Read aloud, yes, but Dodd’s tour of the farmyard, conducted by her friendly mutt who first taught colors and the alphabet (Dog’s Colorful Day, 2001; Dog’s ABC, 2002), is more a woof-quack-oink-baaa-moo-cock-a-doodle-doo aloud. Pegged for preschoolers, the book becomes a merry cacophony that welcomes young listeners to become active participants. “Dog is just waking up. Hello, Dog! He makes his morning noise. YAWN!” Meantime, birds are twittering outside the window, the cat wants to play chase, and Dog is off on his adventure. “WOOF! WOOF!” He sashays about the grounds, mucking with the pigs, swimming with the ducks, catching a dognap in the wildflowers, and when he gets buzzed by an owl—no simple hoot here, but a tweet-a-woo—Dog knows it’s time to head home, chow down, and grab another, longer snooze. A story as gentle as a lamb, with loopy good-time characters—the type that have both eyes on one side of their head—but tricked out in high-saturation, energetic colors that light a fire under all the hee-haws and honks. (Picture book. 2-5)
