Celebrate the unbeatable combination of kids and dogs
with this fun theme, sure to appeal to young readers who
love “man’s best friend.”
nonfiction books, as well as DVDs and audio books,
about dogs. Add a small dog bed, and fill it with
miniature plush or beanbag toy dogs. Or set out a dog’s
feeding dish stocked with markers and cutouts of bones
(see page 9) on which children can write and then post
book recommendations for other young readers.
Setting the Scene
Doghouse Reading Room for One. Create a doghouse
by cutting an arched front door on one side of a large
cardboard box. For easy visual control and maneuvering,
cut the opposite side of the box the same way to make
a rear door as well. Paint the box. Add a “Fido” sign
over the door, and use more cardboard to make an
angled roof with cardboard shingles. Inside, place a large
cushioned fabric dog bed for a small reader to curl up in.
On a wall nearby, display a “Fetch a Good Book!” poster.
A large dog dish just outside the door, filled with a few
well-chosen board books, completes the effect.
Dalmatian Dots Display. Make a large cardboard cutout
of a Dalmatian (see the patterns on page 10), painted
white, with just the face drawn on. Fold a cardboard
support to stand it up on a table or in a corner. Set out
black circles and white crayons. Kids can write book
recommendations on the circles and add them as spots
on the Dalmatian.
Incentives. In addition to the “Fetch a Good Book!”
theme bookmarks and book bags, stock up on
inexpensive novelties like dog bone–shaped crayons and
paw print stamps or party balloons, available from www.
amazon.com; or dog finger puppets, stickers, or mini
plush animals, available from www.orientaltrading.com.
For a special take-home project, make “doggie bags”
(from small paper bags with dog face cutouts glued on
them) that are filled with bookmarks, dog bone crayons,
and other small prizes.
Bulletin Board. Use “Fetch a Good Book!” posters and
progress tracker pieces to create a theme bulletin board.
You might assemble one or several progress tracker dogs,
expanding their bodies with colorful sections bearing the
names of participants in the theme programs. Or you
might make a border of bones, dog dishes, and books
around the edge of the bulletin board and use the middle
to feature details about upcoming programs or covers of
favorite books about dogs.
Games /Contests
Book Display. Use a bookshelf or tabletop, perhaps
under the bulletin board, to display fiction and
Red Rover. You’ll need a large meeting room or yard
to play this classic game in which two teams take turns
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Activity Guide
© 2013 Demco, Inc.
Fetch a Good Book Activity Guide
Here’s what you need (per mobile):
chanting the “Red Rover” rhyme. One team recites the
rhyme to call a member of the other team to run at and
break through their team’s hand- or arm-linked chain.
Children who break through the chain get to take an
opponent back to strengthen their team; children who
don’t must join the opposing team.
• Patterns on pages 10–11
• One cardboard tube (from a roll of paper towels or 1/3 of a cardboard tube from a roll of wrapping paper)
• Paint, markers, stickers, etc.
Musical Dog Beds. In this version of musical chairs, kids
vie for space in a circle of large dog beds on the floor, all
to the tune of doggie songs like “Bingo” or “Who Let
the Dogs Out?”
• Yarn or string (7-8’)
• 1 sheet white or tan card stock
• Double-faced tape or glue
Barking Contests. Try these ideas:
• Stapler and staples
• Invite kids to compete with their very best dog bark,
howl, or whine. Judge the sounds and award prizes in
categories like saddest, scariest, friendliest, and so on.
• Colored felt and small craft items for decorating (for older children)
• Have kids bark, howl, or whine to convey different canine messages (“Let’s play,” “I’m loney,” “I’m hungry,”
“I sense danger,” and so on), and try to guess what
each “dog” is trying to say. Or, play the dog barks at
www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/nature/meaning-dog-barks.html
and have kids guess what each bark means.
• Copy the template sign and dog shapes on pages 10–11 onto card stock.
Here’s what you do:
• Decorate the tubes with paint, markers, stickers, etc.
• Run a 2 ½’ length of yarn through the tube, and tie the ends together to make a hanger.
• Cut out the “Dog Park” sign and the dog shapes, and decorate them.
Dog Breeds Match. Create a paper game in which
kids match the names of familiar dog breeds with
pictures. You’ll find free labeled clipart pictures of dogs
at www.picgifs.com/dog-graphics and www.pdclipart.org/
thumbnails.php?album=23. There’s an online interactive
dog breeds match game at www.dogster.com/games/dogbreed-photo-game.
• Tape or glue the sign to the front of the tube.
• Cut the remaining yarn into five pieces of different lengths. Tie one end of each length around the tube, spacing them out along its length.
• Staple a dog to each string.
For older children, provide the dog shapes on the
templates, but have children cut them out and trace
them onto felt instead of card stock, or draw and cut
their own felt dogs. Decorate them with glue-on pompoms, beads, craft gems, etc., and add them to the
mobile.
Arts/Crafts
Paper Bag Dog Puppets. Use the instructions at www.
dltk-kids.com/animals/mbagdog.htm as the starting point
for making dog puppets from paper bags, paper cutouts,
crayons, scissors, and glue. Then branch out to make
different breeds—fictional or “original” canine critters—
using different colors and shapes.
Origami Dogs. Have fun with paper folding. Visit
www.origami-instructions.com/origami-dog-face.html for
instructions to make both a dog head and a body to put
it on. Make just the head with younger children; add the
body with older ones.
Dog Park Mobiles. Create fun dog-themed mobiles. The
following mobile is designed for very young children,
but it can be adapted for greater challenge for older kids.
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Activity Guide © 2013 Demco, Inc.
Fetch a Good Book Activity Guide
Snacks/Recipes
asking for advice. You, or the group as a whole, will try
to answer the letters as Mr. Mutt.
Puppy Chow. This sweet, crunchy treat that looks like
kibble can’t be beat! Melt ½ cup of butter, 1 cup of
peanut butter, and a 12-ounce package of chocolate
chips, and stir until smooth. Place a 12-ounce box of
Crispix® or Chex® cereal in a bowl. Pour the melted
mixture over the cereal, and stir to coat thoroughly. Then
pour the coated cereal into a large plastic bag, add 2 ½
cups of powdered sugar, and gently shake the bag until
the powdered sugar covers the cereal. Makes 24 small
servings.
The Perfect Dog for Me. Have kids practice descriptive
writing with an essay titled “The Perfect Dog for Me.”
They may describe their current pet, or some ideal
canine creature that exists only in their imaginations.
Encourage lots of detail about how the dog looks, acts,
smells, feels to the touch, etc. Encourage illustrations to
go with the essays. A visit to Animal Planet’s “Dog Breed
Selector,” at www.animalplanet.com/breed-selector/dogbreeds.html, is good preparation.
Adventures with a Dog. Have children read stories
about kids having adventures with dogs, and then
imagine such adventures for themselves and their dogs.
They will create comic strips (of six to eight frames) that
share their adventures.
Scooby Snacks. Keebler® makes Scooby Doo!™ Baked
Graham Cracker Sticks, shaped like dog bones—perfect
for this theme!
Canine Cookies. Make sugar cookies shaped like dogs,
doghouses, or fire hydrants; shape ginger cookies like
dogs or dog bones; or decorate round cookies with
chocolate chips or bits of frosting to look like puppy
paws.
“Puttin’ on the Dog.” Post some well-known idioms or
adages involving dogs. Invite kids to find more. Then
have them choose a saying and write about what it
means, where it came from, and how it relates to their
lives. Here are a few to get you started: “It’s raining
cats and dogs,” “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks,”
feeling “sick as a dog,” “fighting like cats and dogs,” “the
dog days of summer,” “let sleeping dogs lie,” leading “a
dog’s life,” you’re “in the dog house,” “putting on the
dog,” you’ve “gone to the dogs,” “top dog,” “dog is man’s
best friend,” “underdog,” and “his bark is worse than his
bite.”
Puppy Pops. Some bakeries sell puppy pops on sticks,
which are made of either little cake balls or doughnut
holes decorated with puppy ears and faces. You can also
get dog head lollipops in different flavors through
www.amazon.com.
Writing Projects
A Dog’s Life. Read Dear Mrs. LaRue or one of the
companion books about Ike. Point out and discuss how
the illustrations show the contrast between what Ike
experiences in his imagination (in gray tones) and the
reality (in color). Talk about dogs the children know,
and what the children might imagine their lives to be
like. Have the children write journal entries about a
dog, detailing the events of a day from the dog’s point of
view. The entries might be serious or funny, realistic or
wildly imaginative. Invite them to illustrate their journal
entries, and display the results.
Special Events
“Man’s Best Friend” Movie Night. Arrange a showing of
one or more family feature films about the relationships
between people and dogs.
Marley & Me (directed by David Frankel, Twentieth
Century Fox, 2009, DVD, ASIN B001REZM6K)
Because of Winn-Dixie (directed by Wayne Wang,
Twentieth Century Fox, 2005, DVD,
ASIN B0009NZ2KG)
Help Me, Mr. Mutt! Read the book by that title, and
invite kids to imagine themselves as dogs. They will write
letters to Mr. Mutt, describing their problems and
Lady and the Tramp (Walt Disney Studios Home
Entertainment, 2012, DVD, ASIN B0061QD88S)
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Activity Guide © 2013 Demco, Inc.
Fetch a Good Book Activity Guide
101 Dalmatians (directed by Stephen Herek, Walt
Disney Video, 2008, DVD, ASIN B001B1T7BU)
as many as they can by following the clues. They will
turn in their sheets, perhaps for a small prize for each
completed sheet.
Hotel for Dogs (directed by Thor Freudenthal,
Paramount, 2009, DVD, ASIN B001UJIMFU) Balloon Dogs. To enhance any themed program, invite
a volunteer or two to make balloon dogs for kids to take
home and teach them to make their own.
Reader’s Theater. Find several books or poems about
dogs that are suitable for reader’s theater performances,
and help children prepare and present them as
individuals or small groups. Use minimal props and
costumes when they add to the effect. Rely on expressive
reading. Here are some suggestions:
Math /Science Activities
Dog Years. Help kids figure out their ages and the ages
of family members in dog years, or their dogs’ ages in
human years. The common formula of equating one
human year to seven dog years is misleading, because
dogs reach maturity quickly and age faster than we do.
There’s an online calculator that converts human years to
dog years, and vice versa, more accurately, at
www.onlineconversion.com/dogyears.htm.
• “Three,” “Darla,” or “Tillie and Maude” from Once I
Ate a Pie
• Dear Mrs. LaRue (with a narrator, one or several children as Ike, and someone showing the pictures)
• Diary entries from Dog Diaries: Secret Writings of the
WOOF Society
Henry the Fourth. Read the book by that name, and use
the story and suggested activities to explore the concept
of ordinal numbers with young children.
• Chapters from Down Girl and Sit: Smarter
than Squirrels
Dog for a Day. Invite kids or families to celebrate all
things canine. Share dog stories and poems, and sing
songs like “Bingo” and “Where, Oh Where Has My
Little Dog Gone?” Play Red Rover and Pin the Tail
on the Puppy. Recruit volunteers to paint puppy faces
on kids and help make dog-ear headbands. You’ll find
directions for the headbands at www.lovesugarkisses.
blogspot.com/2011/07/diy-puppy-ears.html.
Canine Charts and Graphs. Read Help Me, Mr. Mutt!,
paying attention to the graphs and charts Mr. Mutt
includes in his letters of advice. Create several different
kinds of graphs and charts showing aspects of dogs’ lives,
like growth, feeding schedules, use of time in a day, and
so on. Start with variations of the graphs and charts in
the book to reflect your silly or serious responses to the
problems posed. Then try some original ones. If you use
the Help Me, Mr. Mutt! writing prompt on page 3, create
graphs or charts to go with your responses. Along the
way, explore what forms of graphic representations work
best to convey different kinds of information.
Be Kind to Dogs Day. Invite a local veterinarian or
animal shelter staff person to present a program on
responsible pet care, pet safety, dog adoption, and
spaying and neutering. May I Pet Your Dog? is a good
accompaniment to this program, helping kids learn how
to safely approach and meet dogs they don’t know.
Space Adventures with Max the Dog. Read the story
(without the sidebars) Max Goes to the Space Station
or other titles in the Science Adventures with Max the
Dog series. Point out that the stories are science fiction
because they are set in the future and use ideas and
technology that we don’t yet
have. Then go back through
the sidebars, exploring together
accurate scientific information
about the subjects of the books.
Fetch! Send individual children or small teams on a
hunt around the library to learn about dogs and, at the
same time, get familiar with your collection and practice
library skills. You can customize this hunt to your
collection, using the “Fetch a Good Book Task List” at
the end of this guide. Make one copy of the task list for
each child or team. (Cover any tasks that do not work
for your collection before copying.) Have children find
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Activity Guide © 2013 Demco, Inc.
Fetch a Good Book Activity Guide
Extend the activity by having children draw fanciful
illustrations of Max in his space suit exploring other
astronomical destinations, and perhaps writing stories to
go with them.
by Mark Teague. Scholastic Press, 2003. ISBN
0439206634. 1-4. See also Letters from the Campaign Trail: LaRue for Mayor and Detective LaRue:
Letters from the Investigation, also by Mark Teague.
• Dog, by Juliet Clutton-Brock. DK Children, 2004.
ISBN 0756606780. 4+.
Life Cycle. Use Seymour Simon’s Dogs and other
resources to explore the life cycle of Canis lupus
familiaris (the domestic dog), from puppy to adolescent
to adult to senior. There’s a printable coloring page of the
cycle at www.education.com/worksheet/article/color-lifecycle-8.
• Dog Crafts, by Linda Hendry. Kids Can Press, 2002.
ISBN 1550749625. 3-6.
• Dog Diaries: Secret Writings of the WOOF Society, by Erik Brooks, Betsy Byars, Betsy Duffey and
Laurie Myers. Henry Holt and Co., 2007. ISBN
0805079572. 3-5.
Internet Activities
• Dog Gone! by Leeza Hernandez. Putnam Juvenile,
2012. ISBN 0399254471. P-2.
Best Friends. Bookmark the video clip titled “Best
Friends” for a quick, heartwarming chuckle as a large
dog waits patiently while his toddler “walker” plays in
a puddle. The clip can be found at www.huffingtonpost.
com/2012/12/10/dog-waits-while-toddler-splashespuddle_n_2270197.html and is also available on
YouTube.
• Dog Heroes (Magic Tree House Fact Tracker), by
Mary Pope Osborne and Natalie Pope Bryce. Random House Books for Young Readers, 2011. ISBN
0375860126. 3-5. • Dog of Discovery: A Newfoundland’s Adventures with
Lewis and Clark, by Laurence Pringle. Calkins Creek,
2004. ISBN 1590782674. 3-6.
Doggy Jigsaws. Bookmark several online jigsaw puzzles
of dogs for kids to enjoy on their own. You’ll find fun
ones at www.kidzone.ws/sg/summer/254.htm, http://www.
dltk-kids.com/puzzles/pt.asp?id=20130219, www.dltk-kids.
com/puzzles/pt.asp?id=20111109, and www.kidzone.ws/sg/
sept-decjigs/014.htm.
• Dog Songs: Celebrating 101 Dalmatians, by various artists. Walt Disney Records, 1996 (music CD).
ASIN: B000001M2C. All ages.
• Dogs, by Seymour Simon. HarperCollins, 2009. ISBN
0061730440. 1-5.
Online Dog Games. For a wide selection of online
games with dog characters and themes for young
children, visit www.pbskids.org/games/dogs.html.
• Dogs in the Dead of Night (Magic Tree House), by
Mary Pope Osborne. Random House Books for Young
Readers, 2013. ISBN 0375867961. 3-5.
• Down Girl and Sit: Smarter than Squirrels, by Lucy
Nolan. Two Lions, 2009. ISBN 076145571X. 1-4. . Fetch a Good Book Resources
• Flawed Dogs: The Novel, by Berkeley Breathed.
Philomel, 2009. ISBN 0399252185. 4-6.
• 101 Dalmatians, by Dodie Smith. Puffin, 1989. ISBN
0140340343. 3-6.
• Fred Stays with Me, by Nancy Coffelt. Little, Brown
Books for Young Readers, 2011. ISBN 0316077917.
K-3.
• Because of Winn-Dixie, by Kate DiCamillo. Candlewick, 2010. ISBN 0763650072. 4-6.
• BULU: African Wonder Dog, by Dick Houston. Yearling, 2011. 0375847243. 4-8.
• The Good Dog, by Avi. Atheneum Books for Young
Readers, 2003. ISBN 0689838255. 4-6. • The Case of the Lost Boy (The Buddy Files), by Dori
Hillestad Butler. Albert Whitman & Company, 2010.
ISBN 0807509329. 1-4.
• Help Me, Mr. Mutt! Expert Answers for Dogs with
People Problems, by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens
Crummel. HMH Books for Young Readers, 2008.
ISBN 0152046283. 2-5.
• Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters from Obedience School,
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Activity Guide © 2013 Demco, Inc.
Fetch a Good Book Activity Guide
• Henry the Fourth (Math Start 1), by Stuart J. Murphy. HarperCollins, 1998. ISBN 0064467198. P-2. • Invasion of the Dognappers, by Patrick Jennings.
EgmontUSA, 2012. ISBN 1606842870. 4-6.
• Love That Dog, by Sharon Creech. HarperCollins
Reprints, 2001. ISBN 0064409597. 3-6.
• Marley: A Dog like No Other, by John Grogan. HarperCollins Reprint, 2008. ISBN 0061240354. 3+.
• Max Goes to the Space Station: A Science Adventure
with Max the Dog, by Jeffrey Bennett. Big Kid Science, 2013. ISBN 1937548287. 3-5. Also see other
series titles
• May I Pet Your Dog? The How-to Guide for Kids
Meeting Dogs, by Stephanie Calmenson. Clarion
Books, 2007. ISBN 0618510346. K-3. Also available
through online marketplaces as a DVD video program.
• Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle, by Brian Dennis, Mary Nethery, and Kirby Lawson. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2009.
ISBN 031605318X. 2-5.
• Once I Ate a Pie, by Patricia MacLachlan and
Emily MacLachlan. HarperCollins, 2010. ISBN
0060735333. P-3.
• Sounder, by William H. Armstrong. HarperCollins,
1972. ISBN-13 9780064400206. 4-7.
• Working like a Dog: The Story of Working Dogs
through History, by Gena K. Gorrell. Tundra Books,
2003. ISBN 0887765890. 4-7.
• You’re a Good Dog, Carl, by Alexandra Day. Simon
& Schuster Books for Young Readers, 1991. ISBN
0671752049. P-3.
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Activity Guide © 2013 Demco, Inc.
Fetch a Good Book Task List
Customize your own task list using a combination of these tasks and your own.
1.Find a movie about dogs in the library’s DVD collection. Write the title of the movie here:
2.What Dewey Decimal Classification number takes you to information on pet care? _____ Go
to that number in the children’s nonfiction section of the library. Write the title and author of a
book on that subject here:
3.Find a board book about dogs or puppies. Write the title and author of the book here:
4.Look for a representation of a dog somewhere in the library. It might be a puppet, on a poster, or
decorating the children’s room. Write here what you found and where:
5.Find a beginning reader book about dogs or puppies. Write the title and author of the book here:
6.Go to the library’s collection of recorded music. Find a CD with a song about dogs or puppies.
Write the name of the song and the name of the CD here:
7.Find a jigsaw puzzle of a dog picture set out somewhere in the library. Add a piece to the puzzle,
and write where you found it here:
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Activity Guide © 2013 Demco, Inc.
Fetch a Good Book Task List
8. Go to the collection of magazines for adults. Find a magazine that shows a dog on the cover.
Write the title of the magazine and the date of that issue here:
9. Find a book of children’s fiction about a dog. Write the title and author of the book here:
10.Look in the children’s graphic novels collection. Find a book from a series that features dog characters. Write the series title, individual book title, author, and illustrator here:
11.Find a display of bookmarks with a dog on them. Take a bookmark.
12.Go to a computer station, and find a website about different breeds of dogs. Write the name of the website and its URL (web address) here:
13.What Dewey Decimal Classification number takes you to information about the domestic dog’s close relative, the wolf? _____ Go to that number in the children’s nonfiction section of the library. Write the title and author of a book on that subject here:
14.What Dewey Decimal Classification number takes you to information on craft projects related to dogs? _____ Go to that number in the children’s nonfiction section of the library. Write the name of the craft project and the title and author of a book on that subject here:
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Activity Guide © 2013 Demco, Inc.
Bone Reproducibles
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Activity Guide © 2013 Demco, Inc.
Dog Mobile Reproducibles
DOG PARK
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Activity Guide © 2013 Demco, Inc.
Dog Mobile Reproducibles
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Activity Guide © 2013 Demco, Inc.