Dog and Cat

As a children's librarian, I teach children to look at the cover to see if the writer begins the story there. Lynn Reiser does begin her story on the back cover: a dog chasing a bunch of cats. One of those cats ends up on the G of Dog on the front with the dog standing against the C, barking. On the title page they reverse positions. Then open to the story where these two will really interact! The cover gives you the idea of simple drawings, but inside, once the chase begins, there is a hodge-podge of a flurry of colors everywhere. As a cat lover, I can describe why the cat stretches out as long as a snake (low-riding), her cleaning behavior in the tree (she's safe). When the cat climbs down from the tree, she goes into frenzied cat behavior, hissing, puffing out her fur. By the way, children love to act out these behaviors (they are learning new words). Then the cat latches onto the dog's neck and he demonstrates frenzied behaviors. Once the cat lets go and slinks back into his own yard, the dog thinks about what has just transpsired. The children's favorite part is when the dog figures out that the "monster" latched to his neck is the cat next-door, which he never chases again (who wants to have a monster attached to your body?). This is a delightful book, both entertaining and educational. You can have fun with your little one or share it with a larger group. Highly recommended!

Great, easy-to-follow story of a dog learning not to mess with the cat the hard way! You're child will enjoy filling in the sentences with words that they are sure to be familiar with (ball, butterfly, balloon, etc.). Though they probably aren't aware that there is a lesson involved, that is why the book is so clever.