten Labs a-leaping".

If you or someone you know is a dog lover, this would make a great book to have on the shelf!

Text: 4 Buckeye leaves

Illustrations: 4 Buckeye leaves (some really funny pictures)

Shaggy Dogs, Waggy Dogs by Patricia Hubbell

I am NOT a dog person....never have had one, never plan to have one, allergic to them, gets scared when they start barking at me as I am running, you get the idea....I LOVE THIS BOOK! Great words! Great illustrations! Told in rhyme, with adorable pictures of the dogs to match, Hubbell creates a world of dogs of all shapes, sizes, personalities, etc.

Shy dogs.
Bod Dogs.
Won't-do-as-they're-told dogs.
Dogs in packs and dogs alone.
Puppy dogs and dogs full grown.

A great addition to any library that would be enjoyed by dog lovers and not-so-much-dog lovers.

Text: 5 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations: 5 Buckeye leaves (Adorable! The details are amazing!)

See Me Run by Paul Meisel

Simple book. Dog lovers will love this one. A great beginning reader book with a surprise ending. I love the illustrations with the different types of dogs.

Trick or Treat, Marley! by John Grogan

Marley is back and up to his old tricks! A dog with triple the energy of your average dog is ready to help with carving the pumpkins and decorating in preparation for the family's Halloween party! But as always, Marley's "help" turns into anything BUT help as he ends up with a jack-o-lantern on his head, cobweb decoration on his tail and popped balloons everywhere! How will the party end when a surprise GOHSTLY guest shows up! As always, Grogan brings more Marley-fun in his latest tale of this energetic dog!

Text: 4 Buckeye Leaves
Illustrations: 4 Buckeye Leaves
Endpages: 5 Buckeye leaves - LOVE them! (So does the 3 year old at our house that kept pointing out the different faces!

Bark Park

Come to the dog park where dogs of all shapes, sizes, and colors come to play!

"Hot dog, dot dog, in the park. Fat dog, rat dog. Bark! Bark! Bark!"

Fun rhyming text about a topic most kids, if not all, enjoy reading about, with great choice of words.

Text: 4 Buckeye Leaves
Illustrations: 3 Buckeye leaves
Endpages: 4 Buckeye leaves

Dog Number 1 by Ami Rubinger

Meet some new furry friends and count to 10! From Rover to Missy to my favorite, number 10, Spike, each dog has a personality revealed through rhyme. I am one of Rubinger's biggest fans because her books are interactive! The reader finishes each sentence.

"I'm different and that's just great. Call me Missy. I'm dog number..."

At this point Adam yells, "Eight!!!"

Text: 5 Buckeye Leaves
Illustrations: 5 Buckeye Leaves - some of these dogs' facial expressions are HILARIOUS!
Endpages: 4 Buckeye leaves

Doggy Whys by Lila Prap

I will begin by saying I LOVE cute, little, fluffy, non yapping dogs....from far away. I never had a dog. I don't think I ever will. I can appreciate a cute one but beyond that....But I LOVE this book. The illustrations are adorable - look at that cover! How can you resist picking it up with that face staring at you?? Then of course I check the endpages....slam dunk!!! Even more adorable! LOVE them!! Then to the actual writing...each 2-page spread has a question at the top, such as: Why do dogs do what we tell them? OR Why do some dogs' ears hang down? Somehow some CATS get into the book and "answer" the question from the top...hmmm I don't think those cats are telling the truth but they do tell some that are good for a laugh! Of course the page includes the actual answer as well as a picture of some type of dog with a paragraph about that type of dog. Kids will LOVE this book! Adult dog fanatics will love this book! Even NON-DOG LOVERS will like this book! A great FUN twist on nonfiction! And one I plan to buy for both of my schools!

Text: 5 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations: 5 Buckeye leaves
Endpages: 5+ Buckeye leaves....LOVE LOVE LOVE these!! They are covered with....of course, dogs!! AND with each dog is a label for us "non-dog" people!

I Don't Want a Posh Dog! by Emma Dodd

I like Emma Dodd's books for their simple story lines but fun use of words. She always makes great word choices. This was another 1/2 Price Books find this am. This was another book we borrowed from the library and did not take back for a LONG time. The little girl wants a dog....but she knows what kind of dog she does NOT want and explains it through her very precise choice of words.

"I don't want a posh dog. A blow-dry-when-washed dog."
"I don't want a snooty dog. A fancy, attitudey dog."

The dogs to match her words are hilarious and so fitting to her her words. She also has since published the "cat" version of this book, I Don't Want a Cool Cat! Great fun!

Text: 5 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations: 5 Buckeye leaves

My Dog Lyle by Jennifer P. Goldfinger

My Dog Lyle by Jennifer P Goldfinger is not a new book but was one I found in our library that I really liked. I have been sharing it this week with kindergarteners and 1st graders and they seem to enjoy it as well. Lyle is based on the author's own dog, Lyle, and some of the things she mentions in the story, actually happened to her dog, including they BOTH were sprayed by a skunk. Lyle is a "snuggly, smart, howling, burping, slurping, stinky-pink..." dog. What I loved about this book was the great words that she uses...and that she builds on the words to describe Lyle. What the kids liked was that Lyle sometimes wears a tutu around his neck, drinks from the toilet, and runs into glass doors, and the pictures to go with these events are even more funny! Fun read aloud!

Story: 5 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations: 5 Buckeye leaves

A Pet for Miss Wright by Judy Young

Miss Wright is an author. Being an author can be VERY lonely, so Mrs. Wright decides to buy a pet. First she tries a mynah but instead of talking to her, the bird imitated the keyboard clicking. She takes the bird back and brings home a monkey, which did not work out any better for her. She continues through a long list of animals trying to find the perfect animal for herself. She finally finds a pet that is perfect, both as a friend and as an editor.

Story: 4 Buckeye Leaves
Illustrations: 4 Buckeye leaves (Very detailed with beautiful color choice - nice endpages!)

Charlie the Ranch Dog by Ree Drummond

Charlie is a ranch dog. Charlie's best friend is Suzie. Together they must take care of many things on the ranch for all to run smoothly. Charlie works so hard that many times.....zzzzzzzz......he just falls asleep. Who is really doing the work on the ranch? I thoroughly enjoyed this book, as well as the illustrations, but I wonder how many younger children will understand what was really happening with Charlie and Suzie. Children would need to examine the pictures closely to uncover the truth behind Charlie's :work


Story: 4 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations: 4 Buckeye leaves (my favorite is a picture of Charlie trying to make it over the fence, looking quite tired, and Suzie coming behind him, boing! Boing!)

RRRALPH by Lois Ehlert

Very funny!! An amazing dog that can talk? Ralph CAN talk! For every question asked, he has an answer. "Ralph, what's on that tree?" and Ralph answers, "Bark! Bark!" How amazing is that? Ralph continues to answer questions like these throughout the book. Preschoolers - 2nd graders will enjoy this book.

Story: 4 Buckeye Leaves - short but funny and kids will enjoy the little "jokes" throughout
Illustrations: 5 Buckeye Leaves - love that kids could do their own version of the illustrations