An accessible and engaging dog training guidebook that teaches kids about responsible pet ownership.
Mitchell offers a comprehensive, illustrated guide to dog training for children.
Written from the perspective of Roxy, the author’s Belgian Malinois, this manual takes kids through the many different aspects of dog ownership—including the basics of training pets in very brief blocks of time, how to speak to them, how to approach potty training, and much more. Mitchell, a professional dog trainer, tells readers all about the different “superpowers” dogs have, including having super-strong hearing and being “a good protector.” This framework is an engaging way for kids to think about their pets and learn more about their abilities. Roxy’s voice is fun and accessible and will entertain children by giving them a chance to interact with a dog talking to them in the first person. The “1 Minute Dog Training” method also adapts well to kids—they can get involved with training their pets and build good habits, even with short attention spans. The training methods focus on positive reinforcement and highlight the importance of treating dogs with respect and kindness—an important thing for children to learn. Additionally, included QR codes link to related videos with training demonstrations and tips, adding a helpful tool for kids who are more interactive learners (with caregivers’ permission). Pretonari’s colorful, cute full-color cartoon illustrations of a variety of dogs throughout underline the concepts shared in each chapter, enhancing the reading experience and providing additional context. The book also includes background information about how dogs are descended from wolves and lived alongside people to become humans’ “best friends,” which adds another educational layer. With an emphasis on patience and understanding, this manual communicates important lessons that children may apply to other parts of their lives.
An accessible and engaging dog training guidebook that teaches kids about responsible pet ownership.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A ribald and uproarious warning to those unschooled in fishy goings-on.
Sharpson offers so-fish-ticated readers a heads up about the true terror of the seas.
The title says it all. Our unseen narrator is just fine with other animals: mammals. Reptiles. Even birds. But fish? Don’t trust them! First off, the rules always seem to change with fish. Some live in fresh water; some reside in salt water. Some have gills, while others have lungs. You can never see what they’re up to, since they hang out underwater, and they’re always eating those poor, innocent crabs. Soon, the narrator introduces readers to Jeff, a vacant-eyed yellow fish—but don’t be fooled! Jeff’s “the craftiest fish of all.” All fish are, apparently, hellbent on world domination, the narrator warns. “DON’T TRUST FISH!” Finally, at the tail end, we get a sly glimpse of our unreliable narrator. Readers needn’t be ichthyologists to appreciate Sharpson’s meticulous comic timing. (“Ships always sink at sea. They never sink on land. Isn’t that strange?”) His delightful text, filled to the brim with jokes that read aloud brilliantly, pairs perfectly with Santat’s art, which shifts between extreme realism and goofy hilarity. He also fills the book with his own clever gags (such as an image of Gilligan’s Island’s S.S. Minnow going down and a bottle of sauce labeled “Surly Chik’n Srir’racha’r”).
A ribald and uproarious warning to those unschooled in fishy goings-on. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 8, 2025
ISBN: 9780593616673
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
PERSPECTIVES
A gleeful game for budding naturalists.
Artfully cropped animal portraits challenge viewers to guess which end they’re seeing.
In what will be a crowd-pleasing and inevitably raucous guessing game, a series of close-up stock photos invite children to call out one of the titular alternatives. A page turn reveals answers and basic facts about each creature backed up by more of the latter in a closing map and table. Some of the posers, like the tail of an okapi or the nose on a proboscis monkey, are easy enough to guess—but the moist nose on a star-nosed mole really does look like an anus, and the false “eyes” on the hind ends of a Cuyaba dwarf frog and a Promethea moth caterpillar will fool many. Better yet, Lavelle saves a kicker for the finale with a glimpse of a small parasitical pearlfish peeking out of a sea cucumber’s rear so that the answer is actually face and butt. “Animal identification can be tricky!” she concludes, noting that many of the features here function as defenses against attack: “In the animal world, sometimes your butt will save your face and your face just might save your butt!” (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A gleeful game for budding naturalists. (author’s note) (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: July 11, 2023
ISBN: 9781728271170
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks eXplore
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
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