Sleepy Dog

by Harriet Ziefert, Norman Gorbaty (Illustrator)

It is time for Sleepy Dog to go to bed.
He gets a good-night kiss from Mom.
Sweet dreams, Sleepy Dog!

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Fiction, Animals, Dogs, Kids, 1st Grade

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Harriet Ziefert grew up in North Bergen, New Jersey, where she attended the local schools. She graduated from Smith College, then received a Masters degree in Education from New York University.

For many years, Ziefert was an elementary school teacher. She taught most grades from kindergarten to fifth grade. "I liked it," she said, but she stopped teaching when she had her own sons. When her children were older, Ziefert wanted "a bigger arena" for her work. She went to work at a publishing company, Scholastic in New York City, developing materials for teacher's guides for kindergarten language arts and social studies programs.

"About twelve years ago," says Ziefert in a 1995 interview, "I tried to get a job as an editor, but no one would hire me as a trade editor. So I decided to write my own books." Since then, she has written several hundred books, mostly picture books and easy-to-read books. "I write books very quickly," she says, "in about twelve hours. I rewrite them three times over three days, and then they're done." She writes about twenty books a year.

Reviews

[Tiffany · Rating 1 out of 5]

While adding my favorite childhood books I thought it would be fun to add a despised childhood book as well. Haha. I don't know if it was because this one my mom actually forced on me as part of learning to read, or if I would have found it creepy and annoying anyways, but I HATED this book.

I am so glad my mother read enjoyable books to me before learning to read, and that she continued to do so while and after I learned to read. Otherwise, because of this book, I may have not known any better but to hate books for the rest of my life. Sad that would have been indeed!!

[Edwina Book Anaconda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this to my two-year-old Granddaughter on Saturday and she loved it so much that I sent it home with her.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a very relaxing nighttime story for children…especially when it is constantly reminding them of the alarm clock!

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Review: The cover of this book reminded me of the show Kipper that Munchkin really enjoys on occasion, but the story is nothing like it. It is a very basic Level 1 book, it has great repetition and simple words for the young readers. It also does have a story line that will goes through a bedtime routine, including a nightmare and going back to sleep, which is great for us, and on into waking up again; all is set up with chapters, which does a good job of introducing young readers to the concept of chapters. The thing it lacks is a solid character, the dog is present throughout but is only referred to as dog with no name, so it lacks a bit of a personal connection and a character young readers can get excited about, there isn't much to draw them back to reading this one again.

[寿理 宮本 · Rating 4 out of 5]

An adorable story about a puppy getting ready for bed along with his kitten! It goes from bedtime through dreams (and a small nightmare) to waking up thirsty to finally waking up to face a bright morning.

The main thing I don't like is the layout of Mother Dog "kissing" (licking) Sleepy Dog on the nose is awkward, since Mother's face is directly in the fold of the spread. It looks terrible and could have been adjusted somewhat rather than put the focus directly in the middle where it would get obscured.

Otherwise, an absolutely lovely and wholesome book for younger readers who love dogs (and cats)!

[Z'Nia Morris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this is a really good beginners book. The illustrations are bright and full of color and the words are easy to understand and easy to follow alone with in the story. This is a book I would allow my students to read in their own because I know that they would be smart & would be able to give me a recap of the book.

[Daniela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and simple with big letters and nice images.

[Sherry Scheline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for early readers.

[Marshall Lockley · Rating 5 out of 5]

YASSSS SO GOOD

[Maggie Brock · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my favorite childhood book to read! SO much cuteness and who doesn't love dogs? I would be told to check to a different book, but always sneak away with this one instead!

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This beginner book is in three short chapters, nicely illustrated.
1. Sleepy Dog
2. Dreaming
3. The Clock

[Lucas · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Five stars! I don’t like to go to bed but this doggy was cute.” - Luke

[Bliss Allen]

This books is a transitional book. It explains the routine of a dog, that does have a name, by having the dog's mom tuck it in. the books helps a learning student by having the same few words read over. The chapters are in with routines. For example, chapter one is going to bed, chapter two is how it sleeps, and three and how it wakes up with the alarm clock and so on. it is a happy book to read for a transitional reader. It is big text and simple sentences with rhyming words. there are also pictures that are clues to what a word might be saying.

This book is fine to read or let a child begin to read as a transitional book. It repeats words and uses pictures to help decode words. I would use this for a beginning reader learning to read.

[Alli Serrano]

This book is about a dogs nighttime routine. The dog does not have a name, nor is he a strong character. However for it being a beginning readers book, it isn't too necessary. The theme of the book still gets across. He has a pet cat and his mother that is also a dog. This book is more informational in a exciting way to catch a young child's attention.
It has edge to edge photos that enhance the text greatly. There is not a substantial amount of rhyming. The way it is written focuses on building sentence structure which is great for kids this age. One thing I found slightly unusual about the story was that the dog had a dream about someone chasing him, he woke up and everything was okay but it didn't have closure for this scene that might have been necessary for this age group. I know as a kid I had nightmares and a book that showed the clarification of them just being dreams might have benefited me along with other kids. Overall, it is a cute story that includes some repetition which makes it easier for kids to grasp the story.

[Erica · Rating 1 out of 5]

1. This book is about what happens to Dog from getting ready for bed to waking up in the morning. Chapter one is Sleepy Dog. Chapter two is Dreaming. Chapter three is Clock.
2. There are many books that are like this book, both illustration style and in the way that it's about what happens at bedtime, and when asleep. The chapter this week relates because it talks about different types of picture books and different styles of illustration.
3. This would be good for kids who can read on their own. It's in chapters but is at the beginner level still, so it gives length to the ease. I think the illustrations would be appealing to children.

[Noam · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the worst going-to-sleep book ever. a) One of dog's dreams is scary, which doesn't help a kid go to sleep. b) It ends with time-to-get-up, which doesn't help a kid go to sleep. However, since it's a going-to-sleep book, it doesn't have a plot, and thus would never be read at any time other than when a kid is going to sleep. Seriously, people need to read what they've written before sending it off to a publisher.

[Alexander The Triumphant · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a dog that is trying to sleep, and then he fell asleep. And then he was awake, and he went to drink water. And he went back to sleep and that was Chapter 2: the Clock. "Tic tic tic." The clock says, "Tic." The clock shouts, "Ring, ring, ring. Wake up. Good morning, Cat. Time to play. Good morning, little dog." I liked this book because there's dogs and a cat. -by Alexander

[Jennifer Heise · Rating 2 out of 5]

Neither I nor my six year old were very impressed with this. The wording is awkward and the story didn't engage compared to other similar goodnight books. I had hoped he would read it himself, but as it happened I read it to him, and he just isn't interested enough to listen to it, let alone read it out loud!
The puppy in the illustrations is cute though.

[Xuewei Wu · Rating 3 out of 5]

A dog and his pet cat share good-night kisses and playful dreams until morning wakes them, in this bedtime story for youngest beginning readers. The words in the story are simple as well as the images and it is easy to identify. The Illustrated in full color and draw as children’s animation. Author use cured and straight line and the texture are smooth.

[Coleen Yahner · Rating 5 out of 5]

My husband and I can probably retell this story without opening the book. It is so simple, but one that we read to our daughters every night -- they can even recite some of it from memory. Love Sleepy Dog.

[Jose Villegas · Rating 5 out of 5]

BEGINNERS BOOK!Sleepy Dog by Harriet Ziefert was a very great beginner's book for many reasons. This book is about a cute dog with his adorable pet cat. They both sleep together and have many dreams together, I felt like this was an excellent beginners book for a child.

[Rosa Cline · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a level 1 reader... it has one sentence per page explaining what the dog is doing. most of the sentences start with "I am".. would be an easy book for a learning reader to learn to read for themselves.

[Nik · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favorite part was when he dreamed someone was chasing him.

[Cws]

JEAR1-Zie

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute story of a beagle pup who's going to bed and then...waking up!

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book about a puppy who really needs to get to sleep. The illustrations are adorable and the text is short and simple, perfect for beginning readers.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

My grandson, age 7 loves this book. It has been one of his favorites since he was around 5. A quick book to read at night-time.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading level 1.2

Weird book, but at this age, there are a lot of those.

[Molly Darr]

This short children's book is a very easy read. It would be a great book for children who are starting to read. Sleepy Dog reminded me a lot of the Spot books.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

early reader good for preschool, kindergarten, and ela students