Dogs

Children's Literature - Barbara Carroll Roberts

Here's an early reader ideal for young dog lovers. Even though the text is simple, it's packed with information. Kids who love acquiring and reciting new facts will find plenty here, and teachers and parents will be able to easily check if children are taking in content while working to decode the words. Big, bright photographs will help reluctant readers keep turning the pages. Attractive typeface and plenty of white space between paragraphs add to the book's appeal. Back matter includes an index, glossary, and suggestions for further reading. This book is part of the "My First Look at Pets" series.

School Library Journal

K-Gr 3-These attractive titles present general information, including short chapters on choosing and caring for a cat or a dog and the fun of owning one. The beautiful color photographs are the books' best feature, but their layout is confusing. The illustrations do not always relate to the text on the same spread, and captions are often at the bottom of the page instead of being directly under the pictures they describe, with unrelated text between the two. Dogs includes instructions on how to make a paper dog tag, and Cats demonstrates the construction of a cat mask. The resources listed under "Explore the Web" are not particularly good; several have pop-up ads and seem to be more appropriate for adults than children. The illustrations of active animals will appeal to young readers, but youngsters looking for more detailed information will do better with Claire Hibbert's Dog (Smart Apple Media, 2004) and Stephane Frattini's Face-to-Face with the Cat (Charlesbridge, 2003).-Kathleen E. Gruver, Burlington County Library, Westampton, NJ Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.