Ragweed’s Farm Dog Handbook by Anne Vittur Kennedy. Candlewick Press, 2015
A how-to handbook offering sage advice from an experienced farm dog begins, “Here’s the first thing you need to know: The rooster wakes the farmer early in the morning. That’s his job. That’s not your job. Don’t wake the farmer. You will really, really want to wake the farmer … If you DO wake the farmer, you can get a biscuit just to go away.” Each lesson proves to be a slight variation on this theme as Ragweed, one of the most entertaining and authentic canine narrator’s ever to speak from the pages of a picture book, lays out who does what on the farm, what not to do as a farm dog, and how doing it anyway will generally result in a biscuit (or three!). Ragweed’s enthusiasm and almost single-minded focus on biscuits is consistent and convincingly doglike, while the occasional variation on the pattern only adds to the humor. (“If the farmer is away, chase the sheep! No biscuit. It’s just worth it.”). Anne Vittur Kennedy’s pairs her terrific narrative with illustrations full of color and movement. Ragweed’s joy in the life he lives is irresistible. Highly Commended, 2016 Charlotte Zolotow Award © Cooperative Children’s Book Center
The Babies and Doggies Book by John Schindel and Molly Woodward. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015
- Talk: Ragweed is proud to be an excellent farm dog. Talk about what you do well.
- Sing: Old MacDonald Had a Farm
- Write: Draw a picture or make a small book about the things you do well.
- Play: Pretend to be a dog or another farm animal
- Math or Science: Visit a farm or petting zoo.
The Babies and Doggies Book by John Schindel and Molly Woodward. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015
Babies and puppies feature in this adorable board book that looks at how many things babies and puppies have in common. Both hide and peek, for example, and both like to eat, and both like to be silly. A simple series of rhyming and almost rhyming statements is paired with smile-inducing color photographs sure to charm both babies and toddlers and their adult caregivers. © Cooperative Children’s Book Center
- Talk: Try reading the story with the word “puppies” instead of doggies.
- Sing: “BINGO”
- Write: Make a collage with pictures of dogs and puppies. Look for pictures in magazines or online.
- Play: Practice the downward facing dog yoga pose.
- Math or Science: How are puppies and babies different? How are they alike?
Why Do I Sing? Animal Songs of the Pacific Northwest by Jennifer Blomgren. Illustrated by Andrea Gabriel. Little Bigfoot / Sasquatch Books, 2015
Realistically rendered illustrations of ten animals with habitats in the Pacific Northwest are each paired with a four-line rhyme describing their vocalizations. From honeybees to fin whales to marmots, a wide-ranging lineup of species is showcased in a board book to be shared with the youngest of naturalists. Even amphibians are accounted for, as “the Pacific tree frogs / lead a big twilight chorus / that fills up the wetlands / and pastures and forests.” © Cooperative Children’s Book Center
- Talk: Look at a map. Where do these animals live? Where do you live?
- Sing: Can you sing like the animals? What sounds do they make?
- Write: Practice forming the letter “S” for sing out of string. What other materials can you use to create the letter S
- Play: Can you move like the animals? Try them all!
- Math or Science: Talk a walk in the park. What animals do you see? What animals do you hear?
Changes: A Child’s First Poetry Collection: “A Dog”, page 28
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