Ben went to pat his dog one morning and she didn't move, she was dead. Ben slowly realized what death meant. He then got a new dog from his father.
Age: 3, 4, and 5
Source: Pierce College Library

I'm surprised that there is only one star as the average rating on this book. I thought this was a sad but accurate portrayal of a child coping with the loss of a family pet. The story was heart breaking but the illustrator did a wonderful job depicting the child's emotions of grief and loneliness. I did not like the ending however. With the progression of the story it seems like within the same day or next day the father has bought a new dog to replace the old one.To me the author should have left the ending out of this story. In my opinion, you don't go run out and buy another dog so quickly after one passes just so everyone isn't sad anymore. It is healthy to grieve and miss someone you have lost. ( )

I did not really like this story. No one ever explained to Ben that his dog had passed away. He mentions death and the definition of death but no one ever actually told him his dog wasn't coming back, instead he is left to figure it out on his own. On one of the pages it says "Ben looked at his dog, but she didn't look back. She just lay still. Ben didn't understand." It was confusing to read and sad that his parents left him to figure out what happened. The plot did not really flow.

Another reason I did not like this book is because of the weird ending. Instead of explaining it is okay to feel sad or someone telling Ben what happened to his dog they just replaced the old dog. For example throughout the story it is saying what the old dog is not there to see or experience and on the last page it says "or to welcome the new white-and-black puppy Ben's father was bringing home." It was an odd twist to the story.

Another reason I did not enjoy this book is because they never used the dog's name she was called "Old Dog," throughout the entire story.

The main idea to this story is that some times pets die and you can replace them. ( )

a young boy loses his dog to older age and he deal with death for the first time in his life.
location: ECE textbook
age group 4 to 6

This story talks about a little boy who's dog had passed away during the night and is going through the grieving process.
Source: Pierce College Library
Age 4-5