Usborne are great at doing non-fiction, there is no doubt about that. They have a great eye for page design, and this is no exception. Each double-spread covers a different subject, from “Breeds of dogs” to “Walkies” and “Heroic hounds”. There are lots of facts and also some great tips for dog owners. Each spread is set up in a similar format with a mix of fonts and illustrations and photographs, which makes finding information easier. A reader, like my daughter, who cannot tackle the main text yet, can still access some of the text on the sides quite easily.
My daughter and I particularly enjoyed the double-page on learning to draw dogs. We spent quite a bit of time on Saturday evening perfecting our doggy drawings.
Overall, this is a great little information book! It is works really well both as an information book for children who might have or be in the process of acquiring a dog or for children who just love dogs. And the photographs of puppies are just too cute.
As for my daughter, this is what she had to say:
I like how they designed the pages because I like the mix of pictures and illustrations and they are all labelled with nice fonts. All the facts were interesting. My favourite bit is the picture of the bulldog puppy … and the running golden retriever puppy, because I like to see dogs run and how their mouths open and their ears fly in the wind.
Aww – it’s sweet how much she likes the puppies! It looks like a fun book.
I love the fact that your daughter knows what a font is already! And that she likes seeing pictures of dog’s running… they do look great when they are running with their tongues flapping around. Enjoy your week of non-fiction.