A Dog Needs a Bone

A Dog Needs A Bone
Author/Illustrator: Audrey Wood
Publisher: The Blue Sky Press, an imprint of Scholastic
ISBN-10: 054500005X
ISBN-13: 978-0545000055


A Dog Needs a Bone follows a needy pooch on his long quest for a bone. Told entirely in rhyme, it’s a very fun book to read to little ones.

“Mistress, kind mistress, please give me a bone, and I’ll stay by your side, no more will I roam.”

The reader follows the dog on his quest, listing promise after promise if he’ll only get a bone. Anyone that has a dog will recognize the single-mindedness of a dog after food. I especially loved the picture of the dog digging into the trashcan. It made me laugh as much as the drawing of the dog gazing sadly out the window when his mistress leaves made me say awwwww.

The drawings by Audrey Wood are completely adorable and give such a sense of silliness to the dog’s quest for a bone. Each drawing looks like it’s been done in crayon and give the sense of a child’s drawings, which will further endear young ones. I’m finding through my grandchildren that the drawings that remind them of their own beginning attempts at it bring a special smile and closeness.



Book Description from the publisher
Follow the plight of this bone-obsessed, lovable mutt as she spends her day waiting, pleading, and plotting for a bone from her mistress. Readers will delight in the humor and irresistible charm of this incorrigible canine as she tries to stave off her desire until at last she gets her long-awaited bone. Young readers will be drawn to the simple rhyming text and playful crayon illustrations of this bestselling author.

Cowlick!

Cowlick!
Author: Christin Ditchfield
Illustrator: Rosalind Beardshaw
Publisher: Golden Books
ISBN-10: 0375835407
ISBN-13: 978-0375835407

Cowlick! is a completely charming and beautiful book. The rhyming is rhythmic and funny as well as playful. I loved the feel of it when it was read aloud. The story is about two little boys that fall asleep with smoothly combed hair and wake with wild cowlicks.

"To the bedside she comes sneaking/Lifting covers, gently peeking/Sees a face so soft and sweet/Framed with hair so smooth and neat…."

The explanation is that a cow sneaks into the room at night giving slurpy, wet kisses that sweep the hair up into an unmanageable tangle. It’s a great, silly story and a pretty good explanation for what happens to hair in the night. My granddaughter laughed and laughed.

The illustrations are beautiful, textured and fun. The colors are bold, the cow is adorable on the pages as she comes sneaking, skulking in the night.

The packaging to the book is great as well with a textured big slurp going right across the cover. This book is sure to become a favorite both for the fun silliness of it, the bouncy rhyme and gorgeous illustrations.



Book Description from the publisher
. . . She comes in the middle of the night, when everyone is sleeping. When she sees a smooth little head on a pillow, she can't resist giving it a cow kiss—sluuurrrp! Cowlick! gives young readers an imaginative and playful explanation for the "bedhead" that afflicts us all!

About the Author
Christin Ditchfield is a former preschool and elementary school teacher. She's now a popular speaker and host of the internationally syndicated inspirational radio program "Take It to Heart!" A prolific writer of magazine articles and columns for CBA publications, she's also the author of nearly 50 books, including A Family Guide to "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." Cowlick! is her first picture book. She lives in Sarasota, Florida.

About the Illustrator
Rosalind Beardshaw has illustrated dozens of picture books for the British and European market since she graduated from Manchester Polytechnic in 1992. In her spare time, she works as a volunteer with adults with learning disabilities. She lives in York, England.