A small, adorable dog watches a brown-skinned girl and her mom get on a bike before the title page. “Stray dog” begins the narrative—two words on the left side of each spread, accompanied by the full-page visual storytelling on the right, here showing the small white-and-black pup chasing them. The girl waves to the dog. The dog loses sight of them in traffic (“Lost dog”). Scared, lonely, hungry, hopeful: The dog’s status shifts across scenes in which the young girl usually appears and the pup always appears (sometimes to break your heart), following them. In the park, the girl gives the dog a treat, but leaves her teddy bear behind when they leave. “Smart dog” realizes what’s happened, and retraces the route taken across the day to return it to her at home. “My dog?” the girl asks her parents (dad is Black, mom is white). “Good dog” she tells the pup as they get ready for bed that night in this sweetly tender offering with charming digital ink illustrations and wonderful word choice. Good story. (Ages 2–4)

This charming picture book, from the author-illustrator of The Rabbit Listened, follows an adorable stray puppy who exemplifies what it truly means to be a “good dog.”

“Good Dog stole my heart. A satisfying tale of a stray dog who finds his person.”—The New York Times Book Review

When a puppy in need of a friend follows a kind girl into town, he lands himself into all sorts of trouble. He gets lost. He’s nearly run over. And he gets chased out of a bakery for being a “bad dog.”

But when the pup and the girl reunite in the park and she leaves behind her favorite doll, the puppy has a chance to prove just what a good dog he really is!

This heartwarming story told with bold, beautiful illustrations and sparse text is a perfect read-aloud book and great for beginning readers.

Families who enjoyed Kelly DiPucchio’s bestselling Gaston, Patrick McDonnell’s lovable characters, and Mike Twohy’s award-winning Oops, Pounce, Quick, Run! will fall in love with Cori Doerrfeld’s Good Dog.