Three Stories You Can Read to Your Dog

by Sara Swan Miller, TRUE Kelley (Illustrator)

Overview

Does your dog sleep a lot? Maybe he or she is bored. Why not try reading these three stories to your dog? Accompanied by lively illustrations, they are all about the things dogs understand best — burglars, bones, and running free.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780395861356
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	08/25/1997
Series:	Three Stories You Can Read
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	502,490
Product dimensions:	6.25(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.20(d)
Lexile:	390L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Sara Swan Miller is the author of Three Stories You Can Read To Your Dog, Three Stories You Can Read To Your Cat, Three More Stories You Can Read To Your Dog, Three More Stories You Can Read To Your Cat, and Three Stories You Can Read To Your Teddy Bear.

True Kelley has illustrated many books for children, including Stay! Keeper's Story by Lois Lowry. She lives with children's author Steven Lindblom and their daughter, Jada, in Warner, New Hampshire.

Editorial Reviews

"Written at a level somewhere between an easy reader and a beginning chapter book, this sly, silly book has flashes of humor that an adult might appreciate best. Still, any kid who owns a dog will recognize his or her lovable pet in these three short stories ostensibly told to the mutt himself. All the stories feature the same goofy-looking dog. The first vignette spoofs how dogs go crazy barking every time someone knocks at the door. In the second, the dog buries a bone and then goes crazy, digging dozens of holes trying, without success, to find it. Finally, it settles for a dog biscuit: "You ate up the biscuit. You felt nice and full. You forgot all about the bone." In the third story, the dog turns into "Wild Dog," chasing cars and squirrels with equal success—none. The watercolor art is clever and full of vigor, bringing to life those slobbering, sweet animals that are totally dog." Booklist, ALA

"Humans will find these selections entertaining even without a hound present — but it's always nice to share." Publishers Weekly —

From the Publisher

``When you feel bored, you read a book. But dogs can't read,'' Miller points out. Lest people have all the fun, she's designed this chapter book with canine sensibilities in mind. Each tale is addressed to ``you good dog,'' enabling readers to speak directly to a pet. ``The Burglar'' testifies to the fierceness and bravery ``you'' exhibit after hearing a knock on the door; ``The Bone'' chronicles the history of a gift from ``your friend,'' including a dream sequence about a splendid ``bone tree''); and ``The Wild Dog'' is an adventure in which ``you'' frighten a car, chase a squirrel and triumphantly return home for a can of food and a nap. Kelley (I Really Want a Dog) sketches a floppy brown Everydog who wags attentively at the narrator's voice, then enacts each role of eating, sleeping and protecting the house; the illustrator's familiarity with doggy expressions and gestures serves Miller's volume well. Humans will find these selections entertaining even without a hound present-but it's always nice to share. Ages 7-10. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

K-Gr 3-Readers can share these short, easy-to-read stories with their dogs in one, two, or three sessions, depending on the animal's attention span. They are about the things canines understand best-barking at a ``burglar'' on the other side of the door, eating and burying bones, and pretending to be a ``wild dog.'' Canine lovers can't help but laugh out loud at these stories, made even funnier by the watercolor-and-ink cartoon illustrations. Fans of Cynthia Rylant's ``Henry and Mudge'' series (Bradbury) will love this book, so order a couple of copies.-Gale W. Sherman, Pocatello Public Library, ID

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