Pistes d'exploration

With a partner, tell the story from the dog’s point of view. Take turns telling what happens.

Write a similar story for another pet.

Make a list of the activities that use a ball. Think beyond sports activities (e.g. wrecking ball, rollers on the bottom of chairs, ball point pen, etc.)

Point out the characters and identify the objects in the book.

Put events from the story in the correct order (using pictures).

Choose a page from the story and write a speech bubble to express what the dog is thinking.

Run, Dog!

Mots-clés

Picture book , Play , dogs , feelings , loneliness , wordless book

Commentaire descriptif

This is a wonderful story told through comical, expressive pictures and only one word. A dog’s day starts in bed, wrapped around his little girl, a ball resting in his mouth. A game of fetch with the favoured toy ensues, while the little girl gets ready for school. The story uses its single word to great emotional range: “Ball? ball? ball? BALL!!” The subtle colouring in these cartoon-like illustrations is the perfect foil for the bright red ball. Humorous depictions of shakes, twitches and tail-wags beautifully express the earnest good-nature of the dog. When bereft of the little girl for the duration of the school day, the dog approaches other family members with an offer to play. The yoga-practising mom ignores him, the baby cries and the cat arches furiously. After a solo (and emotional) game of hide-and-seek with the ball, the dog falls asleep, dreaming of wonderful adventures—involving the ball. Early readers will revel in this sweet tale, whether as a read-aloud book, or when reading alone. The repetition of the single word throughout the story is not only an artistic coup, it’s also a gentle hint to young readers of reading pleasures yet to come.