Jan Thomas is my new favorite picture book author. She (?) wrote the Rhyming Dust Bunnies book I reviewed earlier, plus What Will Fat Cat Sit On and others. My new favorite, though, is The Doghouse. In the simple (but highly effective) story, Duck, Pig, Cow and Mouse are playing ball when Cow accidentally kicks the ball into THE DOGHOUSE. Who will be the brave soul who goes in to get it out? None of the animals looks thrilled at the prospect, but Mouse convinces Cow that he must go first: “Cow is big! Cow is brave! Cow is strong!” (Cow’s response? A rather not-so-big-and-brave “Moo!”). One by one the animals go in, but they DO NOT COME OUT! What happened?
When I read this to preschoolers, I added a “Dun dun DUN!” after reading the title (in a suitably dark and scary voice). After a few more of these drama-heighteners, the kids picked up on it and started adding their own “Dun dun DUN!”s. LOTS of fun.
Reinforcing print awareness skills are words emphasized in big letters and colors (which, after repeated readings, kids will be able to identify on sight), and kids will have fun predicting what will happen. I can’t wait to see what Jan Thomas comes up with next — surely another simple, but VERY creative, crowd-pleaser.
Thomas, Jan. The Doghouse. Orlando, FL: Harcourt, 2008. ISBN: 9780152065331
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