Doggy Ditties from A to Z product reviews

As soon as I received Doggy Ditties from A to Z to review I knew it was going to be an instant hit with the children I work with. Each page is filled with bright colourful pictures with lots of little details. I did wonder if the kids would get bored though listening to 26 little poems and just want to look at the pictures instead. However I was wrong and they were fixated on each page and listen intently to each and everyone. In fact the second I had finished reading it there was requests for it again.

I love how the book introduces the reader to lots of different breeds of dogs. A different dog for each letter of the alphabet. As each poem is a different style it really hold the interest. After introducing it to the kids at work for a week (aged 3-5 years) by the end of the week they were starting to recite the poems back to me just using the pictures as cues.

The pictures are awesome and promote so much conversation with children which is something I really look for in a book. The kids kept finding lots of new details every time we read the book. I would recommend the book to any animal lover. I found it just as interesting at the kids as there were lots of breeds I had never heard of before.

When I was given Doggy Ditties from A to Z to review a week ago I thought this would be a fun book for my girls (aged 4 and 5.5) but I was so wrong it is much more than that. The girls love it. I am asked to read it at least once a day. If I am reading it to one the other will leap onto my lap to listen to it too. It is definitely the favourite book for both of them.

This book is essentially an alphabet book with a poem about a different breed of dog for each letter. For Miss 4 it is a great way to reinforce the capital letters especially as there is alliteration in many of the poems. Unfortunately it doesn't teach lowercase which is a common issue with alphabet books. The book is formatted in such a way that it can be read from start to finish or if you are running short on time then you can read as many poems as you wish in whatever order. Tonight I read it with the girls taking turns to chose a letter each until dinner was ready.

Although the ditties are all rhymes there are different types of poetry including limericks. When I first started reading this book I thought it was going to take a while to read and the kids would switch off quickly but the different styles as well as the themes of mischievous dogs engaged us all. This book taught me about some different breeds of dogs that I didn't know of. For the girls it got us talking about dogs our friends, family and neighbours had and what breeds they were. Miss 4 made me laugh when she said the old English sheepdog sleeping in the hay was Muffin McClay (from the Hairy Maclary books).

The illustrations are all very cute but true to the breed at the same time. With one breed's poem on each page I could see these being framed to put on the wall of a vets surgery or a single print for a dog owner. I am considering purchasing another copy of this book so that I can cut it up and frame the pages as gifts for friends and family.