Move Over, Rover!

by Karen Beaumont, Jane Dyer (Illustrator)

It's raining cats and dogs! Good thing Rover is snuggled safe and dry inside his doghouse--until, one by one, a soggy menagerie of creatures shows up looking for a cozy place to sit out the storm. But who's the very unwelcome surprise visitor? Skunk, of course. Suddenly that doghouse isn't quite so crowded after all!

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

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Karen Beaumont is the New York Times bestselling author of many award-winning picture books. She lives in Scotts Valley, California.

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read. If you look closely you can see what is happening as you start the story. A catchy rhyming phrase that builds and repeats as more and more animals seek shelter from the rain. I could totally relate to Rover happy at the end to be alone again.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun rhythmic story with adorable illustrations.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reminds me of Jan Brett's books on the Hat and the Mitten.

[Nicole Stanton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love how everyone squeezes their way into the dog house until they realize there is an unexpected visiter and all of a sudden they can’t leave fast enough. Haha! Super fun story!

[Beverlee Jobrack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love love love this book for so many reasons. You learn about wildlife and generosity.

[Amanda Walz · Rating 4 out of 5]

delightful retelling of the folktale about the mitten.

[TaniaPulido · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summary:
Rover hates the rainy day and goes into the doghouse to keep him dry. As the storm continues, one by one, different animals start looking for a place to stay as the storm passes. As the space in the doghouse begins to become limited little do the animals know that there is another friend in there with them that they are not aware of. Before they know it there is a stink in the doghouse. The animals scatter as an effect of the skunk stink. The storm passes and the animals begin to wonder where Rover is, to their surprise he is back in his comfortable doghouse.

Evaluation:
I like the way the author wrote the book. It is reader friendly for a teacher to read to the students. The students can easily enjoy the repetition and the pattern. The author is also able to use language that can be found funny to younger children. The author adds a surprise at the end when the skunk makes a stink and all the animals have to scatter away from the smell. This twist adds comedy into the story which keeps the students engaged until the end of the book.

Teaching Point:
I would use this book to teach younger children about patterns a repetition in reading. The book establishes a good example for both concepts. I can plan a lesson in teaching students how to identify patterns. The patterns will be identified through the animals that sneak in the doghouse with Rover. Also, repetition can help students in reading and learning the words that have been repeated in the book. It can be a useful reading strategy for students to learn about.

[Kendall Hall]

Summary: The book titled Move Over, Rover! by Karen Beaumont and illustrated by Jane Dyer is about a dog named Rover who is in his doghouse. A storm hits and many different types of animals want to find a place that is dry and warm. They all try to squeeze in until an awful smell arrives, it is a skunk. They all move out and try to find another place that it is warm until the storm passes. They all eventually wonder where Rover is until they find him alone, in his doghouse where he really wants to be.

Review: I thought that this story was adorable as well as the illustrations. The story had a good rhythm to it throughout the story which I think would keep the kids engaged if you were reading this to a young group of kids. I thought that the use of having different animals and rhyming was a really different and unique touch to the book and made it very intriguing and entertaining. All in all, I thought that the book was very good!

Connections to Profession: You could use this book as a way to introduce rhyming to the kids. You could read this book first and then have the kids make their own rhyme schemes or something fun like that. So you could use this book to entertain but also inform young kids on how to write rhymes.

[Mia Mihalic · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved finding this book in the library! It is such a simple read with lots of meaning to it. This is a story about a dog named Rover, who lives in a small dog house outside. It becomes lonely in this dog house when a storm passes through. Over time many animals such as cat, raccoon,skunk, bird and snake all squish into Rovers dog house to stay warm and dry. This picture book uses illustrations to not only show all the animals, but also the emotion of comfort that they all feel when entering Rovers dog house in the middle of the storm. I think that this book is great for a read aloud to young children, and stood out to me in the library. I think this would be ideal for 1st-2nd grade because its very simple to read and the words are big so the students would be able to engage with this story. Finally this story helps display the image of sharing and friendship because even though Rover didn't have as much space in his dog house once they all joined, he made new friends and was able to share his home to keep all the animals safe. Move Over, Rover! is a great book for story time, and all the detailed images really help this story come to life.

[Jesenia Sierra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Move Over Rover takes place during a rainstorm. Rover is all dry and cozy in his dog house. One by one, every animal comes and asks Rover to move over. The animals do not want to get wet in the rain. It gets cramped up in Rover's dog house until the skunk sprays and it gets stinky. All the animals run to get out. I like this book for younger children. It has a lot of repetition throughout the story. There were a lot of different animal characters. The illustrations were colorful and nicely drawn with colored pencils. I do not really see a lesson in the story. I would read this book to children for fun. This is also a good book for children to read themselves because it repeats the words a lot. This can help the child with reading because the child would be saying the same words over and over again.

[Alex Gabbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is especially interesting because it relays a message that is definitely true about some people, which is that they will take advantage of others if given the opportunity. The other animals, such as the snake, cat, and bluejay--to name a few--used Rover's dog box for shelter from the weather. The comical part of the story is that, at the beginning, the careful reader can see the skunk sneak into the doghouse before the storm. If one does not look closely at that illustration, however, it would be easy to miss--a fact that will surprise some readers as much as it does the other animals.

[Emily Revelas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is much like The Mitten by Jan Brett, except it is a rainy day and includes animals like a dog, snake, bird, mouse, and a secret skunk. Everyone is trying to escape the rain so they try to fit into Rover's dog house. Secretly there was a skunk that was sneaking in and caused a bad smell when the dog house gets too full! The skunk clears everyone out and then gets the dog house until the storm passes. Then no one can find Rover, until they see him on the sunny day in his dog house all alone.

I wanted to give this book 4 stars because it is so close to The Mitten, but the pictures and ideas of using backyard animals was so entertaining on a rainy day I couldn't. I thought for kids who didn't know about a snowy forest day, they could relate to a rainy day and use this book instead and that is wonderful! That is why it received my 5 stars instead. It is also a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor book!

I would use this book to teach sequencing to my students in pre-k through maybe second grade, and also special education. It is great how this book goes in the same order of animals as The Mitten does and it is great to learn sequencing, and involve differentiation for all students including ELL students!

[Wendy Potter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book to read for emergent readers. The rhymes and repetition of the pages of this story will have children reading along with you and beginning to make sense of rhyming. The story in itself is great! There is an element of mystery that gets you towards the end! I think this is great! The illustrations are as valuable as the words. I loved that it is based on a similar story that happened to the author with her pets. I think it is great for practicing the animals for an ELL student. Loved the illustrations and use of language! Will definitely read it to my future students!

[Morgan Rudeseal]

In this book, a variety of animals try to take shelter in Rover's doghouse to get away from the rain. However, one visitor manages to clear out the doghouse, so Rover is able to claim his doghouse again in the end, even though he is soaking wet from the rain.
I enjoyed this book due to the rhyming words on each page and the slight repetition. As animals would enter the doghouse, phrases would be added to a list in order to create an ongoing patter.
This book could be used in the classroom to make predictions, introduce animals, and discuss rhymes and patterns.

[Susea Spray · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 4 to 7 year old who is into animals animals will love joining in with this cumulative story by Karen Beaumont.
It’s pouring with rain and Rover is safely ensconced within his warm, cosy doghouse. Then, one by one, a menagerie of drenched cold animals come in search of a dry spot to wait out the storm, until the arrival of an unwelcome visitor.
A must have in a cumulative book collection for the early reader.
For the educator, themes about friendship and weather can be easily incorporated around the story.
Jane Dyer’s illustrations beautifully compliment the text.

[Blaine Gerdes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a bunch of different animals taking shelter from the rain in Rover's doghouse. Animals that cram into the doghouse are a cat, a raccoon, a squirrel, a bluejay, a mouse, a snake, and a skunk. There is a horrible smell and everyone runs out of the doghouse looking for another place to stay warm during the storm. The storm stops and the animals can't find Rover, but when they finally do he is in his doghouse alone.

[Abby Riggs]

In this book Rover is in his dog house safe from the storm. He is very comfy and cozy all by himself. All of a sudden different animals start coming in one by one. They all want to squeeze in out of the storm. Than a skunk comes in and all of the animals run out.

I thought this book was cute and really funny.

This would be a cute book to use in a rhyming lesson. It would be fun because the book is funny and the students are also experience rhyming.

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple story trope (the over-stuffing of some small space with lots of different animals, until something goes wrong), but still a cute one. I've used it with a storytime on storms/weather (coincided with Hurricane Preparedness Month) and would use it with animal or dog storytimes too. The pictures are nice and clear (and cute!) for an audience, and the repetition was an easy chorus for the kids to interact with.

[Abbey Beight · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book and it made me smile after I finished reading it. There’s no overarching theme, its just a book about a bunch of animals trying to find shelter in a storm but I like the use of repetitive words and rhyming that would make this the perfect book for struggling readers. I would have one of my students read this book because of the story, the repetitive words, and the rhyming used throughout the book.

[London Tri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rover is snug in his dog house, as it begins to rain. He then began to get some unwanted visitors, who were also trying to escape the rain. A cat, mouse, blue jay, racoon and others come to his doghouse to escape the rain as well. All of them are super soggy and wet and then they get another unexpected visitor...a skunk! All the animals suddenly scram out of the dog house, leaving it not so crowded after all.

[Madison Oelke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book, but it may give the wrong impression that you "have to" move over/share your personal space with others, and they ended up making him miserable enough that he left his own little house. On the other hand, it was very cute and I LOVED the illustrations and the story rhymed well, best for younger kids. Would recommend/have in my library but I will explain that it's okay to say no if you're uncomfortable with people taking over your personal things and space.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

November 2017 - I love using this one at storytime (with puppets and a little doghouse) and somehow I'd never read it to Ben before. He got into the repeated phrases (saying, "skit-scat, kitty cat," an even better interior rhyme than "skit-scat, cat") and enjoyed flipping back to the beginning to see how skunk got it. Although his theory involves a back-door...

[Megan Gavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was super cute. It is about a dog who is all alone in his dog house while it is pouring outside. Eventually, other animals come to his dog house because they are cold and wet. The dog house becomes so packed that they don't realize a skunk was in there, and it got very stinky very quickly. This book would be super fun to read to students or for a lesson on different animals.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Multi-award winning book about Rover, a dog snuggly and warm in his doghouse during a rainstorm...until some unexpected friends ask him to move over, to share....

Follows a chain of events storyline; kids and parents will laugh out loud at the visitor who may surprise, even Rover....
It also has the repetition in a picture book that makes it a fun read-aloud!

[Nichole · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the kind of book that is probably fun to read with kids and that kids really like. It's an "There was an old lady who swallowed a fly" kind of book. But it's hard to get into it reading it on your own. I'm not crazy about picture books that are super repeat-y and sing-songy. But like I said, I think kids will love it.

[Kaylee Aulenbacher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a dog named rover and him sharing his dog house during a storm

I loved this book because its a good example of sharing and its something that can actually happen.

I would use this book in a rhyming lesson. all the pages have the animals rhyming with other words which could be good examples for the students.

[Roben · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's raining, it's pouring - and Rover just wants to snuggle up in his dog house and stay dry. But cat needs a place that's warm also. So does raccoon. And squirrel. And even mouse. But when a smelly friend tries to squeeze in... what will our dog house friends do? A cute rhyming story to share with preschoolers and early elementary. They love to join in and say "Move over, Rover!"

[Rosalyn Mobley]

I enjoyed this rhyming picture book about poor Rover as all the animals came to his house for shelter form the storm. However, when Mr. Raccoon came he was able to have the house to himself because of the smell. I like how at the end of the day Rover was content to be soaking wet, eating on his bone, at home alone.

[Ashley Jornigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Move Over, Rover" is an active book about a dog who stays in his doghouse because it is raining. Soon the doghouse becomes over crowded with many animals until a skunk joins. After that, the doghouse is no longer crowded. This book repeats many words so it would be useful for young children who are beginning to read.

[Ang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary: It's pouring outside. But inside his doghouse, Rover is warm and dry. Squirrel and Raccoon want to be warm and dry, too. So do Blue Jay and Snake. And Cat and Mouse. Move over, Rover! They all squish and squeeze inside until ... Uh-oh! Skitter, scatter! What's the matter? -- inside left jacket flap