I picked up these books two weeks ago from the public library, thinking I should leverage on Little P’s attraction to dogs to expose him to more language and also the concept of gratitude.
“A Thank You Walk” by Nancy Loewen and Hazel Quintanilla
I like “A Thank You Walk” for these relatable moments like holding hands while we walk. And of course, the dog is realistically in a world of his own sniffing the grass. (And marking! For sure, though the illustration doesn’t show this. Hah!)
The characters in the book experience moments of gratitude together. Duke the dog is thankful for his walk. The birds they meet are thankful for the seeds in the bird feeder. The pony they meet is thankful for getting a carrot. An overturned beetle is thankful when the child flips it back on its feet.
The characters convey their gratitude in different ways. Duke the dog wags his tail. The birds chirp. The horse neighs. The beetle buzzes. Of course, this is make-believe and it is totally fine to talk about the pictures and make up your own text as you go along if you want to keep it more realistic.
See it another way, these make believe parts are all opportunities for young children to copy and make noise. And that is all part of the process when it comes to young children learning to talk.
The illustrations are simplistic. But nevertheless, they draw references to common creatures and scenes to celebrate them in a calm and peaceful way.
Thanksgiving is not a part of our family culture over here to be honest. That said, I am totally onboard with the whole gratitude and mindfulness movement that seems to be so trendy this few of years… when I remember. :P And what better time to share this book with Little P than during the Thanksgiving season that other parts of the world are celebrating.
“A Thank You Walk” is a wonderful introduction to a discussion on expressing feelings and the importance of using manners in every day situations.
babybookworms.blogspot.com
Check it out in your local library or buy it on Amazon!
A Thank You Walk is one of a series of four books. You can check out the others in the set featuring themes such as Sharing, Perseverance and Empathy – Bright Start books here.
Let’s Go Outside by Kate Riggs & Monique Felix
This book stars a puppy that looks like a Bernese Mountain Dog to me. Don’t you agree?
In this book a young boy walks the dog by himself. The focus of the book is on exploring opposites that one may encounter when taking the dog out on a walk and coming back home again on a cold, wet day.
Let’s wipe the wet floor dry!
So you’ll encounter words like darkness and light, smooth and rough, thin and thick, small and big, cold and warm, wet and dry, inside and outside.
Really, just a simple book about walking a dog to lead into the concept and language of opposites. To extend the theme of gratitude, we can perhaps talk about being thankful for all the small things in life encountered during the walk.
Check it out in your local library or buy it on Amazon!
Final Thoughts from the Review
So there we have it, two books on the same subject of walking a dog with different art styles and different focuses.
I recall one of the presenters in a recent online conference I attended saying, ‘Read them versions of the same story, so that they may see from different perspectives.’ She was saying in the context of reading the original three little pigs story, and then also reading them a version written from the perspective of the wolf for example. But I imagine the same idea can still be applied here, different perspectives of the same activity – walking a dog.
From the perspective of a person with a dog, I would say some people may find Let’s Go Outside problematic. That’s because of this specific page where the child hugs the dog.
Not all dogs are comfortable with hugs and a lot of times a child’s interactions with a dog may be fun for the child but not so much for the dog, as our Donna dog will attest! :P
It’s hard to believe that 77% of dog bites come from a family or friend’s dog…
Contrary to popular belief, bites RARELY happen out of the blue — and your kids’ actions can play a HUGE role in how safe they are around the dogs they love and live with. All too often, miscommunication is at the root of the issue. We expect dogs to read our likes and dislikes — but often have no idea how to read theirs.
Stop the 77, thefamilydog.com
This is a pity considering this book features a black dog, and black dogs as we know are generally overlooked in favour of light coloured ones. Google has over 80 thousand results on the Black Dog Syndrome here.
So rather than avoiding the issue, it may be better to tackle it head on. If you want to use this book, consider using this page in the book as a starting point to talk about what makes the dog comfortable or uncomfortable.
Model respectful ways of handling the dog. Check out this website for videos, posters and other resources that you may find informational on this topic – Stop the 77, thefamilydog.com.
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