Happy International Dog Day! Do you have a favourite fictional dog? We looked through our bookshelves to find doggy stories that we enjoy reading and after some discussion we came up with a top five list.
We’re also curious to know if you have a favourite fictional dog that we haven’t mentioned. Please add your favourites to the comments.
#5 Biff: Dogs don’t do Ballet by Anna Kemp & Sara Ogilvie
This is a lovely story for showing children that it’s important to follow your dreams. Despite constantly hearing ‘Dogs Don’t Do Ballet’ Biff is desperate to dance and tries to join a ballet class. He’s upset when the teacher sends him home but his determination doesn’t stop him following his dream of dancing on stage.
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#4 Odd Dog: Odd Dog Out by Rob Biddulph
Odd Dog doesn’t look like any of the other dogs in her town and everything that she does is different. This fun to read rhyming story conveys an important message about being who you are and not trying to be like everybody else.
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#3 Pickle: Picking Pickle by Polly Faber and Clara Vulliamy
Picking the right dog for you and your family can be a big challenge but help is at hand in Picking Pickle! We love Pickle, a veteran of the dogs’ home, who is very happy to introduce us to a variety of different breeds of dog so that we can decide which one we would most like to take home.
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#2 Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam by Tracey Corderoy and Steven Lenton
Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam are robbers and their story is a wonderfully humorous way to show children that stealing is wrong and that it emotionally affects the victims. However, despite their faults Shifty and Sam are likeable characters and it’s lovely to share their surprise and delight when they find out that they are good at baking.
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#1 Dot: The Hospital Dog by Julia Donaldson & Sara Ogilvie
Dot is a hospital dog who lives with her owner Rose. Dot and Rose spend lots of time at the hospital where they comfort patients, parents and even staff. This rhyming story provides a fabulous insight into a support system for young patients that many readers won’t be aware of and includes a diverse cast of characters, both in terms of disability and ethnicity.
We found lots of fictional dog stories on our bookshelves. Dog helps us learn to count in Dog Loves Counting by Louise Yates and teaches us how to draw in Dog Loves Drawing, Time for Bed, Fred! by Yasmeen Ismail is an amusing picture book about a procrastinating puppy and one of our favourite fictional soft toys gets lost in Shirley Hughes’ Dogger’s Christmas.
We love Bob in Thank Goodness For Bob by Matthew Morgan and Gabriel Alborozo, he helps main character Max to understand that worrying is normal, Kipper‘s simple stories were some of the first picture books that we read to our daughter and Ludwig The Sea Dog by Henning Lohlein takes us on a 3D underwater adventure.
Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam have more adventures in a chapter book for younger readers, Shifty McGifty And Slippery Sam Up, Up and Away! by Tracey Corderoy and Steven Lenton and Dixie O’Day In the Fast Lane by Shirley Hughes and Clara Vulliamy takes us on a highly illustrated, nail biting road race. Holly Webb has written several chapter books about dogs, we love The Pocket Dog and found The Storm Dog, set in World War Two, a fascinating read.
Which doggy stories will you be reading on International Dog Day?
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