Dog Books for Kids
Dogs get away with everything in these books: sneaking under fences, tracking mud through the whole house, talking with a mouthful of alphabet soup. Some are lift-the-flap simple for the youngest kid on your lap, others tug harder if your dog has already come and gone.
Lift the flaps and search the house with Sally. Where's Spot? by Eric Hill turns a missing-puppy hunt into your kid's first game of hide-and-seek.
The Poky Little Puppy by Janette Sebring Lowrey is the puppy who digs under the fence just because it's there, and misses dessert for it.
A mixed-up litter sorts out what actually makes a family. Gaston by Kelly DiPucchio lands that without ever getting heavy about it.
Keep Dog Heaven by Cynthia Rylant on the shelf for the day your kid asks where a pet goes after it dies.
He gets so filthy the family doesn't recognize him. Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion is the loudest, funniest argument for bath time you'll find.
A dog who talks nonstop after a bowl of alphabet soup, until she stops. Martha Speaks: A Classic Picture Book About a Talking Dog and Alphabet Soup for Kids by Susan Meddaugh sneaks in real worry between the laughs.
Kids who love chanting names in a row will latch onto this one hard. Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy by Lynley Dodd rhymes its whole cast of dogs by heart.
Every other dog here fits in a lap. Clifford the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell gives your kid a dog the size of a house instead.
A homeless dog living in a box in an alley writes letter after letter to every house on Butternut Street, pleading his case for a forever home.
A beloved family dog named Hally Tosis has breath so terrible her family wants to give her away, so the kids try every trick they can think of to fix her putrid panting before it's too late.
When barbecue smells drift over Mousopolis's first cook-off, they awaken Dogzilla — a monstrous, horribly stinky mutt — and the terrified mice must find a way to save their city.
A persistent pigeon really, really, REALLY wants a puppy and begs the reader directly, promising to take great care of it — but only the reader can decide if he's actually ready.
No words at all, just a dog left in charge of a baby, so your kid narrates the wild parts of Good Dog, Carl by Alexandra Day themselves.
May I Pet Your Dog? by Stephanie Calmenson is the one to grab before a walk where your kid wants to pet every dog in the park.
The longest dachshund in the world wins the ribbon but not the neighbor girl's heart, at first. Pretzel by Margret Rey takes its time getting there.
