Wednesday, June 23, 2004

If my dog could write a book...



"Murphy-Stop-That is my name. I am a terrier. I bark. I bark at anything and everything and all the time."

If my dog could write a book about his life, this would be it. A Day in the Life of Murphy by Alice Provensen, 2003, is a picture book that details the minutia of life of any dog. Just like our Buddy-the-Wonder-Dog, at dinner time Murphy thinks, "Be patient. Don't beg. Things drop. Crumbs. Good things. Sneaky handouts" The visit to the vet, "I hate to ride in the car. Whirring. Bumping. Swaying. Whimper. Whine." Random and unexplained barking is because he "heard the moon move."
This is a fun little 40 page read.

Kids love dog books. Murphy would be good book for illustrating "point of view." Another terrific book to illustrate POV would be Loki and Alex: the adventures of a dog and his best friend, by Charles R., Jr. Smith, 2001 . Through photographs the reader enjoys a day in the park as seen through the eyes of Alex (in color) and through the eyes of his dog, Loki (in black and white.) The kids were noticing things in the photos I had not even though I must have read this book aloud at least 10 times.

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