Dog, a little brown dachshund, and his best friend Bear, a multicolored stuffed teddy, have three little adventures together. Bear is scared to jump down from a tall chair until Dog coaches him to slide down his long back; Dog wants bear to play with him, but Bear is busy reading a book about a dog and a stuffed bear; and Dog decides to change his boring name to something spiffier, like Spot. (“But you don’t have any spots,” says Bear sagely.) Do ask your listeners to predict what name Dog will settle upon.

This endearing easy-to-read picture book, which won a coveted Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, is illustrated with the black-outlined figures of Dog and Bear against stark white pages, uncluttered with background or too many details that might detract from their expressive faces. The brief, hand-lettered stories are simple enough for beginning readers to handle independently. They are also just great to act out as skits or to write up as quick Reader's Theater scripts to hand out to pairs of children to read and act out together. One child can be Dog; the other, Bear. Together they can explore the distinct personalities of the two pals. Dog and Bear: Two's Company continues the fun with three more sprightly stories. Make the acquaintance of two more dachshunds in Caralyn Buehner's Superdog: The Heart of a Hero and Dav Pilkey's The Hallo-Wiener.


Themes: BEARS. BEST FRIENDS. DOGS. FRIENDSHIP. HUMOROUS FICTION. TEDDY BEARS.