This Is a Dog

by Ross Collins

Uh-oh! An excitable (but very lovable) dog has found his way into this book of animals, and he will not let any of the other animals share the spotlight. Dogs are far more important, after all! And when the other animals get angry, this dog comes up with a cunning plan to outwit them.

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

32 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2019

About the author

Ross was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1972.
He would eat anything and resembled a currant bun.

As he grew up he was fond of drawing, the Bionic Man and precariously swinging backwards on chairs.

He graduated from the Glasgow School of Art in 1994 with a First in Illustration. In the same year he won the MacMillan Children's Book Prize an achievement that opened many doors in the Big Smoke.

Ross then spent two years in London cultivating an exotic image of the scribbling Scotsman abroad.

Longing for the cold and damp of the North, Ross returned to Glasgow, where he spends his time writing and illustrating children's books, doing animation character development, walking the dug by the banks of Loch Lomond and precariously swinging backwards on chairs.

from http://www.rosscollins.net/whothisguy...

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

A super-cute and fun-loving dog hijacks what would otherwise be a generic, rote learning picture book for toddlers. Yay, dogs!

Now this would have been a great Goodreads Choice Award nominee.

[Kaethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the illustrations floating in otherwise empty pages: this would make a fine board book. And I love the decision to make the pages strong saturated colors.

Library copy

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun metafictional romp featuring a playful, troublemaking pooch.

[Susan Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one made me giggle. Gotta love dogs!

[Jessica Calaway · Rating 4 out of 5]

2 - 5 years

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story. The dog finds a way to be the star on every page of this animal book. Even after the other animals get angry and chase him, he finds a way to still be the star until the last page when he takes a nap. Clever facial expressions add to the simple text.

[Sandy Brehl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This dog is a very expressive pooch, but remains every inch a dog. Except for one thing... mastery of a crayon and some impressive literacy skills.

The DOG, in THIS IS A DOG by Ross Collins will generate head nods of recognition by dog people, along with grins, chuckles, and outright guffaws. In this case, just a few words combine with remarkable lively and expressive illustrations to succeed in telling THIS DOG's story with drama and delight. The emotional engagement is quite different from PERDU, or from any lost dog story. In fact, This DOG shares some personality traits with MOOSE, in Z IS FOR MOOSE, written by Kelly Bingham and illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky. Dog is determined to hijack what sets out to be a simple book of animals, with an intended title, MY FIRST ANIMAL BOOK.
Perhaps Collins invited such a sassy attitude from DOG when he opened the first full spread with THIS IS A DOG, starring the pooch on the cover. Dog should be forgiven for assuming that the book would be about him, right? From that page forward, Dog intrudes on each intended animal, with each showing it is fully aware of DOG's presence. Kids AND adults will appreciate the range of communication through eye contact and body language between the intended animal and that interloping dog.

Don't imagine that this is a one-joke book. The action, emotion, humor and heart throughout are irresistible and make each page turn more fun than the first. That doesn't mean that a single reading will suffice, either. The illustration details, nuance of expression, and personality of DOG combine to make a hug-worthy experience that is bound to be a read-it-again favorite.

I won't reveal specifics, and that includes the satisfying final page turn. I will share the delightful dedication, though:
For my dog, HUGO,
who taught me the meaning of irony
by destroying sine if the artwork
from this book.

I leave a bit of a surprise for you on this part, too, since Hugo is granted a little photo cameo with the dedication. I would have wagered money I don't have that Collins is a dog-person without that dedication, based on the extent to which he brought dog-ness to this art and story. The dedication was just the kind of unexpected detail and layer of laughter that this book promises on every page.

Line up the dog-lovers, laughter-lovers, adventure-lovers, and irony-appreciators in your lives and make a list. This is a must have for one and all.

[Stephanie Tournas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A playful pup has hijacked baby’s first animal book! The title page shows a dog with a crayon in his mouth, and the title “My First Animal Book” has been replaced with “This is a Dog” and the author (“Ross Collins”) has been replaced with “by a dog.” This alone will delight readers. Each opening is supposed to show a different animal, but the dog is seen distracting each one, by being goofy, rolling on his back, or even peeing on one’s leg! There are some delightful moments when he turns out the light and the readers sees the annoyed eyes of a bear whose limelight has just been stolen, or when the dog actually steals the word “gorilla” and runs away with it, with the angry ape in hot pursuit! Such fun! The digital illustrations look like pencil and pastel, and appear on a blank colored page, leaving the focus on the dog and his antics. I can’t wait to share this funny, exuberant book in story time.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The dog takes over in this clever picture book, stealing the focus from every animal with his cute antics, even grabbing a crayon and changing the crocodile's name to "dog." He gets bolder as the book progresses eventually irritating a bear and a gorilla. Has the dog taken it too far?

So happy and silly! The dog dressing up like an elephant is my favorite illustration. I loved this look at "stealing the show" and wish I was still teaching theater - I would love to share with an ensemble cast, a great introduction to working together and not taking over. Young readers will love the pictures and the animals, but especially this crazy dog.

[Cairo Hardrich · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fellow master of mischief!

This sneaky pup had me howling with laughter from start to finish. Every single page had a dog on it (as ALL books should), and this clever canine is pulling the ultimate bamboozle on everyone around him.

I recognized a kindred spirit immediately. This dog pretends to be all sorts of things he’s clearly not. I get it. I make cat sounds sometimes just to confuse my Grammy.

This book celebrates what we dogs do best: being adorable troublemakers who somehow always end up being the stars of the show.

Perfect for any pup who appreciates the fine art of being a loveable rascal.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a brilliant book to read to a tired three year old who needs to calm down.
It needed a lot of explaining that it's supposed to be a book about animals, but the naughty dog wants it to be about him.
But in the end explaining the plot didn't matter, because the dog peed up the Giraffes' leg and so the book was an instant hit. We read it again and then Mummy had to read it.
Full of humour, it's far from your boring everyday my first animal book and the irony that Ross Collin's dog ate his homework before it was published makes it even better.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collin's artist talent is enormous: like There's A Bear on My Chair , the pictures do most of the storytelling, which actually makes this a great book for prereaders who can describe the dog's personality through his actions. There's not much plot but lots of characterization going on if you plan to use it in the classroom.

We had a good time reading this, and I'll probably buy it for my kindergarten students.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has a subtle humor and great illustrations. While the text is short, I think it is written more for preschool age and up . Possibly use for the second book in a preschool storytime. In this book there are various animals( Ex. This is a cat, this is a elephant etc) but on each page the dog tries to make the reader focus only on him. Cute.

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick read, but really charming. A new animal is introduced on each page, but a dog keeps interrupting their pages with her own antics. Definitely could use this in storytime, even though it wouldn't be a particularly long story, and the true humor is in interpreting the pictures of what disruptive thing the dog is doing on each page.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

We read this at our local library and had great fun. It is a very simple book - as you'd imagine - but it has nice illustrations in it and my son really liked it (possibly because of the similar colouring to our own dog). The colours on each page were bright and had good contrast - ideal for a young baby.

[Cara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Phoebe enjoyed the contrast of the animal illustrations against the plain coloured pages. The repetition kept her engaged, though the humour of the dog’s japes went over her head. She might appreciate them more when she knows that dogs don’t typically come across giraffes. It lost a star for not being easily chew-able.

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imagine you are a in-your-face pupper who wants all the attention! Is this a book about animals? No! It's only a dog. This dog! Preschoolers will love the antics on every page. Great for preliteracy skills.

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious. The dog doesn't give any of the other animals a turn, and sneaks onto/causes mischief on every single page. So funny, but also educational and teaches kids about different animals. Seriously, this book had me cracking up

[Meredith Kaupp · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore this - can't wait to read it to my K-1 students (if we ever get to go back to school).

[Pinky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meet some animals in this book, but more importantly, meet dog.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute! *He does pee on a giraffe so there's that, but otherwise cute!

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This might be an animal book but when you get a dog involved you never know what can happen, love the personality of the dog.

[Syntha Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

So funny. This book is all about the dog.

[Colorado Buck · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was a cute read. the dog takes over the story. it's about animals.

[Mandyhello · Rating 5 out of 5]

iz dog

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the bright colors, the simple text, and the HUMOR!

[Miss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute & engaging book. Extremely simple - perfect for toddlers.

[Joy Lane · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone who has known a silly dog will appreciate how the dog in this book steals the show. Very humorous.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure I quite get this one yet but it's definitely cute.