How to Talk to Your Dog

by Jean Craighead George, Sue Truesdell (Illustrator)

Overview

(hfour)Find out what your dog is really saying — and talk back!(/hfour)

Jean Craighead George, Newbery Medal — winning author of over 80 books about nature and animals, demonstrates in words and photos how to communicate with your best friend.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780060006235
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	02/04/2003
Edition description:	REPRINT
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	119,311
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.09(d)
Lexile:	710L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Jean Craighead George wrote over one hundred books for children and young adults. Her novel Julie of the Wolves won the Newbery Medal in 1973, and she received a 1960 Newbery Honor for My Side of the Mountain. Born into a family of famous naturalists, Jean spent her entire career writing books that celebrated the natural world.

Sue Truesdell has illustrated many children's books, including How to Talk to Your Dog by Jean Craighead George and Betsy Byars's I Can Read! series about the adventuresome Golly Sisters. Ms. Truesdell lives in Tenafly, New Jersey.

Editorial Reviews

Written for the age at which many children are ready for pet adoption, these informative, good-natured guides to pet behavior emphasize the importance of learning the ways in which pets communicate emotions through their actions, facial expressions, and body positions. The characterizations of animal-human relationships are grounded in their historical origins: cats and humans enter into a relationship of equals, while dogs expect a leader-follower relationship. A respect for animals is constant throughout the books—it is the responsibility of children to learn to interpret their pet's signals. In the same vein, anthropomorphic tendencies are avoided. Indeed, the full range of emotions that animals feel and express are explored and skillfully described. Carefull attention to the information provided in these books will prevent the scratches and bites unwitting children might otherwise incur when misinterpreitng or ignoring animal mood signals..

Horn Book Magazine

In this companion volume to How To Talk To Your Cat, George turns her lens on the canine world. Those familiar with the animal-behavior aspect of George's JULIE OF THE WOLVES won't be surprised to see her detailed examination as the author explains vocalizations, tail positions, scent and sniffing, facial expressions, and various other aspects of doggy socializing. In this book too, some of the statements are a bit misleading (not all dogs strive for dominance, for instance), but the author is clear about the heirarchical nature of dogs and the impact of human leadership (Telling your dog he is good is his reward for living). The mixed photography (of George, representing the humans) and illustration (an endearingly scruffy yellow mutt is the main canine representative) is again effective. Truesdell's got a gift for casually cockeyed canines: there's a Feifferesque touch to her scrawled lines, and her panoply of pooches are expressive in the extreme with their motion lines and flying ears (the collection on the endpapers will send dogophiles into sighs of yearning). As with George's cat volume, this will be an accesible and perhaps paradigm-shifting introduction for young readers.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Book)

Focused on the ways in which dogs and cats communicate their needs and moods, "these approachable and informative volumes belong on the shelf of anyone who lives (or is contemplating living) with a dog or cat," wrote PW in a starred review. Ages 6-9. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly