Once I Ate a Pie

Ever wondered what your dog was thinking? Snap your fingers and appreciate the lyricism in fourteen poems that reveal the inner thoughts of a wide array of loveable dogs. Once I Ate a Pie explores the viewpoints of various dogs in the form of free verse poems, accompanied with adorable and realistic oil paint illustrations that capture the essence of each dog. The little ones will love the cute pictures and creative usage of font, but will probably not appreciate the poetry until they are older.I always feel pretty stupid reading poetry out loud unless it's silly rhymes like Dr. Seuss, but the creative usage of words, fonts, shapes, and spaces encourages some interpretive readings like imitating a dog as you "BARK! BARK! BARK!"I'll be honest and tell you that the only reason why I bought this book was because of the cover, but I was pleasantly surprised with what I found inside. Dog lovers will especially love this book but beware, your little ones' dog cravings may intensify after reading this book.

This is one of the most charming children's books, and the cadence of each chapter makes it easy for little ones to read with the appropriate inflections. I hope to be able to find more of these in hard cover - I hope the publisher continues to print.

Along with Carl & Biscuit the dogs in this book are just too special to ignore. I currently work in the children's Dept. of a bookstore chain(& love dogs). When this title came in I had to look read it and make my co-workers look at it too. I have also noticed that it gets moved around quite a bit so people must be interested enough by the cover & subject to pick it up and look through it. When it comes out in 'paperback' it will fly off the shelves. It is just beautiful and so accurate for pups personalities. Love the 'poetry' rather than story line. I have told my people friends about what a cool book it is. It should be sold in pet stores & grooming shops and recommended by Veternarians etc. I'd like to see it sold in the 'pets' section of the store as well. A big THANK YOU to Patricia MacLachlan for this heartwarming collection.

This is a darling book with belly-laugh-worthy characters and gorgeous art. Reading as an adult, I see and appreciate the arc from puppy to senior. The kids see the story of each two-page spread. This is one of the books to own instead of borrow from the library- and it's one that I am happy to read over and over.

My 4-year old nephew was terrified of dogs, so for his birthday I sent him this book that my kids just loved. It has some nice poetry about several dogs' stories and some lovely pictures of dogs doing cute things. The text is not so saccharine that a parent can't read it. He called me several days after his birthday to thank me for the "dog that steals butter and eats pie." He thinks he's ready to meet some small dogs now. One day I hope he'll be ready to meet my very large dog.

What a lovely book! The pictures are so life like and each page is a delight. The poems are so touching. I have bought multiple copies for friends and family. Must have for dog lovers!

Love this book I'm a dog lover!

The illustrations are both heartwarming and beautiful and capture the essence of each dog poem. Dog owners are sure to connect personality traits of their own pet to almost all of the poems. Each one, written in first person or, rather first dog. offers at least one craft element to support teaching young writers. Craft elements include font size, questioning, dialogue, use of space, voice of the poet, patterns in poetry and even a poem for two voices. I love it! The ONLY thing missing is a reference to the dog breeds illustrated.

Classic book with great illustrations and lovely poems, from the funny to the poignant. Grandchildren and children loved it and so did I.