We’re very fortunate that the United Way of Reno County sends us early reader books every month. When Hectic Grandson was first born, we signed up for their mailing list not knowing that they would send us books. As I look at our growing bookshelf of toddler board books, I have those folks to thank for almost half of the books.

Our latest addition is Dog Wants to Play by Christine McDonnell. It’s a cute little book about a little dog that wants to play now. He romps through the farm searching for a playmate, but everyone he encounters has a reason not to play:

• The kitten fears she’ll be bitten
• The lamb says “See how shy I am”
• The hare is too easy to scare
• The chick is too small to pick

But when the little dog encounters they child…they play ALL DAY!

As the little dog scampers through the farm he desperately searching for a playmate you get to see what a farm looks like. Since our neighbors have most of the animals that are shown in the book, Hectic Grandson seems to feel right at home. Furthermore, his most common word is “ball”, so we get to hear that on every page when he sees the big blue ball with the white star.

Like most board books aimed at toddlers, the illustrations are engaging. The visual style appeals to Hectic Grandson, and my theatrical reading contains enough emotion that I ought to be nominated for an Oscar! He seems to get a kick out of my delivery…so I keep performing for my audience of one.

It looks to me like he’s getting smarty for all my theatrics!

Dog Wants to Play is a cute little book that has found a definite place in our rotation!