Louise Yates creates picture books that combine two of my favourite things – dogs and books. Louise introduced us to her book-loving Dog in Dog Loves Books, and then came Dog Loves Drawing. Dog is cute, lovable, totally addicted to books and one talented wee pooch. Dog shows how exciting and fun reading can be. Louise’s latest book is Dog Loves Counting and it’s an absolutely terrific book.
Dog can’t get to sleep. He loves books so much that he just can’t stop reading. Dog tries counting sheep, but it’s not working – perhaps there are some other creatures he can count? Soon Dog is off on an adventure, finding friends and numbers in unexpected places.
Dog Loves Counting is a cute, funny story in which Dog takes us on a journey inside a book to help him solve his problem. Louise had me from the first page,
‘Dog loved books. He loved reading them late into the night and didn’t like to leave them for long.’
You immediately relate to Dog and you want him to be your best friend. When he can’t sleep he reaches for a book and hopes that it might help. He discovers all sorts of creatures and makes some new friends within the covers of his book. Not only that, it also helps him with his problem of not being able to sleep. The text is simple, yet fun and I really like the way it flows over the page. Louise has created a sense of anticipation of what creature will be on the next page and what there will be to count.
I love Louise’s illustrations, from the loveable Dog and his stacks of books, to the multicoloured Dodo, the Three-Toed Sloth, and the Five-Lined Skink. Each of the pages made me laugh, but I especially like the picture of Dog in bed, surrounded by sheep with books in their mouths. The way that Louise has incorporated the numbers into the story is really clever too and it makes the story more interactive for children. Louise has also created some stunning endpapers too that add an extra surprise to the book and incorporate numbers, stars and the creatures from the story.
Louise’s Dog books aren’t just for kids, but also for book-lovers everywhere. In her character Louise has perfectly captured how much I love books and what makes them so special. Grab Dog Loves Counting and Louise’s other Dog books from your library or bookshop.
Have you ever felt like you don’t quite belong? Have you ever wanted to just stop doing the same old boring thing, day in, day out and go off in search of something better? If you answered yes to these questions then Melu by Kyle Mewburn, and illustrated by Ali Teo and John O’Reilly is the perfect book for you.
