WHAT ARE WE READING?

BOOKS ABOUT DOGS ARE POPULAR THIS MONTH

Reading is a major pastime for the citizens of the Place Under The Pine. Bookshelves overflowing with books are found in every room of the house - even in the closets of some rooms (see picture below).

One young citizen is caught hiding in the closet reading Sandra Boynton!

It is a common (and heartwarming) sight to find our emerging readers practicing their new found skills by reading to their younger (illiterate) siblings.

  

 

Reading has always been a part of the PUTP daily life, but, the weekly page counts vary up and down depending on many factors - time, outside commitments, current book choice, etc.

Recently, reading time has been fairly high, and one reason may be the current book choices - strangely, all dog related books.

Here is run down of the tail waggin' books.

 

Toddler aged reading - Hallo-wiener by Dav Pilkey

 

 

This book is popular with the 2 to 3 year old crowd right now (even though it is well past Halloween). Possibly because the protagonist is a wiener dog AND his name is Oscar. Also, this book is written by Dav Pilkey, whom you may recall as the author of the extremely popular Captain Underpants series (which is the number 1 requested book series by six year old boys in the PUTP - see review). Pilkey is good at writing for kids, and that's a fact.

 

Six year old reading - Ribsy - Beverly Cleary

 

 

Ribsy is Henry Huggins dog - Henry is part of the Ramona series (which is another extremely popular series in the PUTP). Ribsy is a dog on the loose. He finds himself lost and has many misadventures as he tries to find his way home. There is just enough humour and just enough action to keep the six year old in your house asking for 'just one more chapter, please'.

 

Older reading - The Dog Who Wouldn't Be - Farley Mowat

 

Another novel full of doggie misadventures. Mowat's writing is full of exaggerated tales that are humorous and heartwarming. This is Farley's account of his childhood dog named Mutt, and as the title suggests he was a dog that did not want to be a dog - it seemed he wanted to be more human than animal. This classic novel, written in the late 50s, is full of old sayings and Canadiana culture of the time - which is a great thing for a young Canadian reader...and even for the older one who is actually reading the story out loud.

All of these canine centred stories have sparked some heavy ready lately, which is saying a lot about these books. The PUTP is not a haven for the dog lover, in fact, some citizens openly admit to despising dogs (or most dogs)...so, books based on dogs have to be very, very, good books to be read in the PUTP.

Happy Reading.