Give the Dog a Bone

by Steven Kellogg

But then what happens? Why, it's one wild, slapstick adventure involving cobblers, cats, chickens, and much, much more. From poodles to Great Danes, an increasing number of clever canine companions join in the fun--and add up to a most entertaining counting book. Kellogg's witty reinvention of the classic counting song "This Old Man" makes numbers fun for the whole family.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Dogs, Storytime

40 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2000

About the author

Steven Kellogg is an author and illustrator who has contributed over 90 books for children. He is best known for writing books about animals, for which he credits his grandmother .

Reviews

[Stephen Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite thing to do when my children were little was to read books to them, and one of my favorites was any book by Steven Kellogg or illustrated by him. I found a copy of this book in a thrift store and it is one of his that I hadn't read. Not sure how well I can sing along with the lyrics they provide but the illustrations are top notch as always and as an added bonus you get the count the number of dogs and chickens and velociraptors. Given the opportunity I would like to collect all of his books and I recommend them all. They are great fun to read to a child and point out all the crazy stuff in the pictures.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steven Kellogg's rendition of Knick, Knack, Paddywhack: Give the Dog a Bone that would be a great storytime, sing-a-long story for little ones. All sorts of curious creatures accompany the dogs as they high-tail it home! A delightful counting book.

The illustrations are gorgeously Kellogg through and through.

[Alli Trenkamp · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book because it was different from a lot of the other children's picture books I have read. It includes a song throughout the book that children would love. I would just prefer for it to have more plot in the book but I believe the students would have a great time singing this song! I would read this to my students out loud in the classroom and have them sing along. I think this book would be perfect for K-2nd grade!

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: This is not the traditional nick-nack, but it's still fun. It is a counting book, with each image emphasizing the stated number. An older child might enjoy making up some of his/her own verses to fit the song.

The book is probably more appropriate for kids who already know their numbers and the song. There's a lot going on (too much) for younger kids, but of course, they'd still enjoy the pictures.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is way to much going on here to use this for storytime. But it's so clever, and the illustrations are awesome. I did like it, but it has so much going on and so many little dialogue bubbles, that it really does need to be digested instead of just read.

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet ending

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always enjoy Kellogg's use of side characters and the expressions of all of the characters.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Give The Dog a Bone is a terrific folk song/counting book that kids will love. The author takes a great twist on the original song adding several suprises while still maintaining the singability of the text. The variety of old men made my first graders giggle (one is dressed like a cat, one runs away from a swarm of bees) and the surprise ending (raptors hatching from the eggs) made my class laugh and laugh and laugh. For the independent reader there are many dogs to count (with a listing of how many of each kinds are in the book) and the comic book bubbles throughout add some entertainment.

This book will be enjoyed by kids from 3-8.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book because it was different from a lot of the other children's picture books I have read. It includes a song throughout the book, and I haven't a doubt in my mind from my experience of working with children, that they would love it because of the singing in it. I would just prefer for it to have more enriching text in it, but if the singing can encourage children to want to read, I think it deserves four stars.

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book includes the song Give the Dog a Bone. I like how the author went above and beyond rather than just simply writing down the song itself. He made sure each picture went with each part of that song, which was convenient. I think this would be a great book for students, especially if they already knew the song. Even if they were struggling readers they could read aloud knowing the song.

[Tam · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a parent, I didn't like this book. It's not the typical wording for "This Old Man" (which I expected) but my 4-year-old thought it had some funny parts and wanted to read/sing it again.

Example:
"This old man, he played seven,
soared right up to doggy heaven.
Nick-nack paddywhack, served them all a bone,
Good-bye kisses, sailed back home."

[Madimeier]

This book starts at 1 and goes up to 10. Each page goes up in the amount of bones to give the dogs. This book is very colorful and a easy read for students to understand. It has very good illustrations and the students can learn the digits 1-10 while reading and looking at illustrations.

[Vivian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another possible "counting song" is this one, told and illustrated with Steven Kellogg's signature whimsical flair. We just went up to "This old man, he played three..." for today's story time.

[Erroll Treslan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great one to sing to the kids.

[Pinky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nick-nack Paddywhack all the way up to 10.

[Jingqiu Chen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It would be much more fun if you "sing" this book instead of just read it.

[Dobby Girl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've never heard of Nicknack paddywhack stuff. It sounds very awkward to me. But as the song goes, i enjoyed reading this book. It is still weird, though.

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Little bit loved it

[Magila · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Love Kellogg. Just wasn't over the moon about this adaptation.