DOGS

This up-close introduction to dogs uses vivid photos as illustrations.

Every other double-page spread reveals a different canine aspect, including their size, fur, senses of smell and more. The simple text, written in panels above the photos, shares just enough information for very young readers. Direct questions encourage grown-ups to engage little ones: “Which dog is bigger?” Facts about dogs (“Guess what? Your dog can tell whether you’ve been playing with another dog just by smelling you!”) appear on alternating spreads along with photos of various breeds in outdoor settings. One small quibble: A spread that reads “Dogs can hear sounds that humans cannot” shows a young Caucasian boy blowing what looks to be a garden-variety sports whistle and not a dog whistle. Things That Go, publishing simultaneously in the Look & Learn series, uses a similar format to catalog cars, trucks, airplanes, trains and boats. Individual parts of each vehicle are labeled with arrows and captions. In both titles, the final spread encourages readers to review the vehicles presented or to point out different aspects of dogs mentioned on subsequent pages.

Young dog lovers (and vehicle aficionados in the companion title) will enjoy perusing these images again and again.