About the Author

R.L. Margolin is an author and illustrator of children's books with a background in psychology and early childhood education. She grew up in Appalachia, but now lives with her husband and two children in New York City. She is committed to writing inclusive books that make all children feel seen. Her books are here to help children develop pride and a sense of accomplishment as they take those special first steps on the path to becoming avid readers.

Reviews

ErinP (online retail review)5.0 out of 5 stars Great fun book for my 5 year old true beginner! I read an electronic version of this book, together with my 5 year old. He is nearing the end of kindergarten, and he can sound out simple words, slowly, but he's nowhere near confident in independent reading. At home we have some Bob books (we have the sight words set and the beginning reader set; he can read them but they aren't colorful and the plots are strange) and some PJ Masks "step 1" Step into reading books (they seem hard for step 1 to me, and they are long enough that getting my kid to finish even one book involves a ton of encouragement, if not begging and pleading to keep going).
My 5 year old was able to read this book all by himself! I sat with him and prompted him with the correct word in cases where he just wasn't getting it (think: pronouncing take like tack), but otherwise he read every word on his own. He LOVED searching for the squirrel on each page (and so did my non-reader 3 year old), and he especially loved the pages when the squirrel was doing something cute or funny (like relaxing in a lounger under the water cooler!). He was totally engaged with the story, wondering, what are the names of the dog and the owner. He also especially loved the page with the picture of the (cartoon!) dog poop on the ground. Little kids LOVE poop humor and though it wasn't graphic or gross in any way (dog owners have to pick up the poop, it's a fact of life!), it was a highlight for my son.
This book is about a dog and its owner playing at a dog park; it's a familiar scene to us (we have a dog park on our block much like the one depicted in the book), and I've noticed that all of Margolin's beginning readers feature locations that could realistically be part of a beginning reader's life. I liked that, it made the content relatable to my son. When we finished the book, my 3 and 5 year old were still browsing pages to find the squirrel again, but soon my 5 year old called me back, asking, can we read another one?, and pointing to the one he would like to read next, in the picture of other books from the series. So I would say this book was a big win for us, and I'd happily recommend it to any beginning reader who is a true beginner.