Riley and Lucy are west-highland terriers. Like most dogs, they love to take walks, chase squirrels, eat bones and, of course, read. They especially enjoy picture books.
The #PB 10 for 10 challenge to teachers, librarians and book lovers everywhere to share a list of their 10 favorite picture books of the year. When Riley and Lucy heard about the PB 10 for1 0 challenge, they couldn’t resist offering a list of their favorites. After all, wouldn’t it be nice to hear a dog’s perspective?
The deadline for this challenge was early August, so Riley and Lucy are a little late to the game. They are dogs though, so what do you expect? Not only did they have trouble agreeing upon all their selections, their dog paws make it difficult to use the keyboard. For that reason, they asked me, their owner, to help with the typing.
Now what you may not know about our dogs, is that they are the stars of a series of picture books. Of course, these three books are their very favorites! Riley and Lucy agree that a little bit of shameless self-promotion is OK, if it doesn’t harm anyone else.
Therefore, the top three books in their 10 for 10 list are:
Doggy Drama by Andra Gillum
Puppy Drama by Andra Gillum
Old Doggy Drama by Andra Gillum
They quibbled for some time over the order of the top three, but finally decided to compromise. Their list of favorites is in no particular order.
All three books are based on the real-life adventures of Riley and Lucy. They deal with real life issues like sibling rivalry, jealousy, coping with change and getting older. The best part is that they deliver their message in a very silly way. Kids will giggle at all three of these books!
Riley and Lucy love books about animals, and all forms of personification, so here are a few other favorites:
Little Pea – Amy Krouse Rosenthal
The Adventures of Knuffle Bunny – Mo Willems (The dogs got into a bit of a spat over how to pronounce Knuffle. Is it K-nuffle or Nuffle?)
Are You My Mother? - PD Eastman (They love the snort!)
Sheep On A Ship – Nancy Shaw
The Family Book – Todd Parr
My Mom – Anthony Brown (I may have strongly suggested this one.)
DOG – Matthew VanFleet (obviously.)
In fairness, the dogs do like many books by Dr. Seuss. However, they intentionally left him off their list in protest of the Cat In the Hat series. Who ever heard of a six-foot cat anyway?
We hope you have enjoyed Riley and Lucy’s top 10 list! It you want to learn more about the dogs and their books, please visit www.doggydrama.com. If you want to meet me, their owner, mom, storyteller and typist, please contact me at andra@doggydrama. I love to make school visits!
In closing, Riley and Lucy want to encourage all kids, dogs, adults and even cats to read, read, read! From picture books, to graphic novels, to biographies, to newspapers and magazines, to fiction and non-fiction, there is something for everyone. The trick to loving to read is reading what you love! #PB10for10 #ReadingRocks #DoggyDrama