Posts
The Good Dog
by Todd Kessler is an amazing book, written by Todd Kessler who is a co-creator of the popular show Blue Clues!Ricky Lee was riding his bike down a hill when he spotted a box spilled over on the side of the road. He peeks inside and realizes to his amazement that there is a puppy inside. He brings the puppy home and claims him as his own, naming him Tako.
Ricky’s parents only had one condition if he keep Tako- that he must be a good dog. Tako was very thankful that he now had a forever home and tried his best to be a “good dog”. He loved the family for letting him have a chance, so tried to be on his best behavior. It’s hard to manage when you have other factors pulling you to be curious, but he continued to be a good dog.
The Lee Family owned a small bakery in the middle of town. They had competition though- Mr. Prichard. Mr. Prichard is a mean, nasty, greedy man who sells stale goods to make more money without being good to the customers. He gets mad when the Lee Family starts taking all his clients, because they were interested in their delicious home-baked goods.
Mr. Prichard starts being very rude- he breaks in the Lee’s bakery at night planting all kinds of nasty things. Bugs, rats, you name it- he plants it. Tako heard noises in the bakery and goes to check it out. He then has to make a very hard decision. Should he run Mr. Prichard off and then his family think Tako was being the trouble maker? He couldn’t just watch Mr. Prichard plant all those nasty things in the bakery, so he did what a real “good dog” would do and broke bad on Prichard.
We were rooting for Tako throughout the entire book. My kids knew that Tako was doing the right thing in the end, even if it meant standing up only for those he truly loved. We really enjoyed reading this book. The story is thoughtful, delightful to read, and delivers an amazing message. The illustrations are also top notch quality, we loved all the detail within the pictures!
About Todd Kessler:
Todd Kessler is the co-creator and show runner of the highly successful children’s television series “Blue’s Clues”. A signature of Todd’s work is that it has always been developed with the input of actual children (and sometimes dogs and cats too). His artistic and innovative creations have garnered him the prestigious Peabody Award, seven Emmy nominations, two Television Critics Association awards, five Parent’s Choice awards, first place in the children’s division of the Toronto International Film Festival, and a New York Film Festival Cine Golden Eagle. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife.
To learn more about Tako and his creator Todd, visit the website
and follow twitter, facebook, & pinterest
Jessica
