Go, Dog. Go!

Bibliography: Eastman, P. D. (1961). Go, dog. Go! . Random House. ISBN 9780394800202

Plot Summary: Several dogs are participating in various activities on their way to a mysterious place. Activities include driving cars, riding Ferris wheels and interacting with other dogs. 

Critical Analysis: Designed for the beginning reader, the book uses repetition of words to help solidify them in children’s minds as memorization is an early way to teach reading.  The words are almost exclusively monosyllabic, as the intended audience’s vocabulary consists of mostly one syllable words. The illustrations are essential to the story.  They generally model words that are opposites (day/night, up/down) which clearly shows what the words represent, in case these concepts are new to children.  The illustrations are brightly colored and detailed, drawing the attention of the reader but not distracting from the words. It seems the author/illustrator took great care in choosing what to include as each page is specific to the words on the page, with no unnecessary additions. I enjoyed the mystery of where the dogs were going and it was fun to see the final result of the dog adventures.  A valuable asset for a beginning reader’s library. 

Reviews:

Goodreads.com: “Go, Dog. Go! has been a go-to favorite for over fifty years, leaving audiences of all breeds wagging their tails with delight.”

School Library Journal: “"The canine cartoons make an elementary text funny and coherent and still one of the best around."

Awards: No major awards

Connections:

Similar Titles: One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish Blue Fish   and  Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss; Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? By Bill Martin Jr and Eric Carle

Have children make up their own story of  the adventures of their family pet. Write it down and draw it together.

Teach children about rhyming words using examples from the book, then see how many more they can find.

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