When Dogs Work

Thanks NetGalley and Pajama Press!

I disagree with police dogs on principle but I'll let it slide since it is just educating kids on the different kinds of working dogs. The information was presented well and easy to digest, the rhyming was nice, and I liked the photos. Also I appreciated the bit at the end about not petting service dogs.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. This book is about what dogs do other than be pets. Easy-to-read text and pictures of actual dogs make it a great read.

This simple yet informative children's nonfiction book provides good examples of what kinds of jobs that working dogs have. This book serves as a very basic introduction to the jobs, with a page of extensions for parents to explore with their kids. However, I do think it would have been beneficial to explain more about a working dog in general. The extension in the back matter assumes a parent knows Why a child shouldn't pet a working dog. Another thing that could be added is an explanation of how one can tell a dog is a working dog (the author also makes the assumption the parent/guardian knows this as well.) Understandably, the book shouldn't be bogged down by too much information, but a page or two of this general info would be helpful. One other noticeable issue is the rhyming scheme, some of the sentences are a little awkward and don't quite follow the natural cadence that the sentences require to fit in the scheme. Overall, not a bad book for dog lovers.

Dog person that I am, I was drawn to this book. I liked it even more as I began to peruse the pages. The pictures are real people and real working dogs. By that I mean that they appear to be genuine photos taken in action, not something posed. There are a variety of dogs and human characters, not to mention a herd of sheep. Love those guardian dogs. The author dedicates the book to her own dogs, too, a nice touch and loved the paw/hand photo used with the dedication.

Each working type gets a two page spread. One page is devoted to a short, rhythmical description of the dog's job. It's accompanied by a color photo of that type of dog doing its job. There's a bit of humor in the text, too, a plus for children who enjoy a giggle. As noted, the descriptions are brief. The author isn't trying to tell us everything there is to know about each canine job, simply to share the very basics of the job and, so to speak, offer kudos to those dogs. As an Alaskan who has attended many sled dog events, of course, I feel compelled to mention the inclusion of sled dogs as a canine job. Yeah, huskies. My favorite canine job, though, was the last one mentioned, the job of being a pet dog. In other words, they have a job, too. It's to love us and be there for us every day. My corgi mix, whose heritage would call her a working (herding) dog, falls into that category and I, for one, appreciated the inclusion.

Finally, the book closes with a list of suggested activities to expand upon the contents and focus on the idea of helping these dogs symbolize. The suggestions are simple one that anyone can do. They don't involved collecting a bunch of supplies and finding a specific time or place. In fact, one is simply to note dogs to the child when out and about on daily routines, asking questions such as what kind of dog do you think that is or what sort of job might that dog be suited for. All easy and low pressure type activities. Thanks #PajamaPress - #PublisherSpotlight for giving me a sneak peek at this book. I'll definitely be mentioning it to my friends.