By Amanda Lynch, The Children’s Book Review
Published: May 31, 2009
Don’t Lick the Dog: Making Friends With Dogs
by Wendy Wahman
Reading Level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 32 Pages
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co (April 28, 2009)
What to Expect: Dogs, Rhyme, Onomatopoeia
With summer fast upon us, more and more kids are out enjoying the sunshine–and so are pet owners. Dog lover and illustrator Wendy Wahman has produced a fantastic manual for young animal lovers on how to meet new dogs. Through humor and bright illustrations, the book provides excellent guidelines for children on how to interact with unfamiliar dogs: give them proper space, stand still and let the dogs sniff your shoes or your hand, and it also delineates (most importantly, in my opinion) how to behave if a strange dog jumps on you. Wahman’s presentation of this situation is excellent and skillful: she manages to portray a potentially scary situation in a non-threatening manner, and her cute illustrations depict how to behave perfectly.
I especially enjoyed the summation at the end of the story:
“Dogs aren’t toys to hug and squeeze
or poke or chase or tug or tease.
Just like you and just like me,
dogs have personalities….
Good dog manners show you care….
when meeting new dogs everywhere.”
I also enjoyed reading Wendy’s blog, which can be found here.
Add this book to your collection: Don’t Lick the Dog