A Very Unusual Dog
- Publisher
- Scholastic Canada Ltd
- Initial publish date
- Oct 2004
- Category
- General
- Recommended Age
- 4 to 8
- Recommended Grade
- p to 3
-
Hardback
- ISBN
- 9780439989770
- Publish Date
- Oct 2004
- List Price
- $19.99
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9780439937184
- Publish Date
- Apr 2007
- List Price
- $7.99
Classroom Resources
Where to buy it
Out of print
This edition is not currently available in bookstores. Check your local library or search for used copies at Abebooks.
Description
Jonathan has a very unusual dog. It likes to go to the park, watch TV, and eat toast crumbs. And it's invisible. When the entire family — including Dog, of course — visit Grandma one day, Jonathan spots a photo of a cat. The cat, says Grandma, was hers, but the cat died, and Grandma's apartment won't let allow pets. The next day, Dog is gone. Jonathan explains to his family that he left Dog at Grandma's to keep her company... and it's okay if she calls him Cat. Inspired by the author's real-life children, who had their own invisible dog when they were young.
About the authors
Dorothy Joan Harris was born in Kobe, Japan on February 14, 1931, and came to Canada in 1938. She graduated from the University of Toronto in modern languages, then taught in France and Japan. In 1955, she married Alan Harris, settled in Toronto, and was editor with Copp Clark Publishers. She began writing for her two children, Kim and Doug, and has gone on to write for other people's children.
Dorothy Joan Harris' profile page
Kim LaFave is a prolific picture book artist with many titles to his name, including Amos's Sweater, Ben Over Night, and Big Ben, which earned him the Mr. Christie's Book Award Silver Seal. He has also won the Governor General's Award, the Ruth Schwartz Children's Book Award, and the Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award. Kim lives on the west coast of Canada, in Robert's Creek, British Columbia.
Awards
- Short-listed, Chocolate Lily Book Award (BC Children's Choice)
- Short-listed, Shining Willow Award (Saskatchewan Young Readers' Choice)
- Commended, Canadian Children's Book Centre, Our Choice
- Short-listed, Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Award
- Short-listed, OLA Blue Spruce Award
- Short-listed, Governor General's Award for Children's Literature - Illustration