CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices, 1995)
The first yarn, "The Burglar," begins rapidly: "One day you were taking a nap. There was nothing else to do. All at once, your heard THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! 'Wow!' you said to yourself. 'A burglar! A burglar is knocking on the door!' You ran to the door..." No one is there. Apparently the "big, scary, brave" dog in this book scared the burglar away. Time for another dog-nap. The humor in the narrative is derived from the second person point of view, allowing readers to supply what is left out. True Kelley's full-color illustrations fully support the text. In "The Burglar" readers see a large brown mutt waking up from a nap on the rug, startled and immediately alert. They know at once he's ready to protect the household. All three stories are superbly written, humorous and eight pages each in length. "The Bone" (burying it and then searching for it) and "The Wild Dog" (running away) also contain repetition, a text with a strong context, and a controlled vocabulary. An ususual, exciting book. CCBC categories: EASY FICTION. 1995, Houghton Mifflin, 48 pages, $13.95. Ages 5-8.

Roger Sutton (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, March 1995 (Vol. 48, No. 7))
Beginning readers need to read aloud to somebody, and there's no reason why the family Fido can't be up to the task, but best, as this book suggests, to "pet your dog while you read." Illustrated with goofy, undeniably doggy line-and-watercolor pictures, the three stories here involve bones both real and imagined, burglars (also imagined), a break through the door to freedom, cars, recalcitrant squirrels, and sleep, lots of sleep. In fact, each of the stories ends with a nap, which is certainly true to dogdom but tends to give the tales somewhat soporific conclusions. The text has an direct address from child to dog ("One day you were taking a nap. There was nothing else to do") that is intimate and slyly observant of dog mores, but the reading-aloud is a little choppy ("You dug a hole. You put the bone in it. Then you covered it up.") This reviewer's canine audience couldn't sit still for it, but out there are surely dogs-and, more to the point, kids-who will. Ad--Additional book of acceptable quality for collections needing more material in the area. Reviewed from galleys (c) Copyright 1995, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 1995, Houghton, [48p], $13.95. Grades 1-3.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, 1995)
These simple accounts of such doggy activities as barking at the front door, hiding and losing a bone, and running away from home to become a 'wild dog' lack imagination. The peppy, colorful illustrations deserve a more vivid text. Category: Fiction. 1995, Houghton, 48pp.. Ages 5 to 9. Rating: 4: Recommended, with minor flaws.