Every Day's a Dog's Day

by Marilyn Singer, Miki Sakamoto (Illustrator)

Perfect for dog lovers of all ages, this clever book by one of the leading children's poets celebrates all those days and more, looking at a whole year in the life of our canine companions.

Genres: Poetry, Picture Books, Dogs, Childrens, Animals, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published March 15, 2012

About the author

Marilyn Singer was born in the Bronx (New York City) on October 3, 1948 and lived most of her early life in N. Massapequa (Long Island), NY. She attended Queens College, City University of New York, and for her junior year, Reading University, England. She holds a B.A. in English from Queens and an M.A. in Communications from New York University.

In 1974, after teaching English in New York City high schools for several years, she began to write - initially film notes, catalogues, teacher's guides and film strips. Then, one day, when she was sitting in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, she penned a story featuring talking insect characters she'd made up when she was eight. Encouraged by the responses she got, she wrote more stories and in 1976 her first book, The Dog Who Insisted He Wasn't, was published by E.P.Dutton & Co.

Since then, Marilyn has published over seventy books for children and young adults. Her genres are many and varied, including realistic novels, fantasies, non-fiction, fairy tales, picture books, mysteries and poetry. She likes writing many different kinds of books because it's challenging and it keeps her from getting bored. She has won several Children's Choice and Parents' Choice Awards, as well as the following: the Creature Carnival, Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award Honor Book, 2005; I Believe in Water: Twelve Brushes with Religion, New York Public Library's "Best Books for the Teen Age," 2001; Stay True: Short Stories for Strong Girls, Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults, 2000 (YALSA); On the Same Day in March, Booklist's Top Ten Science Books of 2000; NCSS-CBC Notable Book, 2000; Deal with a Ghost, finalist, YA category, Edgar Award, 1998; It Can't Hurt Forever, Maud Hart Lovelace Award, 1983; The Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth, ALA Best Book for Young Adults, 1983; Turtle in July, NCTE Notable, N.Y.Times Best Illustrated and Time Magazine Best Children's Books of 1989; Turtle in July was also a Reading Rainbow review book.

Marilyn currently lives in Brooklyn, NY, with her husband Steve; their standard poodle Oggi, a cousin of their beloved and recently departed poodle Easy, seen in the home page photo; a cat named August ; two collared doves named Jubilee and Holiday; and a starling named Darling. Her interests include dog training, reading, hiking, bird-watching, gardening, meditation, playing computer adventure games and going to the movies and the theatre. She's also a major Star Trek fan.

Reviews

[Kristin Munoz]

Every Day's a Dog is in poems and illustrations by Marilyn Dinger and Miki Sakamoto. This children's poetry book is intended for children ages three to five (pre-k through kindergarten). This book consists of many different poems about different holidays and events. It's a picture book; the illustrations are colorful and fun. This story will keep the children entertained with the colorful illustrations. This story is also a good book collection for animals. I will add this to my library addition.

[Allyson Reich]

I loved the illustrations in this book and their connection to each poem. I also loved how you followed a set of dogs around throughout the year and got their perspective on major holidays. This could help with social-emotional learning and also a comparison activity between how you experience a holiday and how the dogs in the book do. Lastly, this book had a great variety of rhyme scheme and different types of poems that could help kids learn and label the patterns. I would use this book by reading a poem every Tuesday to start off the reading section of our day and even as a creative prompt for writing your own poem.

[Victoria Petty]

This book will make your heart feel fuzzy! Each page contains a different poem centered around a dog who is surrounded by their family. This is a wonderful book that will entertain littles. Besides just poems, this book has vibrant illustrations. It’s a fun picture book to share with students or kids at home. M. Singer does an amazing job composing poetry; these poems connect to the children who read them. This book uses informal visual elements, and it fits the book very well.

[Marlee]

This is a cute collection of poems for young dog lovers. Nice pictures. I read this aloud to my daughter. SHe really enjoyed it.

[Romanus Elangwe]

Marilyn Singer loves pets and especially dogs. The different species of dogs and their outfit in colorful pictures attracts readers to her poem (St Patrick's Day).

POEM: St. Patrick's Day

What does she mean-
today we wear green?
I don't think that green
is something I've seen.
She says it's not purple;
She says it's not blue.
I listen. I sniff.
I haven't a clue.
But whatever it is,
in a minute, a few.
I'll bet you a bone
I'll be wearing it too.

I will use this book to teach children about the significance of the different holidays and reminding them to be kind to animals and especially pets.

[Romanaus Elangwe]

Every Day's a Dog's Day: (Marilyn Singer - 1948 in New York, and now lives in Park Slope, New York.)

Marilyn Singer, displays different species of dogs with funny faces and dresses. A display of what nature has made; attractive, especially to dog lovers.

POEM: St Patrick's Day

What Does she mean -
today we wear green?
I don't think that green
is something I've seen.
She says it's not purple;
She says it's not blue.
I listen. I sniff.
I haven't a clue.
But whatever it is,
in a minute, a few.
I'll bet you a bone
I'll be wearing it, too

[Neha Amin]

Review: This collection features poems of different holidays and parts of the year according to a dog theme. The illustrations are colorful and fun. There is one poem on a page, though some of them take up two pages. I do wish the font was bigger. Another good thing about this collection is that it has a lot of good vocabulary for young children.

Chosen poem:Snow Day

Better than biscuits.
Better than cake.
Better than burgers
(no, that's a mistake).
Better than kibble
or something more sweet
is licking that white stuff
right off the street!

[Sarah Huff]

This was a very interesting book of poems. I had a poem for every holiday or important day for a dog. Each poem was different too. Some rhymed some were haiku, I really enjoyed each one I read. I would use this book in my class room to show different kinds of poems and what they consist of and how they are created.

[Kelly Francis]

Students love animals, especially dogs. This book will appeal to many students and can be used as an introduction to poetry. Also the poems are from a dog's perspective which is a little different and fun. This could also be an example used to have students write a poem from someone else's viewpoint.

[Great Books]

Buddy and the cast of dog friends share in the joys of the first day of spring, a pet parade and activities throughout the year. They celebrate holidays with biscuits, playing in mud and fetching sticks. A happy, yappy year in poems. Reviewer 17

[Laura]

A nice collection of holiday and seasonal poems featuring dogs. The poems are fun and illustrations are cute. A nice addition to an already popular or well-used poetry collection, but not a required selection by any means.

[Scott]

I would have liked this more if they hadn't tried to fit so many holidays in the book. Most of those poems felt a bit forced, and not as truly from a dog's view. The illustrations are quite fun, and I did enjoy some of the poems quite a bit.

[Whole And]

A sweet compilation of poems and events to learn about the benchmarks of a year, all told from the dog's perspective.

We used this book while learning about the concept of time, how long is a year and how much goes on during the year!

[Kendra]

Simple poems with simple pictures. A good choice for a young poetry and dog lover.

[Nancy]

Fun poetry. Marilyn Singer's books are a great way to introduce poetry to your students. Terrific for a classroom collection.

[Rachel]

Fun poems for dog lovers. Some better than others especially when the voice of the poem is hard to pinpoint.

[Kim]

Very silly!

[Rakisha]

A good and easy book of poetry that can be used during story times for older children.

[Kimberly]

I really liked this one! Bright fun illustrations and cute little poems.

[Gabrielle]

I like her reverso poetry better.

[Debby Baumgartner]

Dog poems that cover a calendar year.

[Edward Sullivan]

Fun pooch poems for all occasions.

[Allison]

It was ok. I wasn't plussed by any of the poems and some felt like the author was trying to hard.