Arf! Beg! Catch!: Dogs from A to Z

In my elementary ed. teaching classes, our reading methods teacher shared this book as a fun way to explore the alphabet and expand vocabulary with both English and ESL students. When I had my son two years ago, my parents got him the book, and from 13 months on, he has continually asked to read it and look at the pictures. The illustrations are vivid and action-oriented, so it captures and keeps a young child's attention the whole book long. It it a great way to introduce your young child to new vocabulary words as well. For example, A is for "Arf", and I would tell my son "Doggy barking." B is for ball "Doggy caught the ball." C is for "catch", "Doggy caught the ball." He must have learned 100 words from this book alone and the short phrases/sentences I made up to add to each page describing what each doggy was doing. This is one alphabet book a parent needs to add to his child's library! I would recommend it for any child ages 1-5

This is a really great book. The dogs are so cute, they'll break your heart. My son's favorite is the dog jumping through the hoop. He's really cute -- I only wish my dog were so well trained! We also like the springer spaniel puppy, because she looks just like our dog Allie! A must for dog lovers of all ages.

We have read this book on a near-daily basis for the last 5 months. It always brings a smile, even when Kate is recovering from a bump or scare. The dog photos are very appealing to the baby, especially the ones (Mutt, Good dog!, Jump!) where the dog's expression looks like a smile. A bonus is the wonderful photo collages that adorn the end pages front and back of the book; they are at least as good as the photos in the actual text. My husband and I fell in love with the book in the bookstore, but it has proven even more alluring to the baby. Unlike our real dog, Arf Beg Catch doesn't get up and walk away from being handled. I'm thinking about buying another copy against the day when we wear the first one out!

Adults as well as children will adore this unique alphabet book. Both the upper and lower case letters are displayed for education purposes. But the real fun of the book are the delightful and engaging photographs of the dogs in action shots. (The cover photo has me puzzled though. Has that dog been tossed up in the air?) Delightful browser as well as an educational tool for learning the alphabet.

Although the reading level begins at age 4 years, my 8 month old son has become very fond of this book. The pictures are exciting and stimulating. He smiles when the book is brought out and cries when we put it away. Overall, an entertaining book for any age.