Elvis & Romeo Go to Dog School: Ready-to-Read Level 1

PreS-Gr 2–Dog friends Elvis and Romeo are at their first day of dog school. Elvis resembles an English bulldog and is helping Romeo, a scruffy mixed breed dog, learn to catch a ball. Elvis gives Romeo many instructions, but Romeo keeps getting bopped on the head by the ball. After several attempts, they put all the steps together for success. This story presents a good opportunity for discussion about perseverance and practice. The text uses simple sentences and is at an appropriate level for new readers. A bit of sarcasm may be lost on young readers, but failing to understand the joke won’t detract from the rest of the story. Digitally rendered illustrations resemble marker and watercolor, and bring emotion to the story. Body language and facial expressions on the dogs add more humor than the text, especially for dog lovers. This book would be a great addition to dog-themed storytimes.