First Dog's White House Christmas - Hardcover

J. Patrick Lewis; Beth Zappitello

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1585365033 ISBN 13: 9781585365036

Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press, 2010

Synopsis

A delighful romp through the many Christmas traditions from around the world

Once upon a time a dog traveled the globe in search of the perfect home. He visited many countries, learned interesting facts, and made new friends. And he did find that perfect home ...at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, to be precise. A very special address with a very special family. And now at Christmastime, Dog learns that his new home hosts a very special holiday party. With a lot of important visitors on the guest list, it's going to take a lot of preparation to get this "house" ready for the holidays. It's all paws on deck to make sure everything is in order, from the sparkling tree in the Blue Room to the delicious gingerbread house in the State Dining Room.

But Dog is curious about how the rest of the world celebrates and he asks his international guests to share their favorite holiday traditions. And when the festivities start there's no stopping these tail-wagging partygoers!

About this title

About the Authors

J. Patrick Lewis is the author of 60 books for children, 50 of them in poetry. He is also the coauthor of three terrific children and four delightful grandchildren. He writes full-time, makes 30 elementary school visits a year, and keynotes at literature conferences. First Dog is his first book with his daughter Beth. Pat, or Grandpat, as his grandkids call him, is married and lives in Westerville, Ohio. 

After growing up in Ohio and exploring the world, Beth Zappitello now calls Portland, Oregon home. She lives there with her two boys, Ajax and Hopper, her husband, Zap, and their wise and worldly English Bulldog, Cuba. Her professional career has been spent mostly in retail and marketing, and now she has her own company. While Beth enjoys some of her free time reading children's books with her boys, First Dog is the first one she has cowritten.

Even at a young age, Tim Bowers's artwork reflected a strong sense of humor and an interest in animals. Prior to illustrating children's books, Tim worked as an artist for Hallmark Cards, where he helped launch the popular Shoebox Greetings card line. His first children's book, The Toy Circus, was published in 1986. He now has illustrated more than 25 children's books and garnered various awards including the Chicago Public Library's "Best of the Best" list and several Junior Library Guild selections. Tim's artwork has been included in the Society of Illustrators Annual Art Exhibition and the S.I. Humor Exhibition, as well as featured in children's magazines, used on a wide variety of products, and appeared on hundreds of greeting cards. Original paintings from several books are in private and institutional collections across the country. Tim lives with his family in Granville, Ohio, and travels to schools and libraries to share his work with students.

Reviews

PreS-Gr 1–Having altered the official invitation to the Christmas Gala in order to ensure that his counterparts from all over the world will attend, the canine star of First Dog (Sleeping Bear, 2009) greets his guests. He shows them the White House, and learns about Christmas traditions and legends from Australia to Turkey to Mexico. The effect is didactic, as one pup after another reels off a little speech, but the tone is upbeat and the illustrations are charming, if a tad stiff. The best scenes involve the pooch's daily life romping about the White House. “Dog,” a Portuguese water dog, is clearly meant to be Bo, and readers occasionally see the legs of the First Family and an arm that they can surmise to be the First Lady's shooing him away from her vegetable garden.Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library
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Edition details

• Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1585365033
• ISBN 13: 9781585365036
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Tim Bowers
• Number of pages: 32