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How Dogs Really Work!
by
This spoof of a how-to-understand-and-manage-a-dog manual will bring laughs of understanding to dog lovers, young and old.
Hardcover, 32 pages
Published
August 12th 1993
by Collins
(first published 1993)
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George can study the illustrations for hours. We've checked it out from the library three times which means it's time to buy it. The writing is a good jumping off place to talk about how bodies work; a jumping off place because the writing is humorous rather than educational. The writing humor went way over my 5 year-olds head but really this book is about illustrations. It's not a story. It's not a read aloud. But when my pre-readers wants to 'read' in bed before going to sleep this is one of h
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This book is really extra-ordinary because it is a picture book, but set out as a non-fiction information book. It isn't factually correct, but the alternative style may make it appealing to different children. It's playing with the norms of picture books.
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Cute book. Good art work. I especially liked the definition of a dog: ...can hear food a half mile away, but can't hear NO at a distance of three feet...
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Sort of an adult or older-kid children's book. Our 3 1/2 year old was mystified by the cogs and things inside the dog... 'where are the muscles?' and some of the narrative is too sarcastic for a little kid to get: like the part where the vet finishes up and then the dog wakes up and bites him, 'as a way of saying thanks.' That one came up over and over again. "Why did the dog bite him to say thanks?"....
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I once had a student make me a poster based on the illustration of this book. I loved it. How fun would it be for students to do make their own version- "How friends really work" (as written by Sheldon Cooper) or "How could students work" etc.
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Humorous, tongue-in-cheek illustrations show how a dog "works," with cogs and gears and things like that. Reminds me a bit of David Macauley's artwork. For older children who don't take things literally. A winner of the New York Times Book Review award for best illustrated children's book.
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Normally I love dog books but this one was much too busy and difficult to follow.

This is by far one of the best illustrated children's book I've ever read. The whole book is a fun and cute analogy between dogs and any kind of machine that needs an operation manual, so it's perfect for pre-teens and adults who love animals and technology.
Younger children can also enjoy it as long as they are supervised by an adult, and have shown to have enough common sense to distinguish between real information and fictional situations.
I've owned this book since I was 12, and still love it. ...more
Younger children can also enjoy it as long as they are supervised by an adult, and have shown to have enough common sense to distinguish between real information and fictional situations.
I've owned this book since I was 12, and still love it. ...more
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Alan Snow is an award-winning children’s book illustrator and designer who has worked on more than 160 books. His novel, Here Be Monsters was made into an animated film, The Boxtrolls, which spent several weeks at the top of the UK box office. Alan has won numerous awards for his work as a children’s book illustrator as well as for design and computer animation.
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