Dog Days of Summer

At the end of August we experienced hot, humid days - which is unusual for residents of San Diego.  Dog Days of Summer seemed to be a perfectly natural theme.  While we did our after-craft, one little boy was singing "Who let the Dogs out?"  You know, it's really cute when it's a three-year-old!

This was a great excuse to dig out my favorite dog books and discover a few new ones:

C'mere, Boy! by Sharon Jennings
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
A wonderfully funny twist on the classic tale of boy and dog.  Dog spends a week convincing his mother that he needs a boy...buying a leash, so he will be ready, putting "boy food" on the family shopping list, all to no avail.  Mom still says, "no boy."  Dog sets off to find just the right boy, with laugh-out-loud results.   I worried that there was too much text to keep my young story time audience's attention, but they loved it, probably because there is so much humor in the text and soft pictures.

My Big Dog by Janet Stevens
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The narrator, a cat, has her "purr-r-r-r-fect" world shattered when a golden retriever puppy becomes part of her family.  The cat can't hide from the dog, can't get the dog to leave  and can't seem to avoid the puppy's "sloppy, drooly tongue."  After many misadventures, which are shown in the humorous illustrations, the two finally become friends...sort of.

The Stray Dog by Marc Simont
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A family enjoys the company of a small dog while on a Saturday picnic but leave him in the park when they head  for home, feeling as though he must belong to someone.  They think about little else during the ensuing week...and save him from the dog catcher the following Saturday.  Told with Storytime length text and lovely illustrations, this is a wonderful story filled with emotion and joy when a dog finds a "forever home."  Published in 2001 this is a Caldecott Honor Book.

Say Hello to Zorro! by Carter Goodrich
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Mr. Bud had a perfectly ordered life where "everything was just right" until the day the humans brought home Zorro.  Things do not go well...at first.  Zorro hoards toys and Mr. Bud is grumpy about having another dog thrust upon him.  Until the day they realized that they both had the same schedule...and all of the activities were better with a buddy.  The illustrations are filled with humor and the text is perfect for reading aloud.