A Day with Dogs

Reviews / Votes

"A fun and vocabulary-rich picture book similar in style to Richard Scarry's work. It has no established story; rather, each spread is filled with captioned images relevant to loosely grouped themes, including home and school, and things found in the larger world. A plethora of caricatured dog breeds insert themselves into every topic in silly ways. Pages are absolutely packed with words written in a small, thin black font, which makes this title more suitable for intimate reading sessions. Most of the vocabulary should pose no problems for those just learning to read, although there are a few tricky ones thrown in to appeal to those at a slightly higher reading level. Appropriate images do accompany every bit of text, but less common words such as cyan and chanterelles may require some extra help. For an added challenge, readers can turn to the 'Alphabet' page, which lists names of the dogs (Alex, Bernard, Carlos, etc.) instead of words. VERDICT This goofy vocabulary book has a variety of thematic word lists that should appeal to a wide range of readers--especially those who love dogs. A good choice for large collections."--starred, School Library Journal



--Journal "Working in a cheery style reminiscent of Richard Scarry (to whom the book is dedicated), French author-illustrator de Monfreid (Shhh! I'm Sleeping) shows dogs of breeds engaging in all sorts of activities normally reserved for humans. Each spread introduces a different environment or concept, along with associated objects. During a visit to the doctor's office, a stethoscope, syringe, and other items are labeled, and a smiling poodle with a broken leg looks on the bright side: 'I always wanted crutches.' Quips and conversations, captured in speech balloons, offer light laughs throughout. 'I look best in yellow, ' offers one dog, squirting itself with a tube of paint in an art class scene that explores color mixing. It's a personable introduction to useful concepts, and attentive readers will enjoy getting to know the specific dogs in the bustling scenes."--Publishers Weekly

--Journal A ride through Richard Scarry territory with a canine cast.

Echoing Scarry's larger-format panoramas, de Monfried scatters nine doggy housemates over an encyclopedic series of scenes that are drawn in very simple cartoon style, decked out with identifying labels, and usually viewed from an elevated perspective. Between a morning "At Home" and a final "Night," the dogs dress, go to town, to school, and the doctor's; spend some time in the country on a farm; play games and sports in four seasons (on one double-page spread); stock up at the supermarket; and finally come back home for dinner and bedtime. Interspersed among these stops are encounters with the alphabet and numbers one to 11, plus galleries of land and sea creatures, fruits and vegetables, vehicles, and select occupations from "Vet" to "Cowgirl." The dogs, all of assorted but mostly identifiable breeds, are indeterminate of age and, usually, sex. Aside from rare glimpses of a computer and a flat-screen TV, the world on display could be from Scarry's era--except that (with a few slips: "Fisherman," "Snowman") the sexist language and stereotyping are absent.

These pooches get a lot done in a day, and toddler who follow along will effortlessly pick up some vocabulary to boot.

--Journal