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Good Dog

) A small, adorable dog watches a brown-skinned girl and her mom get on a bike before the title page. “Stray dog” begins the narrative—two words on the left side of each spread, accompanied by the full-page visual storytelling on the right, here showing the small white-and-black pup chasing them. The girl waves to the dog. The dog loses sight of them in traffic (“Lost dog”). Scared, lonely, hungry, hopeful: The dog’s status shifts across scenes in which the young girl usually appears and the pup always appears (sometimes to break your heart), following them. In the park, the girl gives the dog a treat, but leaves her teddy bear behind when they leave. “Smart dog” realizes what’s happened, and retraces the route taken across the day to return it to her at home. “My dog?” the girl asks her parents (dad is Black, mom is white). “Good dog” she tells the pup as they get ready for bed that night in this sweetly tender offering with charming digital ink illustrations and wonderful word choice. Good story. ©2019 Cooperative Children’s Book Center

Illustrated by Cori Doerrfeld

CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 2-4
Age Range: Babies/Toddlers (birth – 3) PreK-Early Elementary (Ages 4-7)
Format: Picture book
Subjects: Animals (Fiction) Empathy and Compassion Lost and Found Pets
Diversity subject: Black/African

Publishers: Harper, HarperCollins
Publish Year: 2018
Pages: 32
ISBN: 9780062662866

CCBC Location: Picture Book, Doerrfeld

Good Dog