The other day I received my copy of Dog eat Doug: It’s a Good Thing They’re Cute. Dog eat Doug is a web comic that is making a foothold into newspapers all over the US. Brian Anderson writes and draws the comic every day. He posts them to his blog at Dog eat Doug Comic. The book is a collection of comics from the very first year of Dog eat Doug. I’ve been a fan for a long time and have caught every strip. It should be your daily read and this book is certainly a great start to getting to know the strip.
Read to Me Dad Ratings
Story – Good – The story is one that parents can certainly relate to. Very enjoyable.
Re-Read-ability – Excellent – The humor and heart of this book is evident on every page. You will laugh with every read.
Illustrations – Excellent – Anderson has a very clean style to his artwork and it is so consistent too. The book is full color which is a big plus.
Message – The lighter side of being a parent to a puppy and a baby boy.
Plot – A puppy adjusts to life with a new baby in the house. The two, Sophie and Doug, have many household adventures.
Characters – Sophie and Doug are adorable and they are occasionally joined by other characters from time to time. The comic strip does mainly focus on Sophie and Doug.
Does Eva Like It – Eva is a little young for it now but I did show her pictures.
Recommended Ages – Probably 8 and Up, very family friendly.
Last week Allison and I picked up a set of TaDoodles for Eva. It was a set of three crayon type ones that came with Red, Blue and Green. TaDoodles are shaped for the grasp of a toddler. They are chunky and look like weeble woobles with a crayon on their heads. There are silly faces, animals and many other choices. Some TaDoodles are markers, some paints, some stamps and some are even bathtub crayons and markers.
While Eva is not quite ready to use these she is fascinated by the color being marked on the paper. Allison was smart and kept rolls of fax paper when her old office switched to a printer type fax. Now we have a huge supply of paper that Eva can use to make her mark. It is great fun and the scribbling is important so Eva can express herself. You might not think that scribbles are important but I was reading about a book from a couple of child development doctors called Celebrate the Scribble. Here is a description of that book.
Dr. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek and Dr. Roberta Golinkoff, renowned authors and child development experts, offer a peek inside early childhood through the marvelous marks made by young children. There’s much to see and celebrate in children’s scribbles much more than meets the eye. What appear to be random, accidental marks are rich in meaning, both for the children creating them, and for the adults who proudly display their colorful scribbles on office walls and refrigerator doors. Created by toddlers from across the U.S. and Canada, including a few celebrity children, the drawings and paintings displayed in this book elevate scribbling to the magnificent and important form of art it truly is.
Tonight when I came home there was a piece of artwork waiting for me. Eva and I then sat down and played with the TaDoodles together. She is looking like a lefty. We shall see. Oh and here is Eva’s first piece of Art.
