The Twelve Days of Christmas Dogs

by Carolyn Conahan

In a variation on the folk song, "The Twelve Days of Christmas," children exchange gifts of various types of dogs, from "a pug puppy under the tree" to "twelve doggies drumming."

Genres: Picture Books, Christmas, Childrens, Kids, Animals

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 15, 2005

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the love of dogs. That is why we do what we do. And, read books like this!

We just got back from a quick two-day visit to Carmel and Monterey, CA. The intention of the trip was to take our 7-year-old corgi, Oliver to see an eye specialist vet, because our regular vet was concerned that there might be some possible eye blindness in his brown eye. And, the closest specialist to us was in Monterey, about 2 and l/2 hours away. So, we decided to make it an overnight excursion with Oliver and Oscar, by staying in Carmel before our appointment the next day.

I mention this, before this review because there is something about books about dogs, and our joy about loving dogs that make everything we do for them so worthwhile. Right?♥️🐾

Side note: Oliver’s eyes turned out to be healthy and fine. Phew!

This Christmas themed book provides a fun way to learn about numbers and counting.

For all those who love Christmas, this book should be a pleasing addition to one’s personal library to read with the children. Or, find at your local library (which I did). It follows the format of the poem/song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas” only with dogs as the main attraction.

“On the first day of Christmas, my best friend gave to me…”

Could it possibly be a ‘pug puppy under the tree’ with a cat topper? And, instead of the traditional, ‘two turtle doves’ readers will find ‘two turtle dogs.’ And, so on.

But the most rewarding for me, an animal lover in every way, was when I came to the nine corgi ‘doggies dancing.’ How could I not be thrilled to find my dog as part of this magical, stylized and whimsically illustrated story?

By the time readers come to the twelfth day of Christmas, it is a full house of playful, happy dogs with their humans.

This book is truly a delightful celebration of Christmas, best friends, and, of course, dogs that is sure to please any young reader, and adult.

Reading Level: Ages 3- 8 years+ Grade Level: Preschool – 4th Grade+

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

#2005 Gift Friends give a girl a pug puppy, followed by more dogs each day following the Ancient Christmas song and then end up with a plethora of dogs, what do they do next?

[Kendra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cassie loved this book, I mean LOVED this book. She laughed and laughed at the silly antics the dogs did on every page. She loved how silly they are and how it kept adding more and more dogs. The illustrations are amazing as the dogs are doing different things on each page. The attention to detail made Cassie want to just stare at the pages over and over again. The text had it's moments where I stumbled but it was because my brain wanted me to sing the words rather then just read them. But it's a cute book and really worth checking out.

[Nicole · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pro: My 7 year old liked this book.
Con: Did not have the poetic cadence that a read-aloud book should have, the wording missed the consistency of a good parody. I thought the illustrations were inconsistent with the storyline, and I couldn't understand the storyline at all. It was a fun idea that, with some strong editing, could have been a winner.

[Jeani · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an adorable spin on a Christmas classic!

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

The rhyme scheme felt a little off to me and there was a weird B storyline of the kids battling to see who was a better friend based on the gifts they were giving.

[Aimee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute illustrations - was hard not to sing the words as I was reading this book to my daughter

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book, no surprises here. It follows the pattern of the famous song. The illustrations reveal an underlying theme about choosing between friends to say who is your best friend. Does giving the gift you like best elevate the giver to BEST friend? You could have a nice conversation with a child based on the book. the illustrations are sure to please young dog lovers. It made a nice read aloud/sing along at school.

[Elizabeth S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just as the title says, this is the "Twelve Days of Christmas" where every gift is a dog. Cleverly done. For example, the fourth day of Christmas begins with "Four collie dogs." You can really sing along with the book.

[Meadow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the days could have been better, but overall it is okay.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 3 out of 5]

A friend keeps giving dogs as gifts. Best part: the show at the end. Ages 5-10.