It’s Paws to Read Month and young readers everywhere are reading to comfort/therapy animals, shelter pets, and their own fuzzy family members. Read your little one or have them read to you or your pets this month to help them build reading confidence and improve comprehension. All the stories in this post are about dogs! Take a look and see which one or ones are for you and a young reader in your life and Paws to Read with a fuzzy friend!
This classic picture book follows a family of curious puppies as they explore their world and test their boundaries. The puppies often get into trouble for digging under the fence and leaving to explore the world. This story is a nostalgic and relaxing story. The illustrations are vintage and done in a muted watercolor and pencil and mirror the playfulness of the story. This is a great book to read with puppy-loving kids.
A dog from the city moves to the country where he can run and roam freely. He meets a frog and they become fast friends through the seasons. In springtime they play, jumping and splashing. In summer they run and fetch. During the fall, Frog is tired so they talk and remember the good times. And when winter comes, Frog isn’t there. The playful close-ups of Dog and Frog are replaced by wide open landscapes of the snowy countryside, making Dog look small. This perspective amplifies and conveys to readers the loneliness he feels. In spring again Dog visits the pond and waits for his friend, Frog, but Frog does not show, but a new friend does, and a new season begins. What happens to Frog is left up to the reader to interpret. Regardless, the story explores themes of friendship, loss, grief, and hope through an easy to read story that leaves much of the storytelling up to pictures.
Sheep lives a carefree life on a farm. She spends her days frolicking practicing her dance moves. She lives blissfully unaware of the animals like eagles and coyotes that are out to get her. That is because of Sheep Dog who watches her and makes sure she comes to no danger. Sheep tells Sheep Dog one day she is a SHEEP sheep and also watches sheep. She sets out to improve Sheep Dog’s ability to watch sheep with various tools. Sheep soon realizes she cannot see other sheep so Sheep Dog and Sheep search for them only for Sheep to find out she is the only sheep! This story explores a blooming friendship where Sheep Dog and Sheep care for and help each other.
One day while Mark and Bob the Dog play in the park, a bird flies straight into Bob’s mouth! Bob is horrified, but the bird is still alive, so Mark and Bob set out to get help to lure the bird out of Bob’s mouth. All their friends try to help, but nothing works until the bird’s mother comes to help. The illustrations of this book use mixed media, combining scraps of paper, watercolor, and pencil, and feature unexpected textures by combining collage with illustration. Although the story is brief, it makes for a silly and lighthearted read.
Storyteller, Patricia Polacco, illustrates the life of a once street dog turned into a Coast Guard hero. The book follows the real life of Vera, the brave dog, as she earns the respect of her platoon and soon their commander. Vera goes on many adventures, rescuing people from sinking boats, and helping the Coast Guard. Soon, she becomes a famous dog on and off the military base where she lives with the commander. The story is bittersweet and reverent, but shows the amazing abilities and care our animal friends can have.
Consider coming to our monthly Read to a Dog program featuring Esther the Comfort Dog! And check out more stories about dogs in our online catalog. You can even download our SHARE Mobile Library application to search for books on your mobile device or tablet!