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Loose Leashes
Sixteen kid-friendly rhymes accompany funny photographic portraits of dogs in this delightful picture book. A salty dog’s lament of traveling the world is perfectly captured in ballad form; a finicky Yorkie expresses her bathing preferences in common meter; while a Paul Bunyan-esque golden lab celebrates the outdoors in haiku form. This collection of canine poems and photos will enchant dog lovers of all ages.
40 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 13, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
December 4, 2018
Genre: Poetry
Grade level: 3+
Unique feature: A poetry book all about dogs is something that can easily intrigue a child who would usually be standoff-ish towards poetry. Aside from that, I love that the picture's captions all contain the names of the dogs.
Grade level: 3+
Unique feature: A poetry book all about dogs is something that can easily intrigue a child who would usually be standoff-ish towards poetry. Aside from that, I love that the picture's captions all contain the names of the dogs.
February 5, 2018
Ahhh...so cute!!! And a Corgi on the first page <3 <3 <3
March 12, 2018
Picked up this book because I just got a little pup. The poems are so sweet and remind you of your little doggo. The pictures are so cute and absolutely funny.
January 12, 2019
This book is a picture book filled with poetry. Each poem is related to something about dogs. Any elementary schooler could be engaged in this book.
March 4, 2022
This is a book full of puppy poems. I think this is a great book for the classroom, because it introduces new vocab and types of writing.
December 1, 2017
LOVED THIS BOOK!
Grades: K-5
Genre: Poetry
Unique Feature: The poems seems like they could be written from the perspective of a kid and only when you look at the photo do you know that they are "written by dogs!" Also, at the very end of the book, there are cute little About Mes about all of the dogs featured. So cute!
Grades: K-5
Genre: Poetry
Unique Feature: The poems seems like they could be written from the perspective of a kid and only when you look at the photo do you know that they are "written by dogs!" Also, at the very end of the book, there are cute little About Mes about all of the dogs featured. So cute!
Read
July 25, 2009Schmidt, A. (2009). Loose Leashes. New York: Random House.
9780375856419
Created by a husband and wife team, Loose Leashes shares poems of dogs who are anthropomorphized in various ways. Honey doesn’t want to go to a groomer. Lewis and Clark seek adventure. Grace goes ice-skating. Pip and Squeak fight over a bone (Okay, so the last one is still typical dog behavior).
From the first poem, “Loose Leashes,” several dogs are free to do as they please and most seek adventure of some sort. A few dogs deal with overcoming their fears. But most just have fun.
The poems are cute and funny and lend support to the images they stand beside. For me, it’s the photographs that are most engaging. Surreal and fun, many kids will want to stare at them for a while, especially dog lovers.
Some may even try to pet the end papers, which feature photos of a white dog’s coat.
Activities to Do with the Book:
After seeing the photos of Loose Leaches and reading or listening to the poetry, students may be inspired to write their own poems or stories based on the photographs (It might be easiest to give each students or small groups a photocopy of one of the images and have them write the poems beginning with describing what they see).
Another option would be to have students pick their own favorite animal and draw them in strange settings or with various objects.
A teacher could also ask students if they’ve read any other picturebooks that feature animals in weird places. (I think Chris Van Allsburg’s Jumanji would be a natural beginning).
Although Loose Leashes does not list the dog breeds featured in the illustrations, a teacher could use the book to trigger a research project on various breeds.
Favorite Quotes:
“I’m going far—
Just need to learn to drive this car.”
“Sharing is always a hard thing to do,
Especially when one bone is given to two.”
“There once was a dog that could read
With amazing page-turning speed.”
For more of my reviews, visit sjkessel.blogspot.com.
9780375856419
Created by a husband and wife team, Loose Leashes shares poems of dogs who are anthropomorphized in various ways. Honey doesn’t want to go to a groomer. Lewis and Clark seek adventure. Grace goes ice-skating. Pip and Squeak fight over a bone (Okay, so the last one is still typical dog behavior).
From the first poem, “Loose Leashes,” several dogs are free to do as they please and most seek adventure of some sort. A few dogs deal with overcoming their fears. But most just have fun.
The poems are cute and funny and lend support to the images they stand beside. For me, it’s the photographs that are most engaging. Surreal and fun, many kids will want to stare at them for a while, especially dog lovers.
Some may even try to pet the end papers, which feature photos of a white dog’s coat.
Activities to Do with the Book:
After seeing the photos of Loose Leaches and reading or listening to the poetry, students may be inspired to write their own poems or stories based on the photographs (It might be easiest to give each students or small groups a photocopy of one of the images and have them write the poems beginning with describing what they see).
Another option would be to have students pick their own favorite animal and draw them in strange settings or with various objects.
A teacher could also ask students if they’ve read any other picturebooks that feature animals in weird places. (I think Chris Van Allsburg’s Jumanji would be a natural beginning).
Although Loose Leashes does not list the dog breeds featured in the illustrations, a teacher could use the book to trigger a research project on various breeds.
Favorite Quotes:
“I’m going far—
Just need to learn to drive this car.”
“Sharing is always a hard thing to do,
Especially when one bone is given to two.”
“There once was a dog that could read
With amazing page-turning speed.”
For more of my reviews, visit sjkessel.blogspot.com.
April 15, 2010
This husband and wife team worked as one in this imaginative and beautifully (although a bit silly) photographed poetry book. In fact, the pictures are so well done that I had to hold the book close to me while reading the poems aloud to my classes and THEN show the photos. Each time, my students erupted in laughter. What a great reminder that poetry can be playful. The various kinds of poetry make it a great teaching tool. I plan on revisiting this one next week when we cover limericks:
Monte and the Demise of His Eyes
There once was a dog that could read
With amazing page-turning speed.
Poeple thought it an act,
But it was a fact-
This dog was an uncommon breed.
One evening a strange thing occurred.
While reading, his sight became blurred.
He squinted his eyes
But was sadly surprised
To see lines blurred, word into word.
A vet claimed, "Your dog is all right,
Just weak eyes affecting his sight."
The dog got new glasses,
Began taking classes,
And now he is learning to write!
Monte and the Demise of His Eyes
There once was a dog that could read
With amazing page-turning speed.
Poeple thought it an act,
But it was a fact-
This dog was an uncommon breed.
One evening a strange thing occurred.
While reading, his sight became blurred.
He squinted his eyes
But was sadly surprised
To see lines blurred, word into word.
A vet claimed, "Your dog is all right,
Just weak eyes affecting his sight."
The dog got new glasses,
Began taking classes,
And now he is learning to write!
Read
April 10, 2012This poetry book was very funny because they are true things about dogs and the pictures were so cute,funny, and always helped you get good a good image of the point of the things dog do to that makes us laugh in the long run. The author had great devices for each one of her poems such as onomatopoeia, end-rhyme, repetition, rhythm, and imagery. A lot of these poems I had connections with like a poem called, Clean Dog, Smelly Dog, a Tail of Woe... because when I was 5 our outside water went out for about four weeks and my lab was going to have her monthly bath the week the power went out so she smelled so bad!! I would recommend this book to dog lovers and people who love to laugh because if I liked cats this book would drive me up the wall!
April 16, 2011
Ages 3 and up
Fun dog poems with great photographs. The kids of all ages in our school library have really enjoyed this book. Even if the poems are not all that memorable, they are fun and engaging, which make this book a great way to introduce poetry and various genres to the younger ages. Includes haiku, limericks and others.
Fun dog poems with great photographs. The kids of all ages in our school library have really enjoyed this book. Even if the poems are not all that memorable, they are fun and engaging, which make this book a great way to introduce poetry and various genres to the younger ages. Includes haiku, limericks and others.
April 25, 2011
The book of dog poems is about what does would do without leashes. Simple and fun poetry. They are all about different adventures for dogs, such as, surfing, ice skating, keeping cool, swimming, reading, and bathing. This book could be used for, If animals could do what humans do, what would they do? A good writing project to explore possibilities.
December 3, 2011
I can't account for my opinion on this one because the book is generally well done. I'm just not that enamored with the cuteness factor here. Some of my friends with more reading credibility than me (and an admittedly soft spot for dogs) love this book. I liked it, but that was about it.
February 3, 2009
Funny dog poems with great photos.
February 4, 2009
Love the photos!
October 2, 2010
a childrens book full of rhymes and pictures all about dogs!
January 18, 2011
Great for teaching point of view and playing with voice! And the pictures are adorable!
September 27, 2011
fantastic photos!!
Read
March 4, 2015A story consisting of poems about dogs who were let off their leashes and what they really do. Not what I was expecting. Unreal situations.
December 31, 2015
Awesome photos, cute poems, DOGS!! What else can I say?
November 15, 2012
Poems are just ok.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews