It’s Christmastime and all the dogs are busy getting up to all kinds of mischief. Each day brings a new batch of doggy fun – two chewed up slippers, three French poodles, four pointers pointing and more. Using the repetitive pattern of well known song The Twelve days of Christmas, the book encourages kids to join in, whilst also providing lots of silliness both in the words and the doggy illustrations

On each spread the new set of dogs or mischief is illustrated around the text on the left side, whilst on the right the dogs from the previous spreads cavort over, under and around the Christmas tree. There are dogs of different sizes, shapes and colour, doing doggy things such as catching Frisbees or fetching balls, as well as more unlikely, humorous things such as playing cards, fencing or playing instruments.

The Twelve Dogs of Christmas is a lively offering which will appeal to children from toddlers and through primary school.

The Twelve Dogs of Christmas, by Kevin Whitlark
Scholastic Australia, 2009

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