Canus Bibliophilus: Dog Loves Books by Louise Yates

DOG LOVES BOOKS.

HE LOVES THE SMELL OF THEM.

AND HE LOVES THE FEEL OF THEM.

HE LOVES EVERYTHING ABOUT THEM . . .

HE LOVES THEM SO MUCH THAT HE DECIDES TO OPEN HIS OWN BOOKSTORE.

It's the dream of many a bibliophile--your own little bookshop with your favorite kind of volumes in a charming setting, filled with other book lovers who can't wait to buy!

Dog fills the downstairs of his little house with shelves, orders the books to stock them, lovingly sets them out, adorns the door with bright balloons and his OPEN sign, and sits down to wait for the flood of patrons.

But nobody comes in.

Dog decides to pass the time with some tea, and just as he comes back with a tea tray with a small pot and his cup, a lady comes in. A customer at last!

The lady ignores the books, but eyes his fragrant tea tray.

"I'LL HAVE A TEA WITH MILK AND TWO SUGARS," SHE SAID.

To Dog's dismay, she leaves in a huff when he has to tell her he sells books, not tea. Then his hopes rise as a well-dressed gentleman hurries in. But he is anything but a book buyer; all he wants are directions to his destination.

Dog is downhearted and alone, so he does what he always does when he's sad or lonely. He begins to read. And as he reads, he is no longer alone, but friended by Jurassic raptors from his book of Dinosaurs, Mama Kanga and Joey Roo from his Marvelous Marsupials, and futuristic extraterrestrials from his copy of Time Travels.

And when customers begin to trickle through his door, Dog already knows which book will fit their needs--beginning with a Book of Ballet for a young would-be dancer. Dog loves books and he loves finding just the right one for others who need them.

In Dog Loves Books (Alfred A. Knopf, 2010), author Louise Yates' charmingly simple pencil and watercolor illustrations, set against creamy paper stock, tells this story in modest, unassuming language, letting the elegant little drawings create the mood of this witty and engaging little story which illustrates the joy of reading.

Pair this one with Barbara Bottner's Miss Brooks Loves Books (And I Don't) (see my recent review here) for a great back-to-school read-aloud duo.

Know the Numbers: Dog Loves Counting by Louise Yates

DOG LOVED BOOKS.

HE LOVED READING THEM LATE INTO THE NIGHT AND DIDN'T LIKE TO LEAVE THEM FOR VERY LONG.

But even with books, there can be too much of a good thing. Dog needs more sleep, but counting the customary sheep doesn't do it.

Being an eager reader, Dog turns to his animal book to find some more sleep-inducing  animals to count.  He finds a page with one big egg on it.  He's on his way to counting himself to sleep. Except that something exciting happens--the egg hatches out into a baby dodo.

"BABY DODO, WE ARE TWO!"

Persistent page-turning soon reveals the perfect number 3 animal,  the three-toed sloth!  A turn of the page shows a camel. Camels have four legs, so that's easy to remember, and then there's the five-lined skink, and the sleepy-time count is on its way.

In short order Dog has found a fly with six legs, a raccoon with seven stripes, a spider with eight legs, and a nine-banded  armadillo.  But ten is hard: nothing has ten bands or ten legs that he can find, until he sees the picture of a crab--with eight legs plus two claws!  It's one to ten and back again!

At last the countdown to bedtime is ready to begin:

ADVENTURES WERE NEVER FAR AWAY--HE COULD COUNT ON IT! 

Louis Yates continues Dog's education in her third book, Dog Loves Counting (Knopf, 2013), with the same soft palette and mellow illustrations that made her other popular books in the series, Dog Loves Books and Dog Loves Drawing, winners. Publishers Weekly says, "Yates’s loose drawings give the animals personality to spare as Dog proves that the right story can be a ticket to dreamland—and that there’s plenty of fun to be had there."

Blast Off for Reading: How Rocket Learned to Read by Tad Hills

Every fall evening, after chasing leaves, Rocket would lie in his favorite spot under his favorite tree. There he would sniff the neighborhood smells and settle in for a good nap.

But one day... a little yellow bird startled Rocket.

"Aha! My first student. Wonderful!" she sang.

The little bird sets up shop immediately, hangs out her shingle, and dismisses Rocket's protests that he can't read.

"Can't read? FANTASTIC!

Welcome to my class!"

Rocket is not so sure he wants to give up his carefree lifestyle (and his naps) so easily, but the yellow bird begins to read him stories, and Rocket lies down under the tree and just has to listen to a tale of a lost bone.

Eventually Rocket is intrigued and learns the "the wondrous, mighty, gorgeous alphabet, where it all begins," and soon begins to put together sounds and decode the words of stories for himself. His progress is phenomenal. But then, one chilly day, the yellow bird's banner is gone from his tree.

"See you in the glorious spring!" she sang.

"Don't forget words are built one letter at a time!

And Rocket doesn't forget. All through the snowy winter he puts his letters together. W-I-N-D and C-O-L-D, he spells, making new words for the weather for himself. And then one warm day there is a sign in his favorite tree, and Rocket reads it readily--and happily.

CLASS STARTS TOMORROW!

Tad Hills' newest, How Rocket Learned to Read (Schwartz & Wade, 2010) features the author-illustrator's sweet style of illustrations made famous in his beloved Duck and Goose series. For slightly older youngsters, just approaching reading readiness or learning to read, this one pairs beautifully with Louise Yates' new Dog Loves Books, reviewed here September 8, 2010.