Inspiration From The Distant Past

Inspiration From The Distant Past
Found note in an old book... warms the cockles of my bookish heart...

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Dog In, Cat Out

This is one of my favourite books. It's only got four words in the text, but I just love the story.

Dog In Cat Out by Gillian Rubinstein is an Aussie book without being overtly kookaburra- and kangaroo-infested. It recounts the day of a family, from the first member up to the last one to bed. The family depicted here remind me so much of friends of ours who live nearby. The house is gently old and rambling. Mum stays at home with Bub and pegs out the washing. Kids wear their uniforms and bike to school. Dad does the dishes. And in amongst all this the family's dog and cat go in and out, out and in.

Because the text consists entirely of these four words this is the first book read by countless Aussie children, my girls included. Also, on every page there is a cuckoo clock with the two pets in the appropriate position and the time shown. It's a great clue to the proto-reader to see the animals in or out of the clock, and to have the text against a white background in the same position on each page. And they can start learning to tell analogue time, too.

But this is not just an educational book. This is a gentle family and animal book that has lots to talk about. Children can talk about what happens in the illustrations and laugh at the things that go wrong. They can compare the daily routine in their own house to the one in the book.


8 comments:

  1. This sounds like a beautiful book. I love how you described it to be an "Aussie book without being overtly kookabura- and kangaroo- infested" Hahhaa. A lot of my favorite children's book authors are based in Australia: Graeme Base, Shaun Tan, and I believe Colin Thompson is also based in Australia now. So my introduction to Aussie children's book is hardly how you described it to be. But I'd be glad to note your recommendations. =)

    Was in Sydney and Brisbane last year. Lovelovelove Australia. =)

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  2. Sounds like a good one! I'll have to see if I can find it here!

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  3. Thanks for being a follower, Lesa. I like your review of 'Dog in Cat Out.' It reminds that I must elaborate my picture book reviews too. I only managed to write no more than a few sentences. It has to be more than what the story is about.
    I'm following you back.

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  4. Hi Kero! Thanks for visiting and following!

    DeLynne actually wrote this review.

    There are 5 collaborators on this blog and 3 of us are participating in the PBC. Confusing for new visitors no doubt.

    I am the lazy moderator of the blog-- I really need to get some 'about' and 'collaborators' pages up so new bloggy friends realize we are 5 and not just one nutty blogger with multiple personality disorder! hahaha

    :o)

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  5. DeLynne, what a cute book! I'm going to look for it too. Talon would love this-- anything with cats/dogs, he likes.

    Great ideas for enriching the reading/learning experience. Early Picture books have few words so expanding the narrative increases imagination and is terrific for language development. I need this book for school!!

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  6. Thanks, Ladies for the feedback. I am glad this book resonated with others, since it's been a long-time fave!

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  7. I'm always on the lookout for great chldren's books. Thank you! I will look for it here.

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  8. This sounds like a great picture book. I'll definitely need to look for it for my son.

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