Teacher Thoughts…
It is impossible not to love Kate DiCamillo and adorable dog characters! Rosie is lonely, but she is also hesitant to try anything new. Her owner, George, takes her to the dog park, and after a couple of false starts, she makes friends with two other dogs.
This delightful book is perfect to read with students when discussing friendship – both how to make friends and how to be a good friend. The lessons that Rosie learns about friendship are transferable to students’ lives, especially new or shy students or students facing unfamiliar situations or experiences.
Kids will love the cartoon setup of this book. They may even want to try to write their own picture books in a similar format. The illustrator, Harry Bliss, is a cartoonist and cover artist for the New Yorker, and he has also illustrated books, such as Diary of a Worm.
Both the illustrations and the text are humorous. Kids will laugh out loud when Rosie always sees squirrels in the clouds, while her owner always sees presidents. Rosie’s dog friends, Fifi and Maurice, are very funny characters too. Maurice is a big dog who loves his stuffed bunny and doesn’t know his own strength, and Fifi is a tiny, yippy dog with a sparkly collar. Kids might enjoy acting out this book and taking on the roles of the dogs. They could infer what they think these dogs might sound like and practice reading with expression.
Kids Said…
- “Fif is my favorite character, because she is hoppy and has a high-pitched voice.”
- “It is funny when Fifi says, ‘Am I alive?’ after Maurice spits her out.”
- “The lesson is: Don’t eat your friends.”
- “To make friends you have to ask and take a risk.”
