My Dog, My Cat

My Dog, My Cat. Ashlee Fletcher. 2011. 42 pages. Tanglewood. [Source: ARC provided courtesy of NetGalley.]

My Dog, My Cat is a child’s reflection of the differences between his/her two pets. The differences include physical attributes, playtime habits and food preferences. Toward the end of the book, the child also reflects on the dog and cat’s similarities. This is a nice way to introduce the concepts of comparing and contrasting to a child while letting them do so with familiar animals.

This a shorter read of 27 pages (on Kindle), but it has substance. I think it would be very appropriate for a new reader. Ideally, this can be used to as a real-aloud book. Many of the words are sight words, and the more difficult words can still be figured out phonetically.

The illustrations are bright and quirky, but not too overbearing. I found them engaging with just enough detail, and they didn’t steal the attention from the story.