The Hound Dog's Haiku: and Other Poems for Dog Lovers by Michael J. Rosen

The Hound Dog's Haiku: and Other Poems for Dog Lovers Reviews

• 
  Nicole

  The Hound Dog's Haiku was a doggone good book! The title says it all: this is a book of poems any dog lover would enjoy reading. Twenty pups have their own poem, describing some of the typical dog activities you might see with each of these dogs. Paired with fun, distinct drawings, this book of haikus got my tail wagging and warmed my heart.
  The pictures left me with no bone to pick. Caldecott award winning illustrator Mary Azarian demonstrated why she won her award, with unique and eye catching depictions of the different dogs to match their poems.
  Although the theme of this book is clearly dogs, it would be a great opening activity to get students to write a series of haikus about some of their favorite animals, or even sports. It is a fetching start to a new writing prompt or activity that will get your students jumping up and down. Ideally for grades 1-4, I think students, parents, and everyone in between would love this picture book, paws down.
• 
  Barbara Lovejoy

  The poems are delightful. I had a FUN surprise---The illustrator, Mary Azarian, is one of my favorite artists. I enjoyed the information about the different dog breeds at the end of the book.
• 
  Barbara

  What a cool way to learn about different dog breeds and appreciate haiku at the same time! Rosen pens tributes to 20 different breeds, ranging from pugs to Dalmations. There are haikus written in celebration of Samoyeds and golden retrievers as well as standard poodles. I loved how the author described "a Milky Way of cows" (unpaginated) being herded by a border collie and the "milk-sweet puppy breath" (unpaginated) of standard poodle pups. If the wonderfully detailed woodcut and acrylic illustrations are not enough to make the book appealing, readers can learn even more about each breed in the thumbnail sketches at the back of the book. Pair this one with Betsy Franco's A Dazzling Display of Dogs and read it aloud with your canine friend.
• 
  Sandy Brehl

  These poems are ideal haiku: evocative of nature, place, seasons, and spirit. The labeled illustrations (with supporting back matter) provide a treasury of information about the look, personality, instincts, and function of each breed. These are clearly written by someone who knows and loves dogs, inside and out.
• 
  Tibia

  Another beautifully written book by Rosen, but this time illustrated by the talented Mary Azarian. Very enjoyable, but I really can't see young children appreciating this form of writing without a parent's or teacher's interpretation. I learned new information about dogs I was unfamiliar with. Since I've owned several pembroke welsh corgies, I especially enjoyed seeing that breed included. "Dozing, paws outstretched, you soar across cloud-pillows superhero dreams. "
• 
  Malissa

  I love haiku and I love dogs, but something about this book doesn't feel accessible for kids.
• 
  Relyn

  Kids liked this well enough if they picked it up, but it wasn't really gimmicky enough. My students love a gimmick mixed in with their poems.
  
  Classroom Connection
  As an educator, one of my goals is for my students to experience poetry in a way that will help them understand how to read it and learn to love it. I want my students to learn to read poetry for pleasure. I did not learn to love poetry until I was in college working on my minor in English Literature. As I became a teacher, I wanted to find a way to help my own students learn to love poetry early on. What else can teach you a love of language so effectively? In Lawsonland, we have a daily poem that I read at the start of morning meeting. I read entire poetry books as a part of SSR. Students have the option to memorize a poem of the week for a big end of year prize. That is always a big hit. Each February in Lawsonland, we have a poetry unit. Part of that unit is a Poetry Scavenger Hunt. I teach a mini lesson on one of the small components of poetry. Then, the students scatter and begin to read from the 50 or so poetry books I've gathered and book talked for them. I allow them to partner read and chat as they go. The main object is to enjoy the poems and be able to recognize and identify certain characteristics of poetry such as rhythm, rhyme, and alliteration. After several days of just reading, the students begin to search for poems that meet the criteria I laid out in the scavenger hunt. It's big fun and a way to focus their learning. At the end of each lesson we all circle up and several students share the poems they have discovered and love. Each year, I have students learn to love poetry and enjoy playing with words. This is probably my favorite unit of all.
• 
  Dolly

  This book contains a collection of twenty poems about different dog breeds. The poems follow a traditional English-language haiku format of 5-7-5 syllables and most refer to various aspects of nature or the senses.
  
  The poems are, of course, very short, so the black-printed woodcut illustrations, colored in with acrylic paint, really help to depict the unique nature of each dog breed. The images are beautiful.
  
  I first discovered this book at our local library, and since we've recently adopted an American Foxhound, I was excited to find a poem about hounds. While the Bluetick Coonhound has its own personality traits, we saw some similarities, too.
  
  Overall, it's a fun and fast read and is sure to be popular with people who adore dogs. While the poems are short and appropriate for all ages, older children will more likely appreciate the haiku style of writing.
  
  We really enjoyed reading this book together and I loved the additional information provided about each breed at the end of the book. It was enlightening to learn about breeds we weren't very familiar with and we even learned a bit more about hounds in general (from the Bluetick Coonhound, Beagle, and Bloodhound entries).
• 
  Stacy Ford

  Literary Quality: A book of dog haiku's.
  
  Originality of Text and Illustrations: A thorough list of dogs are presented in the book. There could be originality in the number of haikus that are presented. The illustrations are fine, but are not noteworthy.
  
  Clarity and Style of Language: The haikus in the book are very straight forward. Rosen does a fine job of describing each dog and keeping to the rules of haiky.
  
  Illustration: The illustrations are okay.
  
  Design/Format: Each haiku is given its own two page spread. This makes the poems easy to differentiate.
  
  Accuracy: Poems are descriptions only. They appear to be accurate.
  
  Interest/Value to Children: Children will like these dog haikus.
  
  Acceptance: Poems will be accepted by children. This book will not fly off shelves, but it will be liked by those who read it.
• 
  Franki Sibberson

  Like this one a lot. I love the way I can add it to my collection of Haiku--Guyku, Wonton, Dogku, etc. Haiku--such fun when you look at it in these books. And I like the added info/stories at the end.
• 
  Wally

  Nice picture book about a bunch of different dog breeds - each breed gets its own characteristic haiku. If I liked dogs better, I'd probably enjoy this more, but it would be good for a quick storytime read.
• 
  Edward Sullivan

  Nicely done dog haikus with Azarian's wonderful illustrations.
• 
  Christie

  Charming! Haiku for dog lovers!
• 
  Arminzerella

  The poems didn't seem to be specific to the breeds they were supposedly describing. Would have been more clever if they had.
• 
  Dana

  3.5
• 
  Kathryn

  Four stars since the Pembroke Welsh Corgi is perfection!
• 
  Karen

  What makes this distinctive is the art by Mary Azarian -- her colorful pictures are always cheerful with black outlines punching up the detail.
• 
  Mary Lee

  I don't love this. The illustrations turn me off and the poetry seems unremarkable.
• 
  Donalyn

  The best part of this book was the information about each featured dog breed in the back.
• 
  Margaret

  
  http://librariansquest.blogspot.com/2...
  
  This is a must for dog lovers.
• 
  Jennifer

  Heath page features a different dog and a haiku about them. Info pages at end go into more detail about each breed.
• 
  Emily

  Fitting haiku about many different dog breeds paired with emotive illustrations.
• 
  Elizabeth

  I love that it has an Old English Sheepdog, but my favorite poem is that of the Miniature Schnauzer.
• 
  Read for your future!

  Read our review here:
  
  http://readforyourfuture.blogspot.com...