The Stray Dog
by Marc Simont

Why Your Toddler Will Like this book

I knew Caldecott Medal-WinningThe Stray Dog by Marc Simont was special when my four-year-old granddaughter wanted me to "read it again, read it again, read it again."  She used the illustrations to explain the story to her younger brother.  This picture book for pre school kids is a happy-ending story, and it's a story about a dog.  What more could a young child want?

Synopsis

"A little dog appears at a family picnic and a girl and boy play with him all afternoon.  They name him Willy.  At day's end, they say good-bye.  but they think about Willy all week long.  So the family returns to the picnic grounds to find him.  They are not alone--the dogcatcher is looking for Willy, too!"

Description

Marc Simont has captured perfectly in art this story about Willy and a family .  The full page illustrations portray the scruffy Willy who appears at the family picnic, his joyous playing with the boy and girl, the slow passage of time until the family can go to the park again to look for Willy.  Marc Simont only gives a name to one of the characters of the story--Willy, the dog.  The boy and girl, mom and dad could be anyone.  I found this to be a clever way of personalizing the story.  This was not the story of Willy, Dick and Jane but of Willy and perhaps the reader...

What others said about this book

"This picture book has all the earmarks of a classic. Simont gets it all right."  The Horn Book
"Kids who love animals will definitely get caught up in the action, and even those who don't will appreciate the quick thinking children who save the day"  The Boston Book Review