No. 01Go, Dog. Go!
P.D. Eastman · 1961
Reading level: Early reader / picture book
Classic
The great cheerful chaos of first reading: dogs in cars, dogs at parties, dogs forever asking about hats. Sixty years on, still one of the books a child learns to read on.
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No. 02Harry the Dirty Dog
Gene Zion · 1956
Reading level: Picture book
Classic
A white dog with black spots runs from his bath and comes home a black dog with white spots, unrecognised by his own family. A small, perfect comedy of mischief and belonging.
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No. 03Good Dog, Carl
Alexandra Day · 1985
Reading level: Picture book (nearly wordless)
Classic
Left to mind the baby for an afternoon, a devoted Rottweiler proves spectacularly equal to the task. Almost wordless, endlessly re-readable, and quietly one of the great dog books for the very young.
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No. 04Clifford the Big Red Dog
Norman Bridwell · 1963
Reading level: Picture book
Classic
The enormous red dog who has taught generations that love is mostly a question of scale. Warm, gentle, and reassuringly oversized.
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No. 05McDuff Moves In
Rosemary Wells · 1997
Reading level: Picture book
Modern classic
A small white terrier, lost and hungry, goes looking for a home and finds one. Wells and Jeffers make something close to perfect out of a simple story.
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No. 06Bark, George
Jules Feiffer · 1999
Reading level: Picture book
Modern classic
George can moo, quack, and oink — everything except bark — until a trip to the vet reveals why. A deadpan, surprising joke that small children ask for again and again.
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No. 07A Ball for Daisy
Chris Raschka · 2011
Reading level: Picture book (wordless)
Recent · Caldecott Medal
A wordless picture book about a dog, a beloved ball, and the small heartbreak of losing it. Proof that a story needs no words when the feeling is this clear.
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More dog books
Continue with middle-grade dog books, browse my list of the best dog books, or choose something lighter from these funny dog books.