"Dragon Boat," Said Sam

Hi!

     Boy oh boy oh boy! What a howling-happy day! This morning Allison and Rachel took me to something called the Chinese Dragon Boat Races and Taiwan Festival. By the big river that goes through Pawtucket, a giant puffed-up dragon arch showed where to go. Oh! The people! The smells! The sights! THE NEW FRIENDS TO MAKE! Arooooo! I was so excited my tail didn't stop wagging for a second!

     First we went and sat by the water to watch the dragonboat races. Allison - who had explained earlier that dragons are gigantic winged lizards that can breathe fire - pointed the boats out to me. Each boat had the head and tail of a fierce-looking, red-nosed dragon! Luckily, these dragons weren't real, so I wasn't afraid of becoming a toasted wauzer pup. They were actually kind of funny, packed with bunches of humans in thick jackets. The humans had to move the dragons across the water with these flat stick-things. Silly, huh?

See? This guy has a beard like my beard (but mine is black and grey) - and spiky horns!

Here we are posing with another dragon in a big tent. This dragon was made of wood. Smelled like maple tree to me...not so scary! Ruff!

     After making friends with some human-pups (their daddy was on one of the dragonboats), I padded after my humans to explore more of the festival. And guess what? I'm not the only dog interested in dragons...

This is Quahog, a very fun new friend with a very different name! What's a "quahog" anyway?

      Anyway, after that my humans and I listened to a group of older human-pups beat on these huge drums and then to lots of girl-humans play music. The girl-humans came to Pawtucket all the way from a place called Taiwan, across the sea. They made music with strange instruments, but it was pretty. I also had fun making friends with the dragonboat rowers sitting next to us; those guys didn't mind a bit when I hopped onto their laps (even if they wouldn't give me their chicken salad!). Overall, I really liked the festival, and when we got home I happily curled up for a nap. Rrruff! I knew I'd dream of dragons!

     A little later, Allison read me two books with dragons in them. The first is about a bunny who wants a dragon shirt, and the second is about a princess who outsmarts a not-so-nice dragon:

In Rosemary Wells' Max's Dragon Shirt, a simple shopping trip quickly turns into an adventure. Ruby takes her little brother Max to the store to buy him new overalls, but quickly gets distracted by a red dress. Max, a bunny-pup who wants a dragon shirt instead of new overalls, follows his sister around the store without saying much. Except for two words, over and over...

"Dragon shirt," said Max.

     Soon Max finds himself alone in a boring dressing room - and wanders off in search of a dragon shirt. What comes next in this comical story will make many human-pups giggle aloud. Let's just say that Ruby learns not to leave Max alone anymore, and that Max finally gets what he wants! Great silly fun, this book is a must-read for little human-pups who stubbornly insist on their own sense of style (as for me, my fur's enough...no shirts or clothes-shopping for this pup!). Allison says that this was one of her favorites growing up, especially the funny colors and sizes of the dresses Ruby tries on. And the ending, which even involves ice cream! Fans of Rosemary Wells will enjoy this classic Max and Ruby tale of sibling interaction. Two paws up and a tail wag for this one! Best for human-pups grades PreK-2. 

The Paper Bag Princess, written by Robert Munsch and illustrated by Michael Martchenko, is an unsual picture book fairy tale. As Allison puts it: Princess likes prince. Dragon eats castle and steals prince. Princess runs off to rescue prince - with only a paper bag for a dress. You see, this dragon is not a very nice one. He has terrible manners, bounding up and wolfing down an entire castle like that! Cats are more polite! Woof! Fortunately, this dragon meets his match in the fiesty (if a little dirty) Princess Elizabeth. Would-be princesses and other human-pups who enjoy dragon stories where the dragons do not get killed will like this book! With pictures that bring out the laughable in both the dragon's and Elizabeth's personalities, this story is modern fairy tale with a happy ending won by wits alone. It just goes to show that being mean and hurting people ("violence" Allison calls it) isn't always the answer. And princes who don't appreciate being rescued don't deserve a second thought! You go, girl! Aroooooo! Two paws up, and best for human-pups grades PreK-3.   

Now I'm out the door for one last trot around the yard before snuggling up with my stuffed little Clifford and my blanket. Fall is coming; it's getting chilly at night lately! Dragons must feel lucky. Think how nice and toasty they stay in the winter! Wonder if I could make friends with one and persuade it to cuddle? Hmmmm....

Yours in Dragon Dreams,

Sam I Am

If You Give a Wauzer a Book....

Hi!

     Allison had her first day of library school today. She woke up really early - when it was still dark! - and then she left to get on a big, loud bunch of connected cars called a "train" to go to Boston. I was a little nervous when Allison left. I knew she was worried about meeting new humans and getting the teachers' answers right. I want all of my humans to be happy! You know, I waited alllll day and chewed my bone and played toss with my giraffe and took lots of naps until Allison finally came home (I went with Mama Suz to pick her up at the station). And she was okay! Arooooooooooooo!!! In fact, she told me and Mama funny stories about the train and her class. After that? A hamburger supper and a much-needed game of tug-the-towel...  

Tug-the-towel! Ruff! A great afterschool activity!

      Happy about how fun her class was, Allison decided to read me a special story about a tiny mouse who goes to school. Here it is:



Click for a link to download a Mouse coloring page.

If You Take a Mouse to School, written by Laura Numeroff and illustrated by Felicia Bond, is a cheerful tale about a mouse's adventures in school. Hitching a ride in his friend's lunchbox (his friend is a little human-pup), Mouse explores everything at school - from science experiments to spelling to building a wonderful house of wooden blocks and clay. Allison says this is a great book for human-pups to learn about something called "cause and effect," and many little ones will love the mouse's antics and facial expressions (shown in colorful, detailed pictures). My favorite picture is the one where Mouse is building a green volcano; he's even wearing funny glasses called "goggles" to keep his eyes safe when the volcano goes BOOM with sticky goo. Awoooo! I think human-pups will relate to the small hero of this story, making this a memorable read! I give it two paws up and a tail wag! Best for human-pups grades PreK-3.

And if you like this one, try If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, If You Give a Pig a Pancake, If You Take a Mouse to the Movies, and If You Give a Moose a Muffin.   

Thinking of cookies...time to hunt down a bedtime biscuit! Cookies are good for staying a smart puppy, you know.

Your Cookie-Loving Student,

Sam I Am

Hungry Poetry Beasts: A Silly Literary Snack Attack

Hi!

     I just finished chewing one of my tennis balls to pieces. It was lots of fun, cracking the squishy stuff up and then tugging at the fuzz. That is, until Allison took it from me. She says blue fuzz isn't good for my "digestion." When I whimpered in confusion, she muttered, "If you eat the ball, you'll get a tummy ache! Chew, don't eat!" 

     Okayokayokay. So no more eating fuzz. I looked up at her with my best puppy eyes. Allison gave me the ball back (repeating that I was not to EAT it), and then she and Rachel read some poems to me. I settled down to chomp and listen. The first poem was called "The Tummy Beast."

"The Tummy Beast" is one of several poems in Roald Dahl's book Dirty Beasts, illustrated by Quentin Blake. It starts, "One afternoon I said to mummy,/'Who is this person in my tummy?'" From there, the pudgy human-pup tries to convince his mama that there is a beast inside him that makes him do bad things like "raid the biscuit tin." When this funny poem reaches its most exciting part, the tummy beast makes sure it gets heard! Awooo! I loved it! My tummy growls for Milkbones a lot, so I know how the pup feels!

The rest of the poems in this book talk about other naughty animals, including a crocodile who eats human-pups with mustard and a winged cow who gets stinky revenge on a bullying grown-up human. The beasts are very dirty and on the hungry side (littler human-pups might not like the poem about the crocodile...that was funny and scary at once), but in general the poems are silly fun. The pictures of the scraggly humans and jaggedly-toothed beasts made the poems come even more alive! Ruff! Two paws up.  Best to read aloud (Allison does different things with her voice to make me jump!) with human-pups PreK-3.  

 *Also recommended: Roald Dahl's Revolting Rhymes.

     

Just remember that snuggles and laughs are great for growling away scary beasts of all kinds! Woof! (And silly faces and books and family!)

Here's another hurricane poem for you (Allison and I wrote it to laugh at the storm instead of being scared or mad without the lights):

          

  "They say that some wauzers are shy

But Sam? Oh, he'd always say 'Hi!'

He padded up to Irene

And said, 'Ruff! How you been?'

That mad storm nearly blew him sky-high!"

    I really did go out to see that Irene lady-storm. Allison took me out for a quick bathroom trip, even though I hate to get wet. The wind stirred all the leaves around my paws and the branches looked like they wanted to bite my tail off! Luckily, I didn't blow away. And I have a great story to tell my new friends at the dog park (especially Daisy the beagle and Marty the pug, puppies like me!). 

     Anyway, I got so into the first Dirty Beast poems that I forgot not to rip at my ball's fuzzy stuff. Allison took it away - for my own good, she said - and Rachel picked a few poems out from another book to distract me. Awoooo! I go wolfish at night, but maybe Shel Silverstein can tame me?

We only read some of the poems in Where the Sidewalk Ends, but I already have a favorite. There's one about a human-pup getting eaten by a boa constrictor (a big, BIG snake). Sounds scary, but it's funny because the little boy is writing the poem as he's getting swallowed! Yipe! There's also a good one about a boy who loses his head (I don't think I would lose mine, but I'll make sure to have Allison help me find it if I do...need it to sniff and EAT!). Oh! And another about a double-tailed dog! From what my humans and I have read, there is plenty of silliness in this book - in poems both long and short - to satisfy human-pups' need for laughter and imagination. This one makes a pup like me want to write some more poems, myself, arooooo! Two paws up, and best for GR 3-6. Again, read them aloud and have fun acting out the wacky stories within the poems!  

Boa constrictors and dirty beasts aside, I think I should go to sleep before my humans decide I need a bath. I'm getting to be quite a dirty beast myself with all the scampering around with Jacob and playing rough-wrestle-run in the mud at the dog park. Maybe if I act ferocious they won't feel like filling up the tub...

Your very own Dirty Beast Reader,

Sam I Am