The Best Days are Dog Days by Aaron Meshon

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The Best Days are Dog Days is the newest picture book from Aaron Meshon, author and illustrator of the fantastic TOOLS Rule!. Meshon's brightly detailed illustrations (which would be perfect hanging on the walls of any kid's room, or living room for that matter) are worth the price of the book alone, but he is a great writer as well and his stories always bring a new, creative perspective to the subject. With The Best Days Are Dog Days, Meshon parallels the busy day of a toddler and the family's French Bulldog. I think it's fair to call them siblings. . .



One thing that I noticed with my own children and interacting with babies while working as a bookseller is that babies love to see pictures of babies. And toddlers love to see images of their daily lives. While this can be a little dull to the person reading the book, Meshon finds the perfect way to make these mundane (but, fun) tasks humorously engaging for little and big readers alike. Pup and Sis do everything together. Their day begins, Sis on the right side of the page and Pup, the narrator, on the left, with a stretch. Meshon captures the dog stretch perfectly, and Sis's little puppy-themed pjs are very cute. Breakfast is followed by a trip to the parks, both kid and dog. They make friends, play in the water and, together at the same time, chase a squirrel. A potty break is another moment of subtle humor in this already very funny book. A tandem bike, with a toddler seat and a dog basket, make getting around this very cool city (Seattle? Vancouver? St. Paul?) entertaining. Back home again and exhausted, it's bath time then time to brush the teeth for yet another awesomely hilarious two-page spread.



Kids and dogs are a pretty common pairing in picture books, but Meshon brings a very fresh approach to it. Of course this is the perfect book for new parents who have been practicing on their dog for a few years, but really, any little one will love this book with its familiar themes and cheerful colors. Buy this book today! Buy two - one for your own family and one to give as a gift!




Source: Reveiw Copy

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