My Crazy Dog: My Narrative Essay

by Darcy Pattison, Ewa O'Neill

SLJ Review of Books 1 and 2 of The Read and Write “. . .fill(s) a niche for teachers. . .” (5/1/15)When Dennis has to write a narrative essay, he naturally turns to his dog for something to write about. Recently, Mom asked Dennis to put a leash on Clark Kent so they could take the dog to the veterinarian for shots. Clark gave them all a merry chase! There’s lots of action to love here—and great verbs for Dennis’s narrative essay.THE READ AND WRITE SERIESI Want a My Opinion Essay, Book 1I Want a My Opinion Essay, Book 2My Crazy My Narrative Essay, Book 3My Dirty My Informative Essay, Book 4 (Spring, 2016)This is the third installment in The Read and Write Series. Children's book author and writing teacher, Darcy Pattison, entertains kids while also teaching them how-to-write.PRAISE for I WANT A DOG, FROM DOG EXPERTS“Darcy Pattison does a remarkable job on several fronts with her wonderful new book I Want A My Opinion Essay. She introduces the value of the written text at an early age to children. This cannot be emphasized enough in our early classrooms. With this comes an important lesson regarding the responsibility of owning and caring for a dog. As President of the Labrador Retriever Club representing the breed with the largest number of dogs I know how imperative responsible dog ownership is and Darcy does a wonderful job instilling this at an early age. This is a remarkable children’s book that has a lesson.”–Fred Kampo, President of the Labrador Retriever ClubPRAISE for I WANT A DOG, FROM SCIENCE EDUCATOR“I find these books to be the perfect resource when teaching persuasive writing and opinion essay. Students are immediately interested in the engaging story, much more so than when introduced to this style of writing using an English text. The prompts included make for an excellent teacher resource and can be used an extension to the text, adding depth to the learning. “ Peggy Carlisle, NBCT, Director, NSTA Preschool/Elementary Division, President-Elect Society of Elementary Presidential Awardees, NSTA.PRAISE for I WANT A CAT, FROM CAT EXPERTS“This is an absolutely delightful book intended for children, but actually one that is informative for adults as well, it reinforces the importance of considering various factors when selecting a cat as a pet. The two cousins are exchanging thoughts about their lifestyles and priorities. They each have a vision of their ‘ideal cat.’ Though every cat is an individual, the book expresses the value of predictable personality traits and other characteristics of various pedigreed cat breeds. It is a charming story of the two children each going through the process of finding a cat who best fits their own preferences. The playful illustrations compliment the humorous and educational quality of the book.”Joan Miller, Cahir, CFA Outreach and Education, Cat Fancier’s AssociationPerfect for remote learning, digital learning, or home learning. Printables available on our website.

Genres: Picture Books, School, Writing

32 pages, Paperback

First published May 21, 2015

About the author

DARCY PATTISON (www.darcypattison.com) is published in ten languages.

Children’s book author Darcy Pattison writes award-winning fiction and non-fiction books for children. Her works have received starred PW, Kirkus, and BCCB reviews. Awards include the Irma Black Honor award, five NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Books, Eureka! Nonfiction Honor book, Junior Library Guild selections, and NCTE Notable Children’s Book in Language Arts. She’s the 2007 recipient of the Arkansas Governor’s Arts Award for Individual Artist for her work in children’s literature.

Reviews

[Gretchen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun way to teach students about narrative writing from another "direction." I like the simplicity of the notes the student takes as he thinks about the events he wants to write about and the simple sentences he uses to list the events. Then in the narrative, it shows how those details are incorporated and the sentences become much more interesting and flow together. It could definitely be a good choice to show as a mentor text for narrative writing.

[Sandra Stiles · Rating 5 out of 5]

With this picture book kids learn how to write a narrative essay. The main character needs to take his dog to the vet for shots. He tells about the events that happened up until he caught his dog to get him ready for the vet. Once again you get a wonderful story. Then you get to read the essay the character has written and this is followed up by a how-to page on how to write a narrative essay.

[Miriam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great for younger students. Explains exactly how to write a narrative. I picked it up while tutoring at an elementary classroom of fort graders. The students seemed to really enjoy the book, story, and the way the information was presented.