Dogs Don't Brush their Teeth!

deGroat, Diane and Shelly Rotner. 2009. DOGS DON’T BRUSH THEIR TEETH! New York: Scholastic. ISBN 9780545080644 [Suggested Grade Levels K- 3]

REVIEW

Young children are known to attribute human characteristics and intellect to their household pets and this book does an excellent job of conveying the true actions and behaviors of dogs. While dogs do chase tennis balls, they do not play tennis nor do they push their puppies around in strollers. Photographs of dogs are combined with drawn artwork to create images of high appeal for children as dogs are shown doing that which they naturally do.

The heavily coated, fold out pages showing dogs in action are perfect for creating ongoing predictions as to what dogs really cannot or do not do while reading the book. The sparse yet concise text will enable even the most reluctant readers to read along with the repeated text that is supported by the engaging artwork. Of particular note is the fact that the authors thank and name the various dogs whose images are used in this work in the back matter.

CONNECTIONS

With a clear, concise look at what dogs really do, this book is an excellent introduction to the study of animals, most notably domestic pets that have become a part of many homes. The images of what dogs do creates an opportunity for children to predict what dogs cannot do, based on connections between the images. The concept could be extended to cats, having children create their own big book of images of what cats do and what they cannot do.

RELATED BOOKS

Other books about animal attributes:

Bonnett-rampersaud, Louise. NEVER ASK A BEAR. ISBN 9780061128769

Clutton-Brock, Juliet. DOG. ISBN 9780756606787

Jenkins, Steve. NEVER SMILE AT A MONKEY: AND 17 OTHER IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER. ISBN 9780618966202

By Christine J. Rayl