Here are 100 books that Dog Breath fans have personally recommended if you like
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Chaco’s First Day at Work is based on my real life furry best friend, Chaco. Chaco is a Miniature Australian Shepherd and has been an amazing companion over the last 13 years. I work in Human Resources and am always focused on developing leaders in the company and am surprised by some of the things that people do. There are not many children’s books about leadership so I thought it would be great to pass along some new leadership lessons early to children through Chaco’s First Day at Work.
This is a slightly different take on my list with a more practical teaching lesson. I have had so many children come up to Chaco and pull his hair or stick their hands in his mouth without permission. Luckily there haven’t been any injuries, but what if it was another dog that wasn’t so well behaved? It's important to train your children how to behave around dogs from an early age.
Meeting a new dog is exciting, but it can also be scary. This humorous how-to manual shows kids the best ways to interact with unfamiliar dogs, providing helpful tips about all sorts of dog behavior. Children often don't understand what dogs' actions mean and can misinterpret a threatening signal for a friendly one and vice versa. Kids and parents will return to Wendy Wahman's playful illustrations again and again for useful reminders: Slow Down. Stay very still. And remember, don't lick the dog!
Chaco’s First Day at Work is based on my real life furry best friend, Chaco. Chaco is a Miniature Australian Shepherd and has been an amazing companion over the last 13 years. I work in Human Resources and am always focused on developing leaders in the company and am surprised by some of the things that people do. There are not many children’s books about leadership so I thought it would be great to pass along some new leadership lessons early to children through Chaco’s First Day at Work.
Sit. Stay. Love. Life Lessons from a Doggie is a beautiful book packed full of life lessons. This book is a great way to instill good behaviors in your children from a young age using easy-to-understand concepts and rhyming that makes the book a ton of fun to read!
Imbue good character and confidence within your child through easy life lessons, from a doggie!
Dogs make us laugh, and dogs bring us joy. But what can they teach us about life? With its lovable pictures and songlike rhymes, kids will pick up valuable lessons they can use throughout their lives. Sit Stay Love teaches that no matter how we are different, how we are the same is what matters most.
With so many things to learn in life, who'd knew that the best life lessons would come from a dog!
Children thrive on simple phrases, and easy to remember…
Chaco’s First Day at Work is based on my real life furry best friend, Chaco. Chaco is a Miniature Australian Shepherd and has been an amazing companion over the last 13 years. I work in Human Resources and am always focused on developing leaders in the company and am surprised by some of the things that people do. There are not many children’s books about leadership so I thought it would be great to pass along some new leadership lessons early to children through Chaco’s First Day at Work.
This book teaches us that it’s ok to be yourself. In a world full of social media and TV it can be confusing for children to see themselves as different from the rest of the pack. I love this book because it teaches children that you can succeed by embracing who you are and using your own voice.
An endearing, vibrant story of how one tongue-tied, yet resourceful Yorkshire terrier beats the odds and finds her own voice.
Dorky Yorkie is unlike any other dog in her school. She is… well, herself. She blushes a lot. She giggles a lot. She often doesn’t know what to say. That’s why her biggest dream is to become president of the Woof and Bark Club. Then everyone would have to listen to her, right?
With all the tenacity she can muster, she sets out to achieve her ambition – only to realize that she really doesn’t have to be as brave…
Chaco’s First Day at Work is based on my real life furry best friend, Chaco. Chaco is a Miniature Australian Shepherd and has been an amazing companion over the last 13 years. I work in Human Resources and am always focused on developing leaders in the company and am surprised by some of the things that people do. There are not many children’s books about leadership so I thought it would be great to pass along some new leadership lessons early to children through Chaco’s First Day at Work.
This is more of a fun story than a life lesson. There are more lessons about what not to do that what you should do. That being said it’s a very cute book that does have one very important lesson: Don’t eat bees or they will sting you! This is story I wish I read as a kid before learning about bees the hard way.
The comic duo that brought you I Don't Want to Be a Frog is back, with Chip the dog, a hilarious new character who's got some "wisdom" to share.
Are you a dog in need of advice? Fear not: Chip the dog is ON IT in this super-silly guide to living your best canine life. Chip is seven; he knows things. Like what to eat (important papers, the fancy bird the humans cooked for the fancy dinner, Grandpa’s teeth), and what not to eat (bees). He won’t get those mixed up, will he?
I am the mother of six and a voracious journaler. I am also a novelist. Though I’ve found that the facts of family adventures are often more fascinating than fiction. I bring in-the-moment observations as well as decade-seasoned insights to the world of family life. I also love reading about other families with all their quirks and joys.
Though we will never have inside pets because of allergies, my family thoroughly enjoys this true story centered around a family raising two owls (and a variety of other wild animals). This story showed a supportive family as the parents not only endured a continuous round of new pets (including a meal interrupted by one owl dropping a dead skunk on the table) but also assisted Billy in his early zoo-keeping habits. The hilarious slices of life had us in stitches. I especially love the relationship between the owl—Wol—and Billy’s dog.
I love cozy mysteries with a touch of sweet, clean romance, a splash of faith, and, best of all—a cold, wet nose and four paws. Animals bring richness and compassion to a story. They can provide comic relief, a sympathetic ear to be scratched, a built-in radar for identifying bad guys, and unconditional love when the protagonist needs it most. My love for this genre is probably why I was drawn to it for my debut novel, which came out in August 2022. The cover is a giveaway for who has the paws in this story.
This story (and series) features pets in a retirement village where the protagonist, Charlotte, is technically too young to be there but remains because her grandmother raised her there. The neighbor’s dog unearths a skeleton in her backyard.
How it got there is the mystery to be solved. Charlotte’s pet serves as the litmus test for possible suitors. It’s a fun read.
Since I brought home my first rescue thirty years ago, my life has been full of dogs and dog-related activities that I can hardly imagine the person I would've been without them. My own books often feature one or more dogs, not because I particularly decide to write about dogs, but more because I live with dogs, it’s what I know. When I’m browsing for a good read, if a book features a dog, that’s a draw for me, just because dogs are dogs; they are such good creatures, so infinitely lovable, that their presence enhances a book for me just as their presence in my life enhances my every day.
Of all my picks, this one is the most startling read, I think. It follows the life of a very small boy, left for some reason abandoned, who takes refuge with a stray bitch and her litter, and consequently grows up as a dog.
This, too, is very much a tragedy; although he lives as a dog, and everything he knows is of being a dog, yet the boy is not a dog and cannot remain one, and his own complete failure to understand his circumstances when he is rescued results in one of the most heartbreaking endings to any book I have ever read.
It’s a strange and beautiful experience, reading this book, and although yes, it will break you, it gives a rare insight into how it can be for anyone brought up outside his proper culture.
A vivid, riveting novel about an abandoned boy who takes up with a pack of feral dogs
Two million children roam the streets in late twentieth-century Moscow. A four-year-old boy named Romochka, abandoned by his mother and uncle, is left to fend for himself. Curious, he follows a stray dog to its home in an abandoned church cellar on the city's outskirts. Romochka makes himself at home with Mamochka, the mother of the pack, and six other dogs as he slowly abandons his human attributes to survive two fiercely cold winters. Able to pass as either boy or dog, Romochka…
Steve Patschke is a retired elementary school library media teacher of over thirty years, now living in Woodstock, N.Y. In November of 2022, his essay appeared in The New York Times' “Tiny Love Stories.” In February of 2023, his essay appeared in Chicken Soup For The Soul: Cat Lovers Edition. He has published six children’s picture books. His most recent is Don’t Look At It, Don’t Touch It. Steve’s rendition of the classic Nutcracker and the Mouse King will be published as a pop-up book through Templar books in the fall of 2023.
Like my previous choices David Shannon’s picture book Good Boy Fergus is built around his excellent timing for humor.
But Shannon’s greatest gift is his ability to convey not only humor, but heart, in his illustrations. Children will love Fergus, a tough and tumble Scottish terrier whose big sweet eyes excuse him from any misbehavior.
Fergus is funny, lovable and like Shannon’s most popular series No David he makes mistakes that children can easily relate to and forgive.
I choose “Fergus” over “David” because I feel some of David’s escapades may be a bit too over the top for young readers. While Fergus, who happens to be a dog, models only “Bad Dog” behavior.
I was sick as a child and bedridden for several months. This was before 24/7 TV and computers. I began to read A LOT. I read everything and anything that I could find, but my favorite topics were animals and nature. I also read science fiction and fantasy. It’s not a surprise that those topics merged into my writing and life. I currently live on five acres that I’ve left mostly for the wildlife. My nephew calls me his aunt who lives in the forest with reindeer. That is way cooler than my real life, so I’m good with that. All my books have nature and friendship as main themes.
This is one of those books that stayed with me long after I finished the last page. I think the author’s choice to tell the story from the point of view of the two dogs and the other animals they meet is powerful. We get to feel their fear, sadness, mistrust, and hope for a better life.
This story can pose quite a dilemma for a reader because on one hand, we know that we’d never hurt animals, but we also realize that when we purchase products that are tested on animals, we are the villains in the story.
Two dogs, Snitter and Rowf, escape from a research laboratory in the Lake District where it is wrongly supposed they have been purposely infected with a deadly virus and now pose a dangerous threat to the human population. As the authorities give chase, the two friends make their way through the hills and across the moors, along the way learning to survive on their wits and finding friendship and help from a fox they encounter. They dream of finding their original owners and a safe haven - but the hunt is on.
I’m a Canadian kids’ author, and I’ve written a few books about kids longing for absent parents. There’s nothing more compelling and powerful for me than a book about a young person searching for a significant adult. It wasn’t part of my growing-up experience, but I know it is the truth for so many kids who would identify with the kids in these novels. There are so many excellent MG novels on this topic that it was hard for me to narrow it down to these five books. I love cheering on kids who struggle, and Opal, Chirp, David, Lucky, and Parvana are among my favorite book kids.
This is the middle-grade novel that I so wish I had written. Kate DiCamillo is the best kids’ author writing today, and I devour everything she writes. She really gets kids, and Winn Dixie is my favorite dog in books.
The story of ten-year-old Opal and her found dog, Winn Dixie, makes me laugh, want to snuggle my dog, cry and reach out to hug motherless Opal every time I read it (usually once a year). I love the remarkably imperfect people Opal and her dog befriend, and the language is rich and authentic to the story. This is an unforgettable story about making a home for yourself against the odds.
Funny and poignant, this 2001 Newbery Honor novel captures life in a quirky Southern town as Opal and her mangy dog, Winn-Dixie, strike up friendships among the locals.
One summer's day, ten-year-old India Opal Buloni goes down to the local supermarket for some groceries - and comes home with a dog. But Winn-Dixie is no ordinary dog. It's because of Winn-Dixie that Opal begins to make friends. And it's because of Winn-Dixie that she finally dares to ask her father about her mother, who left when Opal was three. In fact, as Opal admits, just about everything that happens that…
