RRRalph

by Lois Ehlert

Would you believe that Ralph the dog can talk? Yip, yip, yip--it's true!

With bestselling author Lois Ehlert's simple, funny, call-and-response text and bold, playful collage illustrations, this fresh, young book is sure to get little ones laughing (and talking to their dogs!)

Genres: Picture Books, Dogs, Storytime, Childrens, Humor, Animals, Fiction

40 pages, Hardcover

First published May 3, 2011

About the author

Lois Ehlert has created numerous inventive, celebrated, and bestselling picture books, including Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Holey Moley, The Scraps Book, Mice, Ten Little Caterpillars, RRRalph, Lots of Spots, Boo to You!, Leaf Man, Waiting for Wings, Planting a Rainbow, Growing Vegetable Soup, and Color Zoo, which received a Caldecott Honor. She lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Reviews

[The Library Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listen up you hallowed members of the Caldecott Committee. Lois Ehlert deserves your medal. She has deserved your medal for years, while you have repeatedly passed her by for everything from a biography illustrated with woodcut prints to a frickin' pseudo graphic novel.
Take a look at this one. It embodies everything Ehlert can do. Look at her use of various media to create her collages. Look at her bold, clear designs that have appeal for even a toddler.
Combine that with a simple, clear text that has jokes a kindergartener will roar at, yet still be enjoyed by the kids too small to get the joke.
AND it's a dog book. How can you resist a DOG book?
Well, I can, but that's another story....
Take a look at this one, Caldecott folks. And then read the rest of Ehlert's stuff.
Because if she isn't doing award worthy picture books, no one else out there is!

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ehlert returns with another cleverly illustrated book, this time featuring a dynamic dog. Ralph is a dog who is able to talk. No, really! When they brought him home and asked him his name, he replied with “RRRalph Ralph.” He can tell you where he is when he climbs up on his doghouse: “Roof roof.” Just ask him what is on the outside of a tree, and he knows that it’s BARK. The book continues with more questions for Ralph and him answering them with a variety of barks, until at the end, he only replies with a snore since he’s fallen asleep.

The book has a great sense of humor and after the first couple of examples of how Ralph replies to questions, children will be trying to guess the next answers that Ralph will give. The dynamic color combinations of the backgrounds with the pop of black-and-white dog on them add to the fun. Ehlert excels at her illustrations done using collage and found objects. The can tab nose gives Ralph a jaunty friendly feel, as does the colorful collar and heart-shaped tag.

A dog book that is barking up just the right tree for young children, this book belong on every library’s shelves and adds to the incredible body of Ehlert’s work. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

[Elisabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bringing this home to my boys (8 and 3). The older one will like all the jokes and the little one will like the pictures (I want to see Lois Ehlert's studio someday - I have visions of piles of all sorts of fun stuff).

[Tara Engel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really cute book, perfect for dog lovers like our family.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would you like to meet a talking dog? Rrralph named himself when he came home with his boy and has been talking since. He can tell you there is bark on a tree, and that the gravel is rough rough on his paws. Lois Ehlert books are always interesting to read because she uses various methods to create her art such as drawing, cut up paper, bottle caps, pieces of fabric, a zipper for a mouth, etc.

This book would be good for a child who loves I Spy books where you have to find the hidden object because Ehlert uses such diverse methods in her art.

This would be a good book for an art unit to show children that art isn't just coloring on paper.

This is also a good book for an imagination unit as the dog "talks" by the owner asking questions that a dog can respond to with normal dog sounds. Woof woof can sound like roof roof for example.

[Cosette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing pictures

[Sunah Chung · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ralph is the author's dog, and the author illustrates that Ralph is the dog could talk.
The plot consisted of the narrator, who is the author, believing that Ralph could talk. For instance, when she asked Ralph’s name, Ralph said “RRRalph, RRRalph”. When she asked where Ralph was, Ralph said “Roof, Roof”. The dog did not talk literally, but the author wittily portrayed that Ralph could talk by interpreting onomatopoeia from the perspectives of a human. The story was a bit clumsy, so rather than the storyline, what I enjoyed was the artwork of this picture book. By using collage techniques, Ralph was vividly illustrated. Scraps of tree bark, zippers, screws, and pull tabs were used to create the form of Ralph and the backgrounds. Children could be inspired to create their own Ralph and stories.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

So...I'm in the middle of a Christmas storytime when a little girl (maybe...three years old...) comes up to me and says this is the FUNNIEST book and I just HAD to read it for storytime. Well, I declined (it is NOT a Christmas book!), but I went ahead and read it when I was done and cleaned up. And you know what? It's a really cute little book! Ralph's speech is clever, and the illustrations are great. I see why the little one loved it! So while it didn't make it into my storytime today, it just MAY in the future.

[Marilu Rojas]

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[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is just plain fun! The narrator is convinced that her dog can talk. Afterall, when she asked him his name he answered, "Rrralph! Rraplh!" And, when she found him on top his doghouse and asked him where he was he answered, "Roof! Roof!"
After the first few pages preschoolers will get the pattern and have fun trying to guess what sound Ralph will make next. Highly recommended!

[Cindy Petzoldt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highest possible rating! Preschoolers and even older kids will enjoy the hilarious text and colorful pictures in this short book. Warning: reading aloud may lead to uncontrollable barking, giggling, and begging to “read it again!” I saw it at the public library and knew immediately I had to buy a copy for my Ready Readers. This book has legs. And a tail.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping this book would be cuter than it was. Ralph is a dog who can talk...kind of. It felt like an old joke being put into a child's book. But then again, maybe that's the appeal for a child.

[Taddow · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute little book that my three year-old loves!

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really funny book for an older child who would understand word play!

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story about a dog that can talk , depending on what you ask him, with the type of bark he replies. I enjoyed the multi-media approach to the illustrations.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

The librarian suggested this one. Z loved it from the get-go. We read it multiple times. Funny, unusual illustrations, and great for a beginning reader.

[Dewey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the book but am not as big a fan of the illustrations. They're unique...but not my thing.

[Lexie W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent word play and laugh-out-loud fun for kids and grown-ups alike. :)

[Elizabeth Chang · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the play on words!
Surprised me how many dog sounds can be made to sound like human words!

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story, funny pictures. Baby likes when doing voices for the dog.

[Milton Louie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Does Ralph really talk? B

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This whole book is just puns

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dog puns! Example... "what's on that tree Ralph?" "Bark bark bark!"

[Allie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hits me right in the punny bone.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meet RRRalph; a talking dog who answers questions asked by his owner in this funny, humorous story inspired by jokes told by a grandfather to his grandchildren.

[N · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think kids will love guessing what Ralph is going to say next. Will be a fun read-aloud.

[LC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Illustrations aren't my style but they are cute. The stories funny and sweet.

[Amanda Geske · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Bark! Bark!”

[Marcia Van Camp]

Strange and ugly book

[Alyson Howlett · Rating 5 out of 5]

So cute.