Poems About Dogs

Once I Ate a Pie

Written by Patricia MacLachlan and Emily MacLachlan Charest

Illustrated by Katy Schneider

Published by HarperCollins Children’s Books

Copyright 2006

29 Pages

 Poetry

 

            I chose this book for several reasons, the first being because it is poetry. I also chose this book, because I am a dog lover. As I flipped through this book, the first thing I noticed was the font in all different styles and sizes. The deal was sealed. Anything that looks fun and spontaneous is perfect for me. This book is full of different poems about dogs. Ever poem is about a different type of dog. It is interesting how the author does not use the correct breed of the dog, but instead they use the dogs’ names for the titles of the poems. The poems are a short and hysterical summary of each dog’s personality. The poems are told from the perspective of the dog.

The illustrations in this book are all painted by an amazing artist. Katy Schneider used actual dogs as models for her paintings in this book. She uses the end paper in the beginning of the book, along with the illustrations on the title and cover page to suggest the topic of the story for the reader. The illustrations are largely and beautifully displayed though the double page format. The text format is very informal. This is my favorite part of the book, because different ideas are emphasized through styles of text. The images do a great job of assisting the reader in visualizing the personality of the dog displayed through the text.

The teacher could use this book in a Language Arts activity. The students could write about a dog or pet that they have, and what their dog might think about everyday. The teacher could also use this book in an Art lesson. The teacher could extend on a lesson about the illustrator and her accomplishments, and then give the students an opportunity to paint. This book could easily be used in an activity about adjectives. Most poems include a good amount of adjectives, but these specific descriptive poems include a lot. The teacher could read-aloud this book to the class. She could stop after each poem to allow the students to pick out the adjectives on the page. This would also be a great way to allow time for student engagement.