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 "Enchanting
poems and winsome illustrations ... Balancing simplicity with
eloquence, these haiku-like verses make an inviting
introduction to poetry."
School Library Journal,
Best Book of the
Year |
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To learn more, scroll down the page or paw the links:
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Awards and Reviews
LITTLE DOG POEMS
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American Library Association Notable Book for 2000 |
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School Library Journal Best Book |
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Riverbank Review Book of Distinction |
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"Highly Commended" Charlotte Zolotow Award
Cooperative Children's Book Center
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Children's Book of the Year, Bank Street College |
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New York Public Library
"100 Titles for Reading and Sharing"
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Kentucky Bluegrass and North Carolina Children's
Book Award nominee
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Instructor Magazine "88 Great Reads" |
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Starred
review, School Library Journal "Enchanting poems and
winsome watercolors paint a picture of the special bond
between a young girl and her beloved pet. Balancing
simplicity with eloquence, the haiku-like verses make an
inviting introduction to poetry." School Library Journal,
Best Book Review
Starred
review, Booklist "The spare, charming watercolors,
surrounded by plenty of white space, show both the mop-haired
canine and the dog's most ardent young fan enjoying life and
one another as the words scroll down the page, skip across it,
or spiral in a neat central coil, like a snail's shell. A
charming way to introduce little ones to the form and feeling
that mark poetry." Booklist
"...Otani has made the dog a playful terrier type--all vim and
vinegar--although the rest of the artwork is attractively
delicate. George plays with words with a sure hand; just as
surely, Otani picks up on their expressive qualities...A
charming glimpse of life with a small dog, and its small but
satisfying pleasures." Kirkus"
...one of the most endearing books of the year....Every poem
illuminates another incident in the busy life of Little Dog,
and dog-owners are sure to recognize their own pets in him.
June Otani's watercolors are as charming as the text."
Caroline Parr Planet CRRL Reading Room
"This book is a delight for young dog lovers and parents of
young dog lovers. The poems are easy to read and charmingly
illustrated with watercolors by June Otani. If you can read
this one without one out-loud, 'Awwww!' you've got a heart
made of stone." The Valley Reading Club
"Little Dog Poems is an amusing story that is sure to conjure
up many “awww’s” from adult pet owners that recognize their
own canine’s antics in the daily doings of Little Dog."
American Humane Association
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BACK to top |
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My
"little dog" - Spri |
About Writing
LITTLE DOG POEMS
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I have wonderful memories of writing Little Dog Poems while I was in
Myra Cohn Livingston's master class in children's poetry at the UCLA
Writer's Program.
One of Myra's standard weekly assignments was to write three haiku.
Not easy! One week, as I was rushing out the door, I saw my little dog asleep in
a spot of sun and wrote this on my way to class:
Little Dog curls up
tighter and tighter
until Little Dog
is exactly the same size
as the sunny spot.
Well, this certainly wasn't a haiku! However, Myra was intrigued and encouraged me to
write more "little dog" poems. I ended up with around fifty poems
which my editor, Dinah Stevenson, and I finally narrowed down to the
thirty poems in the book.
Even though they are short, I wrote and re-wrote these poems many,
many times. Dinah and I frequently exchanged what we called "kibbles
and bits" — e-mails in which we debated punctuation, placement, and
even one single word.
I wanted each poem to capture the spirit of a individual, specific
moments in a little dog's life — without any extra words. I also
wanted to keep the poetry "open" so that young children could read it
easily and relate the poems to their own family pets — I had excellent
"resource material" — our dog Spri (short for "Sprite")
— and my
memories of Pretzel, my ornery miniature dachshund.
June Otani brought her memories of her own family dog, Jasper, a Cairn
Terrier, to the book. Sometimes, I find myself thinking: what about
getting another dog? Perhaps a terrier like Jasper?
June and I hope you enjoy meeting our "Little Dog!"
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Table of Contents
Little Dog Poems |
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"Cold Nose"
"Reflection"
"Enemy"
"Sentinel"
"Ground Traffic Control"
"Morning Nap"
"Mail Delivery"
"Air Traffic Control"
"Car Ride"
"Obedience School"
"Catch"
"Warrior"
"Wisdom"
"Gardner"
"Bath"
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"The Best Ball"
"Birthday"
"Hide and Seek"
"Leaving"
"Coming Home"
"Presents"
"Mystery"
"Thief"
"Evening"
"Kitchen"
"Comfort"
"Cozy"
"Oops!"
"Scratch"
"Bedtime"
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LITTLE DOG POEMS
by Kristine O'Connell George
Illustrated by June Otani
CLARION BOOKS A Houghton Mifflin Imprint; 1999
Ages 4 to 8 ISBN 0-395-822-661
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An American Library Association Great Web Site for Kids
Copyright © 1997 - 2004
Kristine O'Connell George. All rights reserved.
Acknowledgements, Site Awards, and Privacy Notice
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Poems, excerpts, and art images on this site are copyrighted and used with
permission of Clarion Books, a division of Houghton Mifflin, and Harcourt
Publishing. All rights reserved.
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