Cool Dog, School Dog

Cool Dog, School Dog is a Children's Choice for 2010! Please click here to download your free bookmark from the International Reading Association and The Children's Book Council.

COOL DOG, SCHOOL DOG is my second book loosely based on the life and times of my Golden Retriever, TINKA.

In this book Tinka has moved on from getting into trouble on the beach and at the carnival and in the park.

Now she is getting into trouble in SCHOOL!!

But it all ends happily, of course.

And with a great discovery: Tinka loves to be read to!

Cool Dog, School Dog
Story by Deborah Heiligman, illustrations by Tim Bowers
Marshall Cavendish, $15.99, 978-0-7614-5561-5

Tinka is a cool dog, a school dog, a breaking-all-the-rules dog. A hall dog, a ball dog, a crash-into-the-wall dog. Join Tinka, a dandy, sandy Golden Retriever, as she unexpectedly visits her owner at school and helps his class learn to read. Bright illustrations rendered in acrylic paint add to the excitement in this playful back-to-school story about a boy and his "loves-to-hear-a-book" dog.

Reviews:
"Tinka the dog returns for a romp through school that starts badly but ends well (Fun Dog, Sun Dog, 2005). Depressed at having to say goodbye to her boy at the bus, she makes a break for it and follows him to school, with predictably chaotic results. But while she's waiting to be taken back home, the kids decide to read to her-starting her on a second career as a reading buddy. Heiligman's tale is well-timed to ride the wave of "Reading with Rover" programs in schools and libraries, and her infectious rhymes ("Tinka is a bad dog, / a sad dog, / a makes-our-teacher-mad dog!") pair well with Bowers's goofy, energetic illustrations to make this gentle piece of propaganda go down easy. (Picture book. 4-8)"—Kirkus Reviews

"Tinka, a golden retriever, is "a joy dog,/a boy's dog,/a chews-a-brand-new-toy dog." She loves her boy and doesn't like being left at home when he boards a bus on a fall morning. When Mom isn't looking, the "spring-and-sprint-and-streak dog" races to school, runs through the halls causing mayhem, and ends up finding her boy in his classroom. Although she makes the teacher unhappy by messing up the room, the students are delighted by Tinka's presence and find that the pup loves a read-aloud. In the end, she's "a please-come-every-day dog." Bowers's vivid acrylic illustrations are full of expression, from the pup peeking through a screen door while waiting to make her move to the smiling children and teacher waving good-bye at the end of the day. Youngsters will like learning with each turn of the page just what makes this dog so special."—Adrienne Wilson, Edith Wheeler Memorial Library, Monroe, CT, School Library Journal

Watch me read to my publishers' dog:

Fun with Cool Dog, School Dog!

Download a coloring page.

If you're on Facebook, visit the Marshall Cavendish Facebook page and take their Cool Dog, School Dog quiz!

Some cool links to check out:
7-year-old Ian reviewed Cool Dog, School Dog on the blog Read, Write, Repeat - read it here.

Did you know that children all over the country read to dogs in schools and libraries? See if there's a Reading to Dogs program in your area.

Check out this video from The Today Show about reading to dogs.

Here's an article about a reading to dogs program in School Library Journal, and a more recent update about the program.

Here's more about why you should read to your dog.

Buy this book from your local independent bookstore at IndieBound.com.