Dog's First Baby: A Board Book

by Natalie Nelson

Overview

I am a dog. 
Are you a dog?

Welcoming a new baby to the family isn’t always easy. When his humans bring home someone new, Dog is determined to sniff out the truth. Is this arrival another dog, or something else? As Dog investigates, he might just find a new friend in this loud, silly creature.
 
With Dog’s First Baby, Natalie Nelson captures the wonder and humor of a new baby through a dog’s eyes. Sure to delight kids and dog parents alike, this playful and heartwarming board book promises to be a repeat read-aloud. 

Celebrate more new experiences with Cat's First Baby, and get into the holiday spirit with Dog's First Christmas.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781683692805
Publisher:	Quirk Publishing
Publication date:	10/05/2021
Series:	Dog and Cat's First , #1
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	28
Lexile:	AD260L (what's this?)
File size:	18 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	2 - 5 Years

About the Author

Natalie Nelson is an illustrator, picture book maker, and collage artist. Trained in graphic design and illustration, she works in a mixed media hybrid of cut paper, collage, and digital art, with an emphasis on intriguing shapes, textures, and layers. Her previous titles include Dog's First Baby (Quirk 2021) and Holiday!. Her art is in demand from national clients including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time Magazine, Curbed, Eater, The Bitter Southerner, Teach for America, Vox Media, Mailchimp, and more. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband, their dog, Coach, and their young son.

Editorial Reviews

Kids Indie Next List Pick
A 2022 Georgia Author of the Year Award nominee
Bookstagang's Best Board Book of 2021

“A playful and funny romp that will appeal to dog-owning tots.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Darling, bold collages and minimal text present the arrival of a new baby from the family dog’s perspective, with enough wry humor to make even adult readers smile.”—School Library Journal

“Children will delight at seeing the baby from the point of view of a dog, especially those who live with four-legged friends. Those who don’t have puppies around will be sure to beg for one after reading this board book treasure.”—New York Journal of Books

“Original, playful and heartwarming.”—Midwest Book Review

“The perfect books for families with pets and a new baby.”—Youth Services Book Reviews

“A fun addition to storytime and board book collections, this would be especially fitting for a storytime about - or with - dogs, with a few points for emphasizing how to safely and kindly interact with our four-pawed friends.”—Jean Little Library

From the Publisher

10/01/2021

Baby-Toddler—Dog isn't sure whether the new critter in the house is another canine or something else. It doesn't smell like a dog or have a tail. Its front legs are different from its back legs. But the little one sleeps and stretches and howls and plays like a dog. No matter what it is, they are friends. VERDICT Darling, bold collages and minimal text present the arrival of a new baby from the family dog's perspective, with enough wry humor to make even adult readers smile.

School Library Journal

2021-10-27
A story of life with a baby from the family dog’s perspective.

The narration, meted out in one or two sentences per page, presents the inner monologue of a medium-sized white dog with black patches on its fur. The pooch investigates the newest family member, a newborn baby, and compares (“You howl, I howl”) and contrasts (“You don’t even have a tail!”) himself to this strange new addition to the family. Both of them sleep, eat, stretch, and walk on all fours, but the infant’s front paws aren’t like its back paws, the dog notes, and it doesn’t have a tail or quite smell like a canine. A grown-up with blue eyes and wavy, shoulder-length blue-black hair only intervenes when the baby tries to mount the dog like a horse. The black-eyed baby and the caregiver have medium-brown skin and stylistic pink circles on their cheeks. Nelson’s sophisticated mixed-media collage uses a distinctive palette of mustards, royal blues, and deep greens with hot pink and red accents. The dog’s confusion about this new arrival seems to last several months as the child grows from a swaddled newborn to a crawling tyke playing hide-and-seek. Despite the word babyappearing in the title, the exercise of comparing and contrasting canines and infants will make more sense to toddlers.

A playful and funny romp that will appeal to dog-owning tots. (Board book. 1-3)

Kirkus Reviews