Just Me and My Puppy

Little Critter

by Mercer Mayer

Little Critter trades a baseball mitt for a new puppy, and becomes an expert dog-owner, all before bedtime.

In this installment, Little Critter brings home an adorable puppy. He learns to feed, walk, train and love his new friend. Little Critter discovers puppies are a lot of work, but it's all worth it!

Mercer Mayer's Little Critter stories, which address all the major issues of growing up, are perennial favorites for generations of readers, both young and old!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Animals, Dogs, Kids, School

24 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1985

About the author

Mercer Mayer is an American children's author and illustrator. He has published over 300 books, using a wide range of illustrative styles. Mayer is best known for his Little Critter and Little Monster series of books.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little Critter picks out his own puppy before asking permission from his parents. He is lucky he got to keep it. That was always a decision my parents had to approve first as a kid. We see Little Critter taking care of the puppy, making a mess everywhere, but he’s doing his best. There is plenty of cute in this story.

This has the same great artwork you expect from Mercer. It’s warm and fuzzy.

The nephew loved this one. Our dog is rather wild, like my nephew and he sees the nephew as more of a pup and treats him that way. The nephew spent the puppy years pinching the fire out of the dog and the dog nips back, so it’s not the best relationship even though the nephew really loves the dog. He wants a dog that will mind him and be good to him. He gave this 4 stars.

[Risa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the lively and precarious story of a little lovable bundle of mischief; a little critter
brings a new puppy home! With colorful and vibrant illistrations, this story takes you on a
roller coaster ride, along with his two worn-out but loving parents. It is so much fun to read,
and at the same time, it brings you back to your own hap-hazard experiences as a parent of a small child.




Extension: The children can learn that having a pet is a big
responsibility. There are many things that you need
to learn so that you can do a good job caring for
it. The children can also learn about the expence of
a pet. The teacher can give them a list of all of the
things that a puppy needs and how much each item costs.
The children can add up the numbers and practice their
math skills.

[Jeongjihye · Rating 4 out of 5]

today I read a book called'JUST ME AND MY PUPPY'. The author is Mercer Mayer. This book is fantasy story. The story is critter and puppy story.
The book was very fun and interesting

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Instead of listing all of the little critter books by Mercer Mayer and giving them all 5 stars, I would just like to say that these little critter books are so wonderful. Morgan loves to find the spider and grasshopper in every picture. I love that they are completely true to life. Morgan really learns reading comprehension of words vs. pictures with these books because they are from the kid point of view, so the words and pictures can be completely opposite.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little Critter trades a baseball mitt for a puppy, but his Mom & Dad say he has to take care of it if he wants to keep it. The book continues with his adventures with his new puppy. My favorite part is when he tries to put on the leash, and the ending. Recommended for ages 5 months+, 4 stars.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s not just nostalgia, I love Mercer Mayer. This time little Critter has a new puppy. His parents are thrilled….. But as long as critter can take care of the puppy he can keep him. Fun as always. #LitsyAtoZ

[Katterley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute!

[💖 Gabriella 💖 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute an enjoyable for any young child!

[Kristen Dutkiewicz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Little Critter story is perfect for children who are about to get a pet and need to learn about responsibilities.

[Danielle Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love

[Pam Vass · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a make believe book about a young critter boy who trades his baseball glove for a puppy. The puppy creates work, rather than help for the boy as they go throughout their day, but he seems to love him unconditionally. The tone of the book is humorous and light-hearted as it describes how the boy perceives the puppy’s ability to help. The little boy is an unidentified protagonist whom the readers can sympathize with as the puppy creates more work for the boy than actual help. This book would be appropriate for children Preschool - 5 years old. In the boy’s eyes, the puppy could do no wrong and the moral of the story teaches how we should love unconditionally. It is a part of the Golden Book Series.

[Katherine Bowman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another one of Mercer Mayer pictures books that teach something. Like most of the books in this series it has short and simply sentences that make it easy for a young reader to read and understand. This book also teaches a lesson of responsibility. It shows how hard it can be to take care of a pet, along with how rewarding it can be. This is a great book for any new reader or even a younger child who thinks that they are ready for a pet of their own.

[Shelby Royalty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always loved the "Little Critter" books when I was young, and this one was no different. In this story, he trades his baseball mitt for a puppy and it tells of all the mischief he and the puppy get in to together. Young readers would probably really enjoy this story.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite Mercer Meyer from childhood. I loved dogs and this book was great. My parents had just about the whole collection for me and I just adored them.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is kollins favoriote(partly because he wants a puppy) but he loves all the little critter books.

[Tate · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a funny book. I like it when he is trying to dry his puppy!

[Laree Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again another good read from The Little Critter collection! I really enjoyed reading this book. It can be used to teach students responsibilites.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

a cute story with a cute idea, using the stories of his daily life to teach children.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good one to read with kids who just got a pet dog, or are thinking of getting one. As always with little critter, pay close attention to the pictures AND the words.

[kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute!

[Allison Gregory-Graff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bentley “gave” Leigh this book for Christmas. I’m looking forward to how she’ll connect to it when she’s older.

[TJ & AJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

TJ enjoys the puppy. I enjoy Little Critter dealing with someone else's messes for a change.

[Happy LittleReaders · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book talks about how Little Critter exchanged his baseball mitt for a puppy. His parents said that he could keep it if he took care of it. Little Critter gives the dog baths and teaches it to do many tricks, like flipping over, and playing dead. At the end of the day, the puppy even sleeps with Little Critter in the bed. Winner of the New York Times Bestseller.
Reason for recommendation: Narrated in a child's tone, the language is simple and humorous, and it is entertaining to tell children the responsibility of raising pets. The book won the New York Times Best-Selling Book Award.

Welcome to my community—where kids know kids best. Stay tuned for regular book reviews, creative insights, and themed recommendations!
Join us here: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

[Max · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Little Critter book is a very cute one yet causes some controversy because of Little Critter getting a puppy from a friend of his without parental permission; it's just a book, people! Plus the author is from an older generation before political correctness and excessive "the children will be corrupted" spouting.

Getting back to the book itself, the illustrations are vividly rendered with Little Critter and his new puppy lushly colored in a way that grabs your eyes. The writing is solid too as the book shows the challenges of having a pet yet our protagonist succeeds and is seen at the end of the book with his new loyal puppy eagerly sharing his bed.

A very good entry in the LC series!

[Kaylee Mouser · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little boy wanted a puppy, so he traded his baseball bat for one. Everyone loved this puppy, his mom, dad and sister. They just tell him he has to take care of it. Every Morning he finds him twice and takes him on a walk. He teaches him simple commands and trains him to be a good puppy. Mercer Mayer books are always awesome. They always have great takeaways. I personally love the illustrations in her book, to me they are very creative and bust, but not too busy. This book basically teaches kids how to care for a dog even with all the difficulties that come along with it

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the characters and art and especially love the spider and grasshopper, my son always tried to find them and that kept him engaged long enough to read the page and start again on the next page.
I only wished that the problem of puppy pooh and messes was just at least touched on so that a child reading this book would know that part of taking care of the puppy was also dealing with the mess. With a great dog that also is no problem. Still this was a good read.

[FM Family · Rating 3 out of 5]

This didn't stand out for me as much as other Mercer Mayer books, but it's still from the original iteration, not like all the ones that have come out recently which just re-use the characters in various situations. But it didn't feel as funny as the ones we love most (Just for you, I just forgot, All by myself, etc) My three year old enjoyed it fine.

[Haleemeh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little Critter got a new puppy and his little sister was excited. Little Critter's parents were very surprised, but told Little Critter that he has to care for the puppy on his own. This story is very cute and funny. I also love the illustrations and the story line. I can't wait to read this to my future classroom.

[Harry&Dad · Rating 4 out of 5]

HARRY: The drawings are really good, but the two parts that make it worse is that it had really hard words and it was long. Super bad. We accidentally clicked four stars. I actually wanted 2 stars.

DAD: Harry had to read the book to Dad for school and as a result maybe thinks it's harder and longer than Dad does. Perfect for a 6 year old to read to his Dad, in this dad's opinion.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

My children absolutely adore this book. Reading literature is so important to the development of a child's mind, and I cannot think of thing I would rather do then sit down to read to them in the evenings. Imagination and growth are so vital in those so young.