Dogger

This week I looked at a picture book called ‘Dogger’,written and illustrated by Shirley Hughes. The story focusses on a young boynamed Dave whose favourite toy (and constant companion) is a small, soft, brown dog- which he calls ‘Dogger’. When Dave loses Dogger one day, he is devastated-and the whole family soon becomes involved in searching for the lost toy. Atlast, Dogger is spotted at the school fete; however he is marked for sale on atable full of toys. Dave’s sister Bella comes to the rescue; retrieving herbrother’s toy, with a generous act of sibling love.

 Hughes describes theevents in the story with a charming, everyday simplicity –complemented by herlife-like illustrations which seem to capture the essence of childhood.  I believe it is this simplicity which has madethe book so popular and enduring. Hughes does not describe anything particularlyout of the ordinary, meaning that almost any small child can easily relate to thestory. While the narrative’s climax (losing a stuffed toy) may seem like aminor event to adults, it is something which children (and probably theirparents!) will easily empathise with. ‘Dogger’ has great relevance to thelife-world of a child and is therefore an excellent book to use whenintroducing children to the world of reading, as it will allow them to reallyengage with the text and images.

The story is suitable for any age, though its content isparticularly geared towards young children. I believe this book could be ofgreat use in junior primary classrooms, however I strongly feel that its valueextends beyond the classroom. I personally believe that ‘Dogger’ may be bestsuited to family reading at home, particularly with children who arepre-school-aged. The book’s storyline is one which every family member will beable to relate to, thus it lends itself perfectly to a shared family reading experience.I believe these experiences these are of immense value and are an importantstep on the way to independent reading.