Suggested Read Aloud

Title: Poor Puppy Author/Illustrator: Nick Bruel Publisher: Scholastic, Inc., 2007

In this delightful children's book, Poor Puppy just wants to play with Kitty. However, because Kitty just wants to nap, Puppy finds 26 other fun toys to play with, beginning with 1 Airplane, 2 Balls, 3 Cars, all the way to 26 Zoo animals! During a much needed nap, Puppy dreams of all the activities he and Kitty would play in different countries, this time, "Apple bobbing in Antarctica," ending with running "zig zags with a zebra, a zebu, and a zorilla...in Zimbabwe." Finally, when Puppy wakes up, and after two rounds of the alphabet, Kitty is ready to play! Hooray! Parents: This is a fantastic story to read aloud to your child, and so much fun! As you read, your child can follow along with the incredibly detailed pictures and alphabetic and numeric patterns. Also, it introduces countries and the characteristics of these countries to your child. It is a truly engaging story! Teachers: With the extensive illustrations and patterns in this story, students, especially English Language Learners, are able to follow along and predict what Puppy will play with next. Making predictions will help engage the students and enable them to participate in the reading process. Poor Puppy provides opportunities for students to create their own similar stories, which can lend itself to other reading and writing activities. Personal Note: I chose this book because of the vivid colors and intense illustrations that draw the reader into the story. It gives students a chance to see how reading is fun and portrays the many places our imagination can take us!