Job Swap: Dogs At Work by Margaret Cardillo

THERE THEY GO. WHAT DO THEY DO ALL DAY?

SOMEONE NEEDS TO TAKE CARE OF US!

WHAT IF--our dogs all went out to work all day? What are kids supposed to do? Kids need someone to take care of them--to notice if they are happy--or not! Who will take them out for a walk...or stop them from unwinding all the toilet paper? Who will see that they have something to eat... Who will keep them safe... or give them cuddles and good night kisses?

WHAT IF THEY NEVER COME BACK?

Dogs (and other assorted pets) dress up in their working clothes or uniforms and head out to the job, boarding the bus and going out into the world to do very important things, like emcee a TV show, run for mayor, rescue people in fire trucks or helicopters or on skiis, read to toddlers in the library, herd sheep, or deliver the mail! And the kids miss them a LOT!

But, wait! Someone's coming in the door!

HERE THEY ARE!

I KNEW YOU WOULD COME BACK!

Author Margaret Cardillo turns the tables on tots and their pets, in her latest, Dogs at Work: Good Dogs. Real Jobs. (Balzer and Bray, 2021), as kids wait in their empty homes, while their pets go out to do the work of the world.

Being a kid's best friend is an important job, but in her book's Barkmatter (Backmatter), author Cardillo also describes actual working dogs doing their jobs--lobster-diving dogs, truffle-sniffing dogs, herd dogs, search and rescue dogs, fire service dogs, therapy and guide dogs, and sled and hauling dogs, as well as a "Furrier" Further Reading, and online sources. Noted artist Zachariah Ohora furnishes the jocular illustrations of real and comic dogs doing their thing to add to the fun of this turnabout pet tale.

Says Publishers Weekly, "The scenes showing canine morning and evening commutes represent lovely moments of deadpan humor, and each image reminds readers of what they love best about their pooches: their tenacity and steadfastness, whether at home or on the job."