The Good Dog

I am a 63 year-old woman with no children of my own, but I am passionate about children's books. The Good Dog is one of the most precious and adorable book I have seen in a long time. While the story is not new - little boy finds abandoned puppy, parents let him keep it as long as the dog is "good," family encounters misadventures and blames them on dog, but dog saves the day - the way this story is presented is marvelous. The sometimes "visual onomatopoeia,"when the text reflects what is happening in the story, e.g., "boyonabikecamezooning down the hill ..." is a spectacular technique. What impresses me most about this book is the illustrations. I don't know if they are watercolor, colored pencil wash, or ink wash, but the detail and care that went into each drawing is mesmerizing. The characters seem so real, and not at all cartoonish, and the careful shading and detail of the drawings are what tells the story. One endearing image is of Mrs. Lee and the two toddler daughters, who seem to be twins, painting the wall of the Happy Bakery: Mrs Lee is painting with a roller and the girls are using brushes, and one of the little girls has painted a tiny blue stripe on the back of her sister's onesie. I loved this book so much that I almost cried at the end - it was that beautiful - and this is one of those books that a Kindle cannot do justice. I will definitely buy this when it is published.

I will publish this review on Amazon.com when the book is published and I have posted this review on Goodreads.

Thank you for sharing this lovely little story with me.

The moral of this story is one I think we can all learn from. Sometimes people aren't as bad as they seem, or they're worse than they seem. Either way, sooner or later, their true colors will show. I think this is a great book for kids and that it teaches them a valuable lesson through a simple book about a dog.

This delightful, enticing story carries several lessons for children and for the adults who are fortunate to read to and to share with them. Greed doesn't pay! But kindness, friendship, and loyalty do. This story deserves to be read over and over again.

A great book for kids with absolutely beautiful pictures and a wonderful morals. Tako the puppy is a delightful character to show children that every action has a reaction and the best thing in life is to be the best and most kind person (or dog) you are able. I would recommend this book for children of ages up to 8-10 but definitely able to be read from earlier and repeatedly to enforce the message.

Well I knew I had to get this book as soon as I saw that it was about a dog named Tako because that was also my dog's name when I was a child. What are the odds? And I'm so glad I did. Both my daughter and I were completely charmed by this tale of a lonesome dog who finds a family and eventually becomes a hero.

My favourite part: I love the fact that Tako's owners, the Lee family, have a bakery that is constantly being sabotaged by the greedy corporate baker up the hill, because I think it's very funny that someone so obsessed with money would choose to open a bakery in the first place. Plus all of his baked goods are completely joyless, which I also think is very funny (How do you even make a sad cupcake? Somehow he manages it).

I also like how it shows the difference between acting like a "good dog" or a "good person" and actually doing the right thing, which isn't always the same thing.

Magda's favourite part: "I really like that the little boy found a dog and he actually go to keep him. That's awesome!"

[Mom's note: Yeah, thanks a lot for THAT idea.]

This is a very enjoyable read. Kids from 3-8 will love it! The illustrations are terrific. It is long in terms of pages, but the word count is not really high. An enjoyable read!