Pick Me!

by Greg Gormley

It is visitors' day at the animal shelter and Dog is determined to get a very special owner. Who will pick him? A dancer? An artist? A famous entertainer? Try as he might, Dog fails to impress with his messy painting, clumsy juggling, and disastrous dancing. No one will pick me now, thinks Dog. No one, that is, until a very ordinary, very special little girl comes along. Read along to this touching celebration of kindness and compassion, the values that are truly special. Parragon is the largest illustrated non-fiction publisher in the world and a global leader in innovative digital books for children in many languages. Welcome to the world of Parragon!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Storytime

32 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Greg Gormley is the author of several internationally successful picture books. His most recent, Dog in Boots, earned superb reviews and was selected for the USBBY outstanding international books list and the Oprah Winfrey Best Picture Books of 2012 list. He lives in Cambridge, UK with his family and a giant dog
called Sid.

Reviews

[Patricia Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! This book is impressive for it's story line and its illustrations. I wanted to read it because I'm always looking for animal rescue books to read to kids/give away at adoption events (dreampawsrescue.blogspot.com ). When this colorful, beautifully written book came I voted it the VERY best book for Kids of all ages. It doesn't just address adoption, rescue, being chosen/picked, but also to quote " a touching celebration of kindness and compassion, the values that are truly special". Also read Greg Gormleys blurb on the dust jacket " You must always try your very best, like Dog, but you must always be true to yourself."
I enjoyed this book on so many levels and would buy it whether or not I was involved with dogs OR kids.

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable for lovers of imperfect pets!!!!

[Sarah Perry · Rating 4 out of 5]

While dog prepares for visitor's day at the animal shelter, he day dreams of the perfect special owner. He puts on the best performance he can, trying to impress the perfect looking potential owners, artists and dancers. When everyone passes by him, he loses hope of finding his forever home....until a special little girl comes along showing Dog what truly matters.

This is a wonderful book to read with my daughter Being four years old, I've been trying to teach kindness as often as possible. I love books that focus on helping kids learn important values. This one does that, teaching not only kindness, but compassion.

My daughter loves Pick Me. Her eyes are drawn to the illustrations and even without being able to read the words on her own, she can still tell me the story based on the pictures alone.

I think this is a perfect book for a variety of ages, especially for children who love dogs.

[Megan Eckley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary
It is visitor’s day at the animal shelter and all Dog wants is a special owner to pick him. When he tries hard to impress them though, he fails miserably and everyone passes him by. Will Dog ever find his special owner?

Activity
Have a class discussion about justifying Dog’s actions (Bloom’s Level 5). Why would he try to impress people so hard? Should he have just been himself? Ask the class if they have ever tried to be somebody that they aren’t and then explain to them that being who you really are is always good enough!

APA Citation
Gormley, G., & Angaramo, R. (2013). Pick Me! (1st ed., p. 32). New York, New York: Parragon.

[Debbie Wunderlich · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Pick Me", by Greg Gormley, is about a dog who desperately wants to be adopted by someone special. He encounters many potential owners and tries to please them by mimicking each person's special talent. Every single time he messes up and the potential owner walks off in a huff. The dog feels discouraged until he encounters an ordinary little girl. She helps him realize that people should appreciate you for who you are, not what you can do for them.

A cool activity for this book could be to have students write a story from the dogs point of view. They could write about the kind of owner they would want to have if they were a dog.

Gormley, G. (2013). Pick me. Parragon.

[Giki · Rating 5 out of 5]

a beautifully told simple tale of a little dog who tries too hard to impress glamorous and exciting prospective owners - but ends up with the perfect new home instead. It is nicely illustrated, the engaging pictures really bring the story to life and guide young readers through the story. It has a simple message, about friendship, acceptance and being yourself, and is a firm bedtime favorite with my kids. My daughter has just started primary school and is not finding it easy to make new friends - reading this book is a great starting off point for a reassuring chat.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book from Goodreads First Reads. First of all the cover of this book is just lovely! Both of my children were delighted at the sight of the cover. The illustrations throughout the book are just adorable and humorous. We all enjoyed reading this book and it has become a part of our nightly bedtime favorites. We all loved it because we adopted our beloved dog from a shelter and can relate to all the dogs wanting so badly to be picked. Such a sweet story.

[Abi Reynolds · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable book about wanting to be chosen by someone, thinking that the better person are the well known but actually finding out that it doesn't matter what you can do - someone will want you regardless.

[Katharine Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pick Me! Became my 8 year old twins favorite book overnight! Simple, straight forward way of touching the heart and finding what's important.

[Designing.melissagmail.com · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daughter loves dogs. this book was a cute story about how a dog tries to impress people so they will adopt him and who he picks in the end.

[Callie · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute