Tog the Dog

by Colin Hawkins, Jacqui Hawkins

Tog the dog's jog lands him in a bog, but a nice hog helps him out with a log.

Genres: Picture Books

22 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Colin Hawkins (1945) was born in Blackpool, England, and won a scholarship to art school at the age of thirteen. He and his wife, Jacqui Hawkins, produced their first children’s book, Witches, in 1981 and over one hundred titles have followed since then.

Reviews

[Maria Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tog the Dog is part of the Dorling Kindersley series of books which encourages young readers (reception and year one) to ‘read aloud, read along, and read alone’. The book has a substantial focus on phonics in order to encourage the reader to learn new vocabulary and gain confidence in pronunciation. As one would expect, the illustrations and speech bubbles make the book attractive to the reader. The book could be used for one-on-one reading recovery; the illustrations prompt the reader, and the teacher could ask the child where some of the words ‘cog, fog, bog’ appear on the page.

I would not hesitate to use this book within a phonics lesson; the ‘og’ ending is written on the last page and every preceding page has a large letter which means that each page provides a new word. A teacher could project this book onto the board with the aid of a visualiser and model how it should be read. S/he could then ask for the class to repeat what s/he has read, e.g. using expression where there are questions. The teacher could make this even more engaging by dividing the class into two groups (perhaps boys and girls), where each half read what is written in the different speech bubbles. The teacher could then work with the class to come up with their own story; perhaps about a cat called Pat, or a hen named Ben. They could then go back to their desks and illustrate their stories. Overall, then, an invaluable book for the classroom.

[Elizabeth]

I would use this book for rhyming and phonemic awareness. On each page the beginning letter/sound changes. (/t/ tog, /d/ dog, /l/ log). When using this book, I would flip each page to reveal the new rhyming word, say the word aloud, then say the word slowly to emphasize the beginning phoneme sound. I would either ask the child to identify the letter that is being changed or ask them what does t sound like?

[Kelly Chester · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a super cute book

[Boom! · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good book for early learners. The rhyming and simple words make it just a touch challenging but not discouraging which is a good balance for beginners. My sons was eager to practice what he has learned at bedtime by reading to his younger siblings.

[Allyson Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great for new readers, it focuses on the -og ending while telling a story. It tells the story on one page and then on the other it shows the word with the -og ending. The book using the flip-the-page format so as you turn the page you get to see the -og word change just by the first letter. So dog will turn into jog and so on, all you have to do is turn the page for the students to see. It is also a big book so it is perfect for shared reading. The illustrations are fun and reinforce the text while also giving interesting asides for the reader to look at. The pictures are colorful and easy to see. Even though this book is made to show the relationship between -og endings, it still tells a cute story that the students will enjoy. I am happy I bought this book and I am excited to use it in my classroom.

[Rylee Stockton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tog the Dog is a poetry book. It had many words that rhymed and flowed throughout the book. This book would be age appropriate for first grade and even into kindergarten because the vocabulary that is used throughout the book is very simple and lots of words could be used as sight words and rhyming words. Tog the Dog is about a dog that likes to jog because every dog likes to jog. But he gets caught in a lot of frenzies while he is trying to jog and ended up getting help from his friend the hog who also jogs. I think this book could be useful with learning rhyming words and also with same ending sounds because words such as: jog, tog, dog, and hog are used throughout the book and have the same ending sound. So this book could be used for phonics lessons. The content of this book is very child friendly and should not be concerning to any parents.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our pre-schooler was so excited that he could "read" this book! Included words with the "OG" sound in them. I'll have to track down more in the series.

[Theresa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tog The Dog
Hawkins, Colin
an early reading book to help with sound blends and phonemic awareness.

[Abby Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the rhyme and and spelling pattern represented in this story! Children will enjoy the illustrations and gain practice with phonemic awareness! Excellent book!