Bark, George

Feiffer, J.  (1999).  Bark george.  New York, NY:  Scholastic.

This book centers around a pup named George.  His mother is trying to teach him to bark - a very necessary criteria for a dog.  However, poor George can only make other animals sounds.  So the mother takes him to the vet to discover what the  problem is.  Does George finally figure out how to bark? 

As a picture storybook, the composition of the visual elements stresses the importance of this ability.  The characters are centered in the middle of each page, and the pages create a doublespread.  The book is illustrated in an cartoon style - exaggerated rounded figures and very little to no background on the pages.  For example, on page 6 George's mother is illustrated with an exasperated look on her face.  Her facial features are exaggerated to illustrate her feelings with George.

Children can relate to this book because they have encountered situations in which they had to learn to do something new.  For example, children have to correctly learn how to say new words as well.  This was a favorite book of my son.  It makes an excellent read-aloud as well.

Big Question:  When did you have to learn how to do something new and had trouble learning it?