Dog Books

It's hard to imagine an American boyhood without a dog. The iconic image of a sandy-haired kid in overalls chasing a mutt or bird dog through fields and streams has taken its place beside apple pie and baseball as a symbol of our national heritage. A boy's love for his dog is wholesome, natural, fraught with adventure, and heartwarming all at once, which is pretty much the way we've come to think of our country.

For some reason, there aren't a lot of books about girls and their dogs. This is probably in part historical—boys were understood to be the future hunters and providers for their families, and while dogs were their friends they were also servants helping to track and retrieve game. The bond of man and animal united in hard work is stronger than the one between owner and mere pet.

A lot of the best dog stories are very sad. Old Yeller is the obvious candidate for best tear-jerker of the genre, but there are plenty of others. Dogs often throw themselves in harm's way to protect their masters, and when the faithful hound is killed we often feel more sad than if the human master had been sacrificed on behalf of the dog.

This isn't any crazy environmentalist sentiment, either. Dogs, perhaps more than any other animal, have personalities that humans can perceive, interact with, and love. Humans are pretty much all the same, but a good dog is different from all the rest. Even if you don't have dogs at home, we hope these books will help you love them as much as we do, and to experience one of the best parts of childhood and youth.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
Did you find this review helpful?
37 Items found Print
Active Filters: Picture Books, Hardcover
3D Sapshots: Puppies (with 3D glasses)
from Fog City Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Dog Books (Location: SCI-MAMDOG)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Charlie the Ranch Dog
An I Can Read Book Level 1
by Ree Drummond and Diane De Groat
from Barnes & Noble
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
Adventures of Charlie the Ranch Dog
by Ree Drummond and Diane De Groat
from Scholastic Inc.
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Ball for Daisy
by Chris Raschka
from Schwartz & Wade
for Preschool-2nd grade
2012 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
Benjy and the Barking Bird
by Margaret Bloy Graham
from Harper & Row
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Bounce and the Bunnies
by Ruth Carroll
2nd edition from Henry Z. Walck, Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Bugle, A Puppy in Old Yorktown
by Mary Andrews, Illustrated by Manning de V. Lee
from Rand McNally
for Preschool-1st grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Charlie and the New Baby
by Ree Drummond and Diane De Groat
from Scholastic Inc.
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Digging-est Dog
by Al Perkins
from Random House
for Kindergarten-3rd Grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$9.99
Foundling
by Carol Carrick, illustrated by Donald Carrick
from Seabury Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Foxie, The Singing Dog
by Ingri & Edgar Parin d'Aulaire
Main from Unknown Publisher
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Go, Dog, Go!
by P. D. Eastman
from Random House
Animal Fantasy/Rhyming Stories for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$9.99
Great Gracie Chase
by Cynthia Rylant
from Blue Sky press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Harry and the Lady Next Door
An I Can Read Book Level 1
by Gene Zion
from HarperCollins
Realistic Animal Stories for Preschool-1st grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Harry the Dirty Dog
by Gene Zion, illustrated by Margaret Bloy Graham
from Harper & Row
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Henry Explores the Jungle
by Mark Taylor, illustrated by Graham Booth
Anniversary from Purple House Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.95
Henry Explores the Mountains
by Mark Taylor, illustrated by Graham Booth
Anniversary from Purple House Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.95
Henry the Explorer
by Mark Taylor, illustrated by Graham Booth
45th Anniversary Edition from Purple House Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.95
How Fletcher Was Hatched
by Wende and Harry Devlin
from Parents Magazine Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$15.00 (3 in stock)
Hugo and the Impossible Thing
by Renee Felice Smith and Chris Gabriel, illustrated by Sydney Hanson
from Flamingo Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
Lassie and the Deer Mystery
A Whitman Big Tell-a-Tale #2442
by Jean Fiedler, illustrated by Larry Harris
from Whitman Publishing Company
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Lassie Come-Home (adapted)
by Rosemary Wells
1st ed from Henry Holt and Company
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Lewis and Clark and Me
by Laurie Myers
from Henry Holt and Company
Fictionalized Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Lewis & Clark (Location: HISA-19L&C)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Market Square Dog
by James Herriot
from St. Martin's Press
for Kindergarten-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Mister Dog
by Margaret Wise Brown
from Western Publishing
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Little Golden Books (Location: PIC-GOLD)
$5.99
Noodle
by Munro Leaf, illustrated by Ludwig Bemelmans
from Arthur A. Levine Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Part-Time Dog
by Jane Thayer, illustrated by Seymour Fleishman
from William Morrow & Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Penguin Pup for Pinkerton
by Steven Kellogg
from Dial Books for Young Readers
for 1st-2nd grade
in Clearance: Picture Books (Location: ZCLE-PIC)
Pinkerton, Behave!
by Steven Kellogg
from Dial Books for Young Readers
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Clearance: Picture Books (Location: ZCLE-PIC)
Stone for Sascha
by Aaron Becker
from Candlewick Press
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
Sweetest Fig
by Chris Van Allsburg
from Houghton Mifflin
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Three Names
by Patricia MacLachlan, illustrated by Alexander Pertzoff
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Tim's Friend Towser
by Edward Ardizzone
1st edition from HarperCollins
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
To the Top of the World
by Jim Brandenburg
from Walker and Company
for 5th-9th grade
1994 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
in Arctic & Tundra (Location: SCI-ECO)
Togo
by Robert J. Blake
1st Impression from Philomel Books
for 3rd-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Uncle Mugsy and the Terrible Twins of Christmas
by Eric Metaxas, illustrated by Tim Raglin
from Madison Square Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$29.00 (1 in stock)
What's Alice Up To?
by Harley Jessup
from Viking Press
for Nursery-Kindergarten
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)