Kids love picture books and especially picture books featuring dogs. All of these books have adorable dogs in them, one also has a cat, and one has a host of wild animals! All have wonderful messages about patience, acceptance, and learning from a dog; and one special book is about why a dog is a better pet than a wild animal! Perfect for children like my grandson, who wants to have a home filled with wild animals he will care for.

I really love “Tate’s Wild Rescue,” by Jenny Turnbull and Izzy Burton. Tate loves animals, all animals. She adores “cats, turtles, hamsters, bunnies… But the wild ones were her favorite. She worried about them out there in the wilderness.” Tate is afraid they might be hungry or lonely or afraid. She sends letters to wild animal after wild animal, inviting them to live with her and preparing for them. (She makes a sign that says “beware of lion” and dons a lion costume in preparation for the lion’s coming.) But lion responds indignantly and explains that his roar can be heard five miles away, he needs to hunt, and there aren’t any zebra in her area. In his response, he writes, “P.S. Scared? I fear no one.” Orca, tiger, grizzly bear cub, kangaroo, raccoon, none of them want to be “rescued” from the wild, and their written responses detail why. But then she gets an unexpected letter from an animal in the “wild” who doesn’t belong in the wild; one who is hungry, lonely, and scared. And Tate learns a valuable lesson. All animals need the right home. At the end of this sweet, touching story are two pages filled with information about helping the wild animals, learning about animals, being a dog or cat’s best friend, and a note from the author about her love for animals. This will become a favorite read for kids from preschool through third grade. Teachers would also find it a great tool to use when teaching letter-writing skills (as in postal letters), along with other picture books like “I Found a Kitty” and “Can I Be Your Dog?” by Troy Cummings. It’s also a great starting point for learning about the needs of wild animals. How much space does a lion need? How far does an orca swim? (Crown Books for Young Readers)

A different kind of picture book is this one, which relies heavily on visuals, “Mela” by Maddalena Schiavo and illustrated by Eleonora Pace. This is a book about Mela, a dog who spent three years in a shelter before being adopted by the girl in the story. It’s only Mela’s name we know, but by the spare text and the illustrations, we learn that she was in a shelter for years, and that it took a year for Mela to actually make her way to the girl and her new family. One illustration that would be great to use with children to help them understand visual cues is a double page spread with images of a basket labeled with Mela’s name. There are four images of the basket, each image showing the basket getting filled with things for Mela like a bone, a bowl, and a ball. Above the baskets are a pair of legs, the girl’s legs. We see that each season is represented, from spring (where the bowl is empty) through summer, fall, and winter (where the bowl is full). Why does the illustrator show that, I would ask students. What is she trying to convey? This is a touching story, and we see how a traumatized dog needs time, love, and patience to feel comfortable. (Creative Editions)

“Just Like Millie” by Lauren Castillo is about how a dog can transform and inspire us. A little girl narrates the story, and as in “Mela,” we never learn her name. She is happy when she is with her mom in their cozy apartment, but she’s scared of meeting new people and making friends. One day, her mom takes her to an animal shelter where they pick out a dog, Millie, who is not too big, not too small, but just right. Millie sleeps with the girl and becomes her best friend. On walks, when people wave, the girl is shy and looks away, but she notices that Millie wags her tail at others. Millie loves meeting new people, and slowly, the girl realizes that she is safe with Millie. She realizes that meeting new people is not frightening. And when they take Millie to the dog park, where they see another little girl with her dog, the narrator looks at Millie, who “never seemed nervous about making new friends,” and she decides to say hello to the girl. This would be a great tool for teachers to use to have students share how they feel about meeting new people. If they are comfortable with meeting strangers, what makes them feel that way? If they are not, would having a dog like Millie make them feel braver? How do dogs help us with our emotions? (Candlewick Press)

While “What to Do With a Stick” by Jane Yolen isn’t really a book about a dog, thanks to Paolo Domeniconi’s beautifully detailed illustrations, an energetic, sweet, black and white dog is included on a boy’s adventures with what is really just an ordinary, plain, wood stick. This book is the last installment of Yolen’s trio of books about ordinary objects that can have extraordinary uses. In this lovely picture book, the stick becomes a sword, a bow for an arrow, a bridge between boy and dog and a charging rhino. Cleverly, instead of throwing the stick for the dog to fetch, it’s thrown to a big polar bear, who does fetch it while the boy and dog run quickly away. The stick can be used as a magic wand, a witch’s broomstick, and for many other purposes, including making music. But to me, one of the most important qualities of the simple stick is that it’s more fun to imagine using it when you have a friend to share the fun with — and what better friend than a nondescript black and white dog? The clever rhyming text makes this one a pleasure to read aloud. This book would be a wonderful tool in the hands of teachers. I’d create a lesson where my students would think of an ordinary object, including the stick, and create their own book of imaginary uses for that object. It could be a shell, a rock, or as Yolen already did, a box or a string. What uses could students find for simple objects? But if you use a box, you’d have to have a cat companion instead of a dog. We all know how much cats love boxes. (Creative Editions)

“Neat Nick’s BIG MESS” by Chad Otis is about a very, very neat and tidy boy named Nick. Perhaps he is the kind of boy who might be diagnosed with *anxiety, autism* or OCD* (obsessive compulsive disorder) because he needs everything to be just right, extremely clean and tidy, and he vacuums and spritzes cleaner and eschews loud noises and unpleasant smells. He likes to be at home in his room so that he can control his environment. But it’s also a bit lonely. Until his parents bring home a huge, very furry dog. And as those who have had very furry dogs know — think Great Pyrenees or Newfoundland — such dogs are loaded with drool, fur filled with leaves and sticks, paws sometimes muddy. But boy, do those dogs know how to give love. And Nick’s new dog is all of those things. Nick cleans and sprays and trims until the dog is clean and tidy. But by the next morning, things are a mess again. Will Nick reach a breaking point? Can Nick learn to deal with a dog who might be a mess but offers so much love in return? Read the book to find out the sweet ending. I’d ask kids if they think the ending is realistic. Do they think that a dog is really that much work? Maybe, depending on the age of the students, I’d assign a project for them to research the amount of care a dog needs. I’d also want to discuss children who might be like Nick, very fussy and tidy and stressed if things aren’t just so. It’s a great way to open a discussion about kids who might feel different from other children and how they can be included and made to feel a part of things. (*Please note that the child psychologist I consulted regarding this fictional character refused to diagnose Nick based on the information contained in this fictional picture book so any errors in diagnosis are purely mine.) (Rocky Pond/Penguin)

“Two Together” by Brendan Wenzel combines my two favorite pets, a dog and a cat, as we join them on their adventure. The endpapers hint at what is to come as we see a lightly drawn mountainscape with a path that two animals are taking. The only part of the two pages that isn’t very light are the drawings of the pair. The cat and dog are making their way down the path between the hills. Appropriately named Bell and Bone, for the bell on the collar of the cat and the bone the dog carries in its mouth, they see much and smell more. There are noises and unexpected sights as they make their way home. They continue together, through caves and wild animals, over streams and through mud. But the sun is setting and they need to hurry. The simple rhyming text, the roughly drawn illustrations, and the repeated phrase “two together” is reassuring and pulls the story together. We are extremely happy that the two together reach their home, safe and warm. Until their next adventure, two together again. Dogs and cats can be best friends, although sometimes, as in my house, they are wary allies. Occasionally it’s the dog who tolerates the cat, but often the reverse. Cats and dogs, two together! (Chronicle Books)

And last is “Roy is Not a Dog” by Esmé Shapiro and Daniel Newell Kaufman, a very different kind of dog book — it’s a clever mystery and one which the newsboy Weasel must solve as he delivers newspapers to the families on Lilypod Lane, “where everyone knew everything about everybody.” Or did they? There are the Lollylumbos, who turn on their television promptly every morning, and Ms. Lilac, who waters her wilty wisteria. Old Man Earl has his stinky milk bottles, but Weasel doesn’t know much about Roy, who lives in the strange house at the end of the lane. The house provides clever readers with many clues, from the bone statue in the yard to the archway made of, yes, bones. The front yard is decorated with hedges shaped like fire hydrants, and the bone-shaped sign over the front door proclaims that the resident’s name is Roy. Weasel wonders what Roy is like, and after careful observation, notices that Roy has certain distinct characteristics. He rushes to tell his friend Pam Pam about his hunch that Roy is a dog. But with carefully thought-out reasoning, she explains why that is ridiculous. There are mysteries to solve and twists to come in this extremely clever book that will delight readers who will want to read and reread and reread yet again to see what was missed the first time. The illustrations and the text complement each other perfectly in this clever concoction, this delectable treat, this sweet little readable candy. (Tundra/ Penguin Random House)

Please note: This review is based on the final, hardcover book provided by the publishers for review purposes.