Here are 100 books that The Dog Encyclopedia for Kids fans have personally recommended if you like
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Growing up, my brothers and I begged for a dog, but our parents never gave in. Fortunately, when my kids begged for a pup, my husband and I gave in. So, as a children’s book writer, I wanted to give kids a book to help them convince their parents that there’s always room for a pup in the family, and at the same time, subtly emphasize the importance of gratitude and inclusion.
Martha Speaks is a classic for good reason. How can you not get attached to a dog who is fed vegetable soup that goes to her brain, not her stomach, and then is able to speak--incessantly? This fun book is the basis for the Emmy-nominated PBS TV series of the same name. Read and watch away!
When Helen Finney feeds alphabet soup to her dog, Martha, it goes straight up to her brain, and Martha begins to speak! The basis for the Emmy-nominated PBS series.
Having a talking dog is a lot of fun--unless your dog never stops talking! When chatty Martha gives her family the silent treatment they're relieved at first, but then they get worried. Will Martha ever speak again?
I’m a picture book writer who struggles with anxiety. Some things that seem like no big deal to most people can become a very big worry for me (like Giraffe worries about Spider in It Will Be OK). I found that identifying and naming our emotions—in this case fear—makes it easier to address our feelings and work through them. I want to share my experience of being fearful of things, both big and small, with children to let them know they are not alone and they can have power over scary emotions.
I love this book’s unique approach to sharing a story about fear – it lists all the wild ruminations that can run through our minds. In this case, it’s a dog Sukie who is not enjoying a trip to the beach because, among other worries, there might be lobsters! Sukie’s list of fears grows and grows as the story goes on, and she is paralyzed in the sand – until her precious toy Chunka Munka is swept into the water. Sukie lets love overpower her fear and jumps into the water without a worry to save her precious friend. It’s a wonderful story about what we are willing to do to overcome our fear for the sake of others.
Come on, Sukie, you can do it! A little dog’s paralyzing anxiety gives way to bravery when someone smaller is in need in this humorous, tenderly sympathetic story.
Lots of things at the beach scare Sukie. Lots. Because she is just a small dog, and the stairs are big and sandy, and the waves are big and whooshy, and the balls are big and beachy. And besides, there might be lobsters. With endearing illustrations and a perfectly paced text that captures a timid pup’s looping thoughts, here is a funny and honest read-aloud about how overwhelming the world can be…
Growing up, my brothers and I begged for a dog, but our parents never gave in. Fortunately, when my kids begged for a pup, my husband and I gave in. So, as a children’s book writer, I wanted to give kids a book to help them convince their parents that there’s always room for a pup in the family, and at the same time, subtly emphasize the importance of gratitude and inclusion.
Hound Won’t Go reminds us that dogs, like people, have unique minds of their own. (And despite all the training in the world, that we aren’t ever totally in control of our lovable four-legged friends.) The rhyming sparse text is fun for reluctant and new readers to read and listen to – again and again.
Out for a walk on a cloudy day, Hound suddenly decides that he's gone far enough…right in the middle of a busy intersection! His owner tugs on his leash and offers treat after treat, but Hound won't go. Then those clouds open up into a thunderstorm―and Hound goes and goes. Short, bouncy text and a sweet ending make this the perfect story for all who love dogs, even at their most stubborn.
Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctor—and only woman—on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.
Growing up, my brothers and I begged for a dog, but our parents never gave in. Fortunately, when my kids begged for a pup, my husband and I gave in. So, as a children’s book writer, I wanted to give kids a book to help them convince their parents that there’s always room for a pup in the family, and at the same time, subtly emphasize the importance of gratitude and inclusion.
With two simple words--“dog” and “cat”-- in several configurations, Cat Dog Dog explores the stress of settling into a blended family as well as the power of pets to bring people together. If a child can recognize these two three-letter words, they can read this book independently. The illustrations are worth a thousand words.
Here is the oh-so-hilarious and adorable story of a blended family-- using just a few words in various configurations-- from the pets' point-of-view!
Cat and Dog live with their human in a suburban house with a big backyard. Sure, they fight like.... well, cats and dogs, but they're used to one another. Dog-- a different dog-- lives a happy only child life in the city with his dad. He has the bed to himself, he never has to share his toys, and that's the way he likes it. So what happens when the Dog's dad and Cat and Dog's mom…
I belong to a family of dog lovers – Oscar, the black cocker spaniel; Buddy, the brown-and-white beagle; Riley, the buff cocker spaniel; Buffy, a black boxer mix, Milo and Max, Golden retrievers. In fact, cavorting with Riley at a San Francisco park was my inspiration for Bark Park. I also love children, especially my grandchildren Connor and Kasey. When Kasey, at five years of age, read my book Bark Park aloud for the first time, my heart swelled with joy! It took me back to my own young daughter Laura whose first all-by-herself read-aloud had been: Go, dog, go! So it’s only natural for me to combine my two great loves – dogs and children – with these book recommendations.
How Rocket Learned to Read is a charming easy-to-read picture book based on the joys of teaching and learning. In it, a little yellow bird teaches Rocket, the spotted dog, to read. Rocket begins by learning the alphabet. After that, he picks up little words like “Grrrrrr!” and “Whoosh!.” Little bird helps Rocket move on to words like “fall” and “red,” signaling a change in seasons. When winter comes, the little yellow bird must fly south. Although Rocket misses little bird, he keeps up with his schoolwork by practicing writing his “ABCs” in the snow. When the little bird returns in the spring, Rocket is now splashing in a word he can now spell: “mud.” Best of all he can spell the word “wag,” which is what he does with his tail when the little bird happily returns for the next season of school.
Rocket is an irresistible puppy who is not the least bit interested in reading - he'd much prefer to be chasing leaves, chewing sticks or listening to the birds sing. But one day, while trying to take a nap, Rocket unexpectedly finds himself in the classroom of a very determined little bird who captures his imagination with her lively stories. Together, they learn to read, one glorious letter at a time!
For as long as I’ve enjoyed crime novels, I’ve always been drawn to the figure of the amateur detective. Something about the notion of the every(wo)man, forced to rely on their own wits and limited resources to solve the mystery and outsmart the killer (and sometimes the police!), has always appealed to me far more than that of the professional who does it for a living. When I wrote my first novel,In the Silence, I knew from the word “go” that I wanted to tap into this rich but often-overlooked vein of crime fiction with my own plucky amateur sleuth, determined to right the wrongs of the world.
Though easy to mock for their repetitive plots and outdated societal attitudes, children of all ages devoured Enid Blyton’s mystery stories ravenously, and I was no exception. Blyton was an absurdly prolific writer, and it’s tough to pick a favourite from her expansive catalogue, but if you twisted my arm, I’d have to go with 1945’s The Mystery of the Secret Room. I still remember my excitement as I followed the five intrepid “find-outers” (and dog!) on their quest to uncover the mystery behind a fully furnished room in a supposedly abandoned house, all the while outsmarting the dim-witted local policeman, Mr. Goon. An unusual choice, perhaps, but this book, and indeed Blyton’s entire oeuvre, were a formative influence on me and sparked a lifelong love of amateur detectives.
I am a big fan of two things… one is graphic novels and the other is funny stuff! When those two things come together I am in my zone. I read lots of graphic novels when I was a kid and I've never really stopped. They are a great part of anyone’s reading diet. Now I write funny graphic novels for kids with my writing partner Jol. We’ve written 20 books to date including The Underdogs series, but there’s more to come!
This one has a human in it but also a dog – the world’s cutest and sweetest dog Pawcasso.
So it’s not as side-splitting as my other recommendation but after all that laughing you’ll need to settle down with this heart-warming tale or should I say tail!
This is a story all about friendship and belonging and it will make you feel terrific!
Remy Lai, the award-winning creator of Pie in the Sky makes her middle-grade graphic novel debut, Pawcasso, about the unexpected friendship between the loneliest girl in class and the coolest canine in town.
A Booklist Editors' Choice Winner for 2021, Amazon Best Book of the Month, New York Public Library Best Book of the Year, and Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year
"It's tail-wagging entertaining!" ―Kelly Yang, New York Times bestselling author of Front Desk
Every Saturday, Pawcasso trots into town with a basket, a shopping list, and cash in paw to buy groceries for his family. One…
As a painfully shy child, I found friendship and ultimately my own voice reading about, and spending time with, animals—especially dogs. Dogs didn’t judge, didn’t expect anything from me, and I never had to worry about what to say to them. They gave me the gift of their presence and time to practice communication—gifts that ultimately led me to obtain a master’s degree in counseling and work as a children’s grief counselor. Thankfully I overcame my extreme shyness. And there is no denying the role that dogs—and books about dogs—have played in my life. I hope this list helps you find that same comfort and inspiration.
This book proves rough beginnings can produce beautiful endings.
I read Marley and Me a few years before losing our first golden retriever, Sunny. I had waited twenty-three years to have a dog of my own. My husband and I had looked at more than a dozen puppies before deciding on our perfect little princess.
The first day, our puppy slept like the sweet princess we knew she was! But on day two, she woke up a tyrant. She was the golden retriever version of Marley—and like Marley, Sunny won our hearts and became a beloved member of our family.
She lay in my lap while I read Marley and Me—a good thing because I had to stop reading and hug her a lot while reading the book!
Each summer when I was small, I visited my gram. During the day we would go off on one adventure or another—and at night, she enticed me to sleep with the promise of a story. Most often, she read Grimm’s fairytales to me. Full of darkness and also hope (!), they were, and still are, some of my very favorites. And they inspire what I most enjoy writing and reading.
Adventure and magic (so much magic!!) go hand in hand in this quirky story about a self-named thief, Quicksilver, whose quests lead her toward the truth of the Star Lands’ witches and the powerful Wolf King. Faithfully, her dog travels at her side, which is one reason I love this story so much. Animal companions make adventuring all the more fun!
"A heart-pounding adventure."-Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Orphan. Thief. Witch.
A classic fantasy-adventure reminiscent of Howl's Moving Castle from New York Times-bestselling author Claire Legrand.
Twelve-year-old Quicksilver lives as a thief in the sleepy town of Willow-on-the-River. Her only companions are her faithful dog and partner in crime, Fox-and Sly Boots, the shy boy who lets her live in his attic when it's too cold to sleep on the rooftops. It's a lonesome life, but Quicksilver is used to being alone. When you are alone, no one can hurt you. No one can abandon you.
As one of 67 million Americans who serve as caretakers to their elderly parents, Susan Hartzler cared for her dad for three years, gaining profound insight into Parkinson's disease and the multifaceted challenges of caregiving. Throughout this period, Hartzler's rescue dog, Baldwin, a precious gift from her late mom, provided…
Since I brought home my first rescue thirty years ago, my life has been full of dogs and dog-related activities that I can hardly imagine the person I would've been without them. My own books often feature one or more dogs, not because I particularly decide to write about dogs, but more because I live with dogs, it’s what I know. When I’m browsing for a good read, if a book features a dog, that’s a draw for me, just because dogs are dogs; they are such good creatures, so infinitely lovable, that their presence enhances a book for me just as their presence in my life enhances my every day.
Of all my picks, this one is the most startling read, I think. It follows the life of a very small boy, left for some reason abandoned, who takes refuge with a stray bitch and her litter, and consequently grows up as a dog.
This, too, is very much a tragedy; although he lives as a dog, and everything he knows is of being a dog, yet the boy is not a dog and cannot remain one, and his own complete failure to understand his circumstances when he is rescued results in one of the most heartbreaking endings to any book I have ever read.
It’s a strange and beautiful experience, reading this book, and although yes, it will break you, it gives a rare insight into how it can be for anyone brought up outside his proper culture.
A vivid, riveting novel about an abandoned boy who takes up with a pack of feral dogs
Two million children roam the streets in late twentieth-century Moscow. A four-year-old boy named Romochka, abandoned by his mother and uncle, is left to fend for himself. Curious, he follows a stray dog to its home in an abandoned church cellar on the city's outskirts. Romochka makes himself at home with Mamochka, the mother of the pack, and six other dogs as he slowly abandons his human attributes to survive two fiercely cold winters. Able to pass as either boy or dog, Romochka…