Take the Dog Out Numbers by Lynne Dempsey

Rating: WORTHY!

From an advance review copy for which I thank the publisher.

Sweetly illustrated by Mandy Newham-Cobb.

I reviewed the original Take the Dog Out (don't you just love that title?!) earlier this month, and now, once again we’re with the TTDO gang and this time we’re counting. All the way to ten. And back again. Are we going to get there? If we do will we safely make it back? Only your child can tell!

This was a fun and energetic romp through the park, starting with a squirrel. I adore squirrels. Even the name is hilarious. Unfortunately, the squirrel is being chased by a cat, which of course is in turn being chased by that boisterous dog. As more and more people become involved, the numbers climb higher and higher so your child can see that by adding one more, we climb to the next number – and conversely, as people (and animals) become distracted, we start discounting from 10 all the way back to zero. No doubt the bird reported all this on twitter….

Once again there are hidden bones – this time not just to be found. You didn’t think it was going to be that easy did you? Nope, this time they need to be counted. Full disclosure: I skipped this portion of the enterprise, not having a young child by my side with whom to count. You might say I just did a bare bones reading….

Once again comes to the aid of our textual understanding with some sharp, fun, and colorful illustrations (the squirrel was a blast) and the multicultural crowd sported huge smiles. Even the butterfly somehow seems to be laughing (or maybe she’s just winging it…).

I thought this was a great idea and well-executed. The numbers are shown as numbers and also as aggregations of people and animals, reinforcing the lesson all the way through. The turn-around is a little more speedy, rather like the down-slope of a roller-coaster with the declining numbers (that squirrel finally found a tree, and you know a wind-blow hat demands to be chased!), taking their toll on the crowd one-by-one until it’s just the cat – and you know they don’t hang around long when there’s nothing going on!

I recommend this if you’re looking for a counting aid for your child. Make it fun and they’ll learn fast and develop a life-long love of the magic that math can do for us. American children always seem to compare so poorly in math and science with children from other nations, that anything we can do to raise the standard is to be welcomed, and this is certainly a good start.

Take the Dog Out! by Lynne Dempsey

Rating: WORTHY!

From an advance review copy for which I thank the publisher.

Illustrated by Mandy Newham-Cobb.

No, this is not an order by a mob boss to assassinate a puppy! It's actually quite a charmer. Amusingly illustrated and playfully put together, this story could even classify as educational because if there's one thing dogs love to do, it’s let out their inner wolf - that's why they make that sound when they bark: "Wolf! Wolf!" They love to get out and play, and this author's story shows the dire consequences of not taking care of your young dog properly and seeing that she gets adequate exercise.

She's first rejected by mom who, I'm sorry to say is stereotypically depicted in the kitchen while dad sits on his lazy butt reading the newspaper. This would be the one complaint I had about this particular book. It's never too early to start showing children that they need not be hide-bound by traditional and misguided gender roles.

Dad also seems to think that it's more important to read the newspaper than to exercise the family pet. The dog of course has other ideas, and she demonstrates them to each family member in turn with great gusto, including grandma and the two young children.

Was that a whirlwind in the bathroom? Nope, just a dog who needs to run off some high spirits and can’t find an outlet! The story ends up happily, I'm pleased to report, as the family realizes that nature just begs to be explored, and you can’t do that stuck in the house on a beautiful day.

You might want to read the back of the book first because that's where the secrets are hidden! Each picture (I'm told) sports a sneakily-hidden dog bone. I confess I could not find them all! My excuse is that I was bone-tired.... In addition to finding these, young readers are encouraged to count - specifically the number of barks the puppy lets out in her wild enthusiasm.

So, in short, a couple of issues with this, but overall, a wonderfully illustrated story that will teach kids a thing or two about pet ownership as well as provide a fun story that I'm sure young readers will employ to exercise you (or at least your patience!) with demands to read it again and again.