Time to Get Back to Work!

The Mom Person seems to think that my little brain has been idle long enough. It’s been a busy summer. For her, maybe. For me, it’s been all about Relaxation! That’s a good thing! But now the smells of school are in the air. Time to get myself back in shape for walking the halls and sniffing out backpacks.

We have been doing quite a bit of reading this summer. We go to the library once a week and those kids sure do like to read!!! That’s a good thing, too! All my readers are starting to talk about school, too. It’s kind of exciting to move up a grade and have new teachers and new routines.

And I have the PERFECT book for back to school!!!!

SmartyPants
(Pete in School)
(doesn’t that look a bit like me on the cover?!)

by
Maira Kalman
(You can check out her website HERE)

published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons in 2003

This is kind of a sequel to one of my very FAVORITE books –
What Pete Ate from A – Z by Ms Kalman
I talked about this book some time ago and if you’d like to see what I had to say about it, you can check it out HERE.

This SmartyPants book is also about Pete – a dog who likes to eat strange things. (I even think some of his chosen edibles are a bit strange!)  What Pete Ate is an alphabet book and a list of all kinds of stuff that that crazy Pete eats.  SmartyPants begins with a kind of short summary of the previous book, but this tale is really about going back to school. Summer is over and Pete’s girl, Poppy Wise, is contemplating what that means. All the things she Hates about school, and all the things she Loves about school.

We get introduced to her teachers and her principal and her classmates. Then one day – out of the blue – her dog, Pete, shows up at school and starts eating stuff! The blackboard and Mr. Spitzer’s PANTS!! Pete creates HAVOC all over the school and has to go to the principal’s office!! While there, he eats an Encyclopedia About Everything! And guess what!!! He becomes REALLY smart!!!!! So they sneak him back into school and let him answer all the questions! Pete was the STAR of the DAY!!!

Mr. SMARTYPANTS!!!!

That Ms Kalman is a crazy, clever lady! Her artwork is so fun to look at! Quirky and Zany and Extravagant! This is such an excellent book! I want to read it again!! It makes me roll on the floor laughing! It makes me hungry!! I need to go eat something!

Go check this book out! And I’ll see you later!

Your ready for school friend
Rhythm

Safe and Sound

Yesterday was National Seeing Eye Dog Day. We celebrated this day by visiting a third grade classroom and educating them a bit about guide dogs. Most of the kids in Glen Rose know something about working dogs from knowing me and Walker. They all know our tales of being guide dog pups in training. All the kids who knew me as a pup have moved on to college now. I’m into another bunch of young folks altogether! New ones to educate.

So we took Electra along in her official coat that says she’s a guide dog pup. We took her coat off while in the classroom so the kids could pet. No petting allowed when in coat! Just like a working dog in harness! NO PETTING! And we took a great little book about a working guide dog to help us tell our tale.

Safe and Sound
by Beth Finke
illustrated by Anthony Alex LeTourneau
published by Blue Marlin Publications in 2007

Theme – Guide dogs

This book is suitable for all ages, young and old. 3rd grade was perfect!

It begins –
Look at me! See the harness strapped to my back? I’m called a Seeing Eye dog. The harness is my uniform, and whenever I’m wearing it, I’m working. I guide my partner, Beth, where she needs to go.

This is Hanni’s story of her job keeping Beth safe in a world full of obstacles. Traffic, crowds of people, holes in the sidewalk, garbage cans, tree branches. Whew!!! It’s a crazy world out there and a guide dog must be ever vigilant!

This book presents a great picture of what it’s like to be a working dog. It’s about the job at hand, but the story is also about the relationship between Beth and Hanni. How they had to learn to trust each other because both their lives depended on that trust. How that trust was the foundation for a deep love. It’s a lovely tale.

At the end of the book there are some factual notes from Hanni about her life from pup to working guide dog. And some notes from Beth about how she became blind from juvenile diabetes and what life is like as a blind person.

There is also a list of references for further reading.
This book is also available in Braille. To learn more about Braille visit this website HERE. You might learn how to write your name in Braille!

The Learning to Give website has some good ideas for ways to use this book in a classroom. You can visit them HERE.

We had a great discussion in our classroom about how working dogs help their handlers. What senses the dogs use to do their job. You could let kids pretend they were blind and try to maneuver around the classroom. And then let someone else be their guide dog.

If there is a guide dog school near you, you might pay them a visit. Maybe even volunteer! Southeastern Guide Dogs has puppy hugging days. And volunteers come in to walk the dogs that are in training. You can find a list of guide dog schools HERE. This is the website for the National Federation for the Blind. You can find out more about blindness there as well.

For more about juvenile diabetes visit HERE.

This is PERFECT PICTURE BOOK FRIDAY. For a list of more Perfect Picture Books visit Ms Susanna Hill’s blog – you’ll be glad you did!!

A guide dog faces all kinds of obstacles! —

Have a Safe and Sound weekend!!!
Your friend
Rhythm

 

Latke, the Lucky Dog

I’m a pretty lucky dog. I have a nice home and a lovable family that I live with. I have several nice, comfy beds and lots of toys to choose from. I get fed pretty regularly with plenty of snacks to go along with meals. I have a fine job where I get to visit with lots of great folks. Life is pretty good, I’d say.

I hear that some dogs are not so lucky. Some dogs don’t have nice homes and families. I’ve never come across one of these dogs, but I hear the stories. One of the books I received in the mail recently is about a lucky dog who didn’t have a home, but then found one!! This book was sent to me from Ms Sue Heavenrich. You might want to visit her at her blog home HERE. It’s a pretty nice place to visit!

Latke, the Lucky Dog
by Ellen Fischer
illustrated by Tiphanie Beeke
published by Kar-Ben Publishing in 2014

 Latke is a shelter dog, which means he lives in a kennel with lots of other dogs – all waiting for someone to come visit and decide that “THIS pup is the one for ME”!!! For Latke, that day came in December when a family walked in looking for a present for Hanukkah. I don’t know anything about Hanukkah. It’s a holiday celebrated by Jewish people. But according to this book, it is “an eight-day Festival of Lights that celebrates the victory of the Maccabees over the mighty armies of the Syrian King Antiochus.” That’s a lot of history for another day, I think. Anyway, this family wanted to celebrate by getting a dog for their home. And a medium-sized, brown dog was just what they were looking for. They named him Latke because he was the color of a fried latke. And what is a latke I ask?! a latke is a fried potato pancake! Yummmmmmm!

So, little brown Latke goes home with his new family. But now he has to learn all the rules of his new home! It’s very hard and he makes lots of mistakes. And gets into quite a bit of trouble. But LUCKY for him, he has been chosen by a forgiving and patient family. He begins to learn the rules and finds that having a home and a family is GREAT! He really is a LUCKY dog!!

This was a cute, informative tale. We learned about some Jewish history and traditions. We talked about shelter dogs. Some of my readers have dogs who came from shelters. We talked about house rules and dog training and caring for dogs. Wow! Lots of talk generated by this little book!!!

Thanks Ms Heavenrich for your generous heart!

Here are some LUCKY dogs! My dreams —

I hope you find some luck in your days this week!
Your lucky friend
Rhythm

The Start of a New Year

I understand that we are in to a brand new year. 2015. Numbers don’t mean much to my little canine brain. Years, days, weeks, months. Just words to me. I don’t have a good understanding about time. I know that I’m getting older – my body doesn’t seem to want to do things that it used to do. So I guess that means that years are passing by. But I wake up every morning to a new day! Sometimes I wake up from a good nap to a new day! And it’s most always good.

There seems to be a lot of celebration around the start of a new year. Staying awake way past my bedtime to watch balls drop on TV. I’d be happy to see some real balls drop. Drinking champagne and tooting horns. My humans love to celebrate. I guess a brand new year is something to hoot and holler about.

I’m celebrating the start of the new year with a couple of Ashley Wolff books that we happened across recently. All about that word “year.”

A Year of Beasts
by Ashley Wolff
published by E.P. Dutton in 1986

It begins –
In winter, in spring
in summer, and in fall –
in every month of the year
beasts of all kinds
live in the fields and forests
around Ellie and
Peter’s house.

And thus we are lead on a romping wildlife hunt through the months of the year. Each page spread reveals a new animal and a new happening apropos of the season. (apropos! big word for the day!) The text is simple and bold. It’s the pictures that tell the story of a year in the life of Ellie and Peter. And Ms Wolff’s artwork is absolutely JOYFUL!!

Book No. 2 is –

When Lucy Goes Out Walking
A Puppy’s First Year
by Ashley Wolff
published by Christy Ottaviano Books (Henry Holt and Co.) in 2009

It begins –
January
When Lucy goes out walking
In January snows,
She leaves a trail of puppy prints
Everywhere she goes.

This book is particularly apropos for our house because we have just been through a puppy’s first year! In each month of the year little Lucy encounters new and exciting adventures – just like our Electra has! And each month she gets a little bigger – just like our Electra has! And in the book, Lucy is always accompanied by her Best Boy. That’s one thing that Electra has missed out on. She’s had plenty of kids to play with, but no Best One. Me and Walker both had our Best Girl and I wish that she could have been here to help Electra, but alas she is far away and all grown up now. That’s what happens over the years. They come and go and little folks become big folks. And little critters become big critters. And all the new days march on.

You can visit Ms Wolff at her website HERE. Please do! You’ll be glad you did!

So – this is the Start of a New Year, A New Day – Make the most of NOW!

Celebrate your NOWS!
Rhythm

National Guide Dog Month

Rhythm in training

I’m a little late with this, but September happens to be a special month to celebrate the special works of some special dogs who are trained to assist visually impaired humans. It’s all a GRAND thing! It’s National Guide Dog Month!

To find out more about guide dogs you can check out my post from this time last year – HERE.

Petco is a big sponsor of guide dogs and every year does a fundraising campaign to celebrate National Guide Dog Month. I was actually sponsored by Petco when I was a pup! That means that they made a generous donation to Southeastern Guide Dogs for the privilege of naming one of their pups. That was me!! You can visit their website HERE and find out more about National Guide Dog Month.

But today I’m going to tell you about some books. Non-fiction books that will help you and yours learn about guide dogs.

Guide Dogs
by Charles and Linda George
published by Capstone Books in 1998
Content consultant is Carol Lippert Gray – Manager of Public Relations for The Seeing Eye

This is a really nice, easy to read, 48 page book about the history and training of guide dogs. Chapters include – History of Guide Dogs, Best Breeds, Basic Training, Guide Dogs and Their Masters, And Stories About Guide Dogs.

There is also some reference material in the back of the book – a glossary and index to other guide dog material. A very fine little book.

Guide Dogs
Seeing for People Who Can’t
by Alice B. McGinty
a “Dogs Helping People” book published by The Rosen Publishing Group’s PowerKids Press in 1999

This is another fine little chapter book with much of the same information in a more condensed format. Only 24 pages. It also has a glossary and some nice photos. It actually has some of the very same photos as the other book Guide Dogs!

A Guide Dog Puppy Grows Up
written by Caroline Arnold
photographs by Richard Hewett
published by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich in 1991

This book is a little different from the other two. It’s about the puppy raising experience from birth to becoming a working guide dog. The book was endorsed by Guide Dogs for the Blind, a guide dog school in San Rafael, California. My Mom Person’s first guide dog pup came from this school a long time ago.

This is not a chapter book but it is a lovely story. In a way, it’s my story! And it’s one of those books that makes the Mom Person cry when she reads it.

Now you might notice that in my pictures today, I am trying to read these books to Ms Electra. This is her future in these books! But she just can’t be serious for one little minute. Ah, me. What’s a teacher to do?! What do you teachers out there do with the class clowns?!

Well, anyway, I would like for you to know that there are quite a few accredited Guide Dog Schools in the United States. You can find a list of all of them HERE on the National Federation of the Blind website. I think if there is one near you, you should go for a visit this month. Hug some puppies! Meet some future guide dogs! Become a puppy raiser!

Have a good weekend! and enjoy the month!
I’m going to go celebrate with some yummy treats!
Rhythm

School Days, School Days

Looks like the end of summer is here and school days are upon us. My job will shift from library duty to school duty. That’s fine by me. It’s all the same. Kids and books. School days tend to be a bit more hectic and tiring for me, but that’s ok. School is a fun place to be!

We had our last summer library session this week. In the summer we do our library visits in the morning, and during the school year we move the visits to evening time. It’s been a busy, fun summer with lots of kids and some fine books.

This week the books were all about school! All the kids are excited about getting back to the classroom and all their friends. Except for one little girl who is about to have her very first school day. She’s a bit nervous about the whole thing. I’ve helped many a new student get through those first day traumas. Part of my job! But let me tell you about the books we read this week. There were some good ones!

Dixie Loves School Pet Day
by Grace Gilman
pictures by Sarah McConnell
colors by Joe Merkel
published by Harper in 2011
This is an I Can Read Book, beginning level 1

The kids all thought that Dixie looked a lot like me! The story is about a big day for Dixie – she gets to go to school with her girl Emma. We used to have a goat named Emma. Our Emma was scary. But Dixie’s Emma seems pretty nice. Anyway, Dixie was excited about going to school and wanted to be a good girl for Emma. But alas, Dixie was so excited that mayhem ensued. 😦 In the end, Dixie saved the day and everyone made some new friends. It was a cute, fun read aloud.

How Will I Get to School This Year?
by Jerry Pallotta
illustrated by David Biedrzycki
published by Scholastic, Inc. in 2011

The story of a girl who decides she’s tired of riding the smelly school bus to school and imagines all the other options. This girl has a WILD imagination! My readers laughed and laughed all the way through this book! Just imagine riding an elephant to school!! Or a tarantula! Or an eagle! Our imaginations soared!! This is a good one!

David Goes to School
by David Shannon
published by The Blue Sky Press (an imprint of Scholastic, Inc.)
in 1999

There are quite a few books out there about this David. They are all hilarious! David is one wild kid! I love David. And my readers do, too. They all said they knew a David. I’ve run into quite a few Davids myself. This book is all about those silly, hard to follow school rules. Like no running in the halls and no chewing gum and sitting in your proper seat. David has a hard time. I can relate.

Little Miss Spider at Sunny Patch School
by David Kirk
published by Scholastic in 2000

It’s Little Miss Spider’s first day of school and it doesn’t go very well for her. She can’t do all the things other bugs can do – like flying and stinging. She feels like a failure. And we all feel sad for Little Miss Spider. But just like Dixie, in the end she saves the day by using the best super power of all — kindness!

And our very FAVORITE book of the day —

The Day the Crayons Quit
by Drew Daywalt
pictures by Oliver Jeffers
(I love, love, love Mr Jeffers!!!)
published by Philomel Books in 2013

I think that by now everyone is familiar with this book. It has been on all the best seller lists and all the book review lists and on every shelf at every bookstore. It has made a big splash. It’s a clever story about a box of crayons who have a lot of complaints and write letters to the boy, Duncan. Each page spread includes the letter from a particular color and coordinating illustrations that look very much like they were done by a first grader. Yay to Mr Jeffers genius! Another book that had my readers rolling on the floor laughing. We read this book through twice! The crayons’ penmanship is not the best and the kids had a little difficulty reading some of it, but it was kind of like a puzzle and they had fun deciphering it. There were also some big words that they stumbled on a bit. And what color is the sun, really?! A very cleverly done tale.

i hope that everyone has a fun, successful start to your school year – with no trouble from the crayon box!!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I just realized that there are an awful lot of DAVIDS in this post! If you click on any of their names – or the other names, as well — you’ll be able to find out more about them.

Happy Reading!!
Your library friend
Rhythm

Dogs in the Bed

I have a lot of choices for bedtime comfort at my house. There are dog beds in every room. The living room, the kitchen, by the computer desk, and TWO beds in the actual bedroom.

But the BEST place to sleep is in the human bed. Yes, my people allow dogs on the bed. At least me. I’m the first dog to ever be allowed on the bed at this house. And I am surely appreciative of this privilege.

At the library this week we read a fine little book about dogs in bed —

DOGS on the BED
by Elizabeth Bluemle
illustrated by Anne Wilsdorf
published by Candlewick Press in 2008

I would like to present this book as an entry in the Small Fry Safari Readers Challenge put together by The Bookshelf Gargoyle. This book fits category #2 – A book with a piece of furniture in the title. You can find out more about this challenge and see all the entries by visiting Bruce the Gargoyle HERE.

Now back to the book! This is a “rollicking, rhyming romp!” My readers had a fun time reading this one. Hilarious laughter all around! Mom and the two kids are headed to bed for a night time storybook. And all the dogs want to come, too. (I can relate to that!)

There are dogs on the bed
Like logs on the bed
Bed hogs on the bed —-
These dogs, these dogs!

These folks have a LOT of dogs! All shapes and sizes. And they are all squirmy, wormy all over the bed. Then Dad comes in to join the story time and he shoos all the dogs off the bed! (Echoes of my Dad person!) The dogs are quite unhappy and make sad faces and cry and howl and go on the prowl. They all want to go out, so Mom lets them out. Then they want right back in. The family is now sleeping – all in the bed and the dogs pile on. Pushing and shoving and shedding and drooling – the family ends up on the floor! It’s COLD on the floor and the family decides that dogs are pretty good at warming things up – so the kids go off to their beds with some of the dogs and Mom and Dad bring some with them back to bed. And EVERYONE gets a good night’s sleep!

Where do your dogs like to sleep? The Dogzilla pup has to sleep in her crate. She would much prefer the bed with me and the humans. Walker likes to be on his own bed with his sleeping buddy. Sometimes he likes being in his crate. And sometimes in the middle of the night he sneaks up on the bed with us. That makes things rather cozy.

The NY Times had an interesting article about pets in bed with their humans. You can read it HERE.

Barkpost has a nice little article with 11 of the greatest dog beds in history. You can check it out HERE.

Now THIS looks like a fine bed!!

I wish you a good night’s sleep!
Rhythm

Chip Wants a Dog

We’ve got dogs at my house. Real dogs. Stuffed dogs. Dogs in books. Dogs on the walls. Dogs on the shelves. We big dogs even have our own dogs –

Look at poor little Electra. Don’t worry, she has her own dog, too. —

Do you have your own dog? If not, would you like to have your own dog? Are your dreams filled with dogs?

We recently found another great book from Mr William Wegman about a young guy who wants his very own dog.

Electra really liked this book!

Chip Wants a Dog
by William Wegman
published by Penguin Young Readers in 2014
a Level 2/Guided Reading Level H

It begins –
Dogs!
Dogs! Dogs! Dogs!
Chip thinks about dogs.
Chip reads about dogs.
Chip dreams about dogs.
Chip wants a dog!

This is a hilarious book! Chip wants a dog! Chip IS a dog!! But he wants his own dog for a friend. He thinks about all of the things that he and his dog could do together. They would be best friends. But his parents don’t want a dog. His mom is a cat person. ARF! ARF!!

What’s a fellow with big dreams to do?!

I won’t tell you what happens in the end! It’s a big surprise! You’ll have to read the book yourself and find out!

This book had me rolling on the floor. Electra didn’t get it. Walker had his own dream going on.

This week, May 12 – 18, is Children’s Book Week. A week to celebrate “books for young people and the joy of reading.” This is the 95th anniversary of this celebration!!! 95 years! I would like to know what books were celebrated 95 years ago. And think about all the books since then! Wow! Mind boggling!

You can find out more about Children’s Book Week by clicking on the poster above.

Every week is a Children’s Book Week for me, but it’s nice to spread the celebrations around.

Check out Mr Wegman’s websites HERE and HERE.

I’ll leave you with a bit of Mr Wegman himself — enjoy!

I hope that your week is filled with Picture Books and dreams that come true!
Rhythm

 

 

Mother Goose

We are at the end of April and poetry month and I thought I would close out the month with some really fine poetry. Short and sweet verses that are Rhythmic and thought provoking. Clever and full of magical imagery. It’s what poetry is all about —

Mother Goose is the quintessential poet. Her poems have it all – humor, tragedy, drama. They are loved far and wide by young and old alike. Mother Goose has been interpreted in countless ways over the ages. But by far the most fabulous representation of Mother Goose poetry comes from Mr William Wegman and his weimaraners.

I present to you –

Mother Goose
by William Wegman
published by Hyperion Books for Children in 1996

The Cast of Characters includes Batty, Chundo, Crooky, and Chip. And Buster as Old Mother Hubbard’s pup.

The book includes 19 classic Mother Goose nursery rhymes in astonishing vignettes. You won’t believe your eyes!!

Jack Sprat could eat no fat and his wife could eat no lean — had Electra wanting to eat the book!

William Wegman is an extraordinary creative genius. You can find out all about him at his website HERE. And HERE.
There is an interesting article about him at the Guardian HERE.

I have talked about some of his other works before — The Night Before Christmas HERE.
William Wegman’s ABC HERE.
One of his movies – The Hardly Boys in Hardly Gold HERE.
And Flo and Wendell HERE.

I leave you with a performance of the ever popular Rub a Dub Dub – Three Men in a Tub —

I wish for you a poetic week!
Your friend in the library
Rhythm

Rugby & Rosie

We are all about guide dogs here at the 7 Acre Wood. And goats. And grapes. And swimming. And tennis balls. But I digress. I want to talk about guide dogs today. My family here has raised guide dog pups off and on for a good number of years. The very first one was a black Lab named Gretta. During her long, illustrious life she actually achieved Sainthood. St Gretta came from a guide dog school in California called Guide Dogs For the Blind.

All the other pups that have passed through our gates have come from a guide dog school in Florida called Southeastern Guide Dogs. Including myself.

And my buddy Walker –

And now Electra –

There have been others in between. Some have made the humans proud and become working guide dogs. Some have made the humans proud and been extraordinary therapy dogs.

The life of a guide dog puppy in training is an emotional ride – for the humans and for the pups. There is a real bond that develops and lots of love is invested and then the pup has to move on to other things. The humans have to let go. The pup has to let go. And both have to create new bonds and new attachments. Some dogs just can’t do it. I couldn’t and came back to live where I knew I belonged. Only about half of the pups that return to school actually go on to become working guide dogs. Statistics show that a higher percentage of Labs become working guide dogs than any other breed. I think that that may be because we Labs are basically happy with anyone who feeds us on a regular basis.

Anyway, I have a Perfect Picture Book for you that’s about a year with a guide dog pup.

Rugby & Rosie
by Nan Parson Rossiter
published by Dutton Children’s Books
in 1997

Theme – dog training, guide dog pups, friendship

It begins-
Rugby is my dog. He is a chocolate Labrador, and we have had him for as long as I can remember.
………..
We used to do everything together – just the two of us.
Then Rosie came.

The narrator of the story is a young boy who has a really close friendship with his dog, Rugby. One day his dad comes home with a little yellow pup named Rosie. Rosie was a guide dog pup and would only live with the family for one year. The boy knew all about this, but didn’t know how to tell Rugby. Rugby was not happy about the new pup. She tried to get him to play, but the wasn’t interested. It took him quite a while to decide that she wasn’t going anywhere and he might as well make friends. After that the two dogs were always together, romping and playing and napping. Rosie needed a lot of extra training out in public where Rugby didn’t get to go. But he was always waiting when they returned home.

Then the day came that Rosie had to return to the guide dog school. Everyone was sad. Even Rugby. Rosie became a guide dog and the family, along with Rugby, got to go to the graduation ceremony and see Rosie again and meet her new person. They saw that Rosie was happy and making a difference in the life of this new person. All because of their love and devotion. They were all very proud of her.

This book makes my Mom Person cry every time she reads it. It’s a well done story. You can see and feel all the emotions tugging at everyone. Even the dogs. When we read this book to kids, there is always a discussion about letting go. Life is full of letting go. Even if you’re a little person growing up.

There are 13 accredited guide dog schools in the United States. For information about all of them visit the Guide Dog Users, Inc. website.

If there is a school near you, you might want to go for a visit. I know that Southeastern has puppy hugging days when they let people come play with all the pups. You can visit their website and find out all about pups and being a volunteer puppy raiser.

HERE is a link to some thoughts on etiquette when encountering a guide dog team.

HERE is an article for kids about blindness.

You could have a discussion about being blind. Put on blindfolds and take a Listening Walk around the room. Think about how you would be using all your other senses if you couldn’t see.

Here is a little video to show you what it’s all about — enjoy —

And now you might want to venture over to Susanna Hill’s blog to see a whole big list of Perfect Picture Books and resources to go with! — Enjoy!!

Your friend indeed
Rhythm