Book of the Week: "Once I Ate a Pie" by Patricia MacLachlan & Emily MacLachlan Charest, Illustrated by Katy Schneider

If you've ever been to Bubbles Academy, you've seen "Charlee," our friendly stuffed dog. If you look really carefully, you can also find Charlee painted into all of our classrooms. Bubbles Academy loves dogs! And so do our students... so much that Charlee can often be seen, dragging behind an adoring toddler or two.

So what better book for this week than Patricia MacLachlan and Emily MacLachlan Charest's adorable book of canine confessions called Once I Ate a Pie. This book, lovingly illustrated by Katy Schneider, is a MUST READ for all dog lovers.

Each page is a new puppy poem, covering the gamut of doggy personalities: the puppy, the cuddler, the herder, the yipper, the destroyer, the inseparable duo, and the loyal companion. Perhaps my favorite, from which the book gets it's title, is the over eater. It's a heart-melting, portly pug named Mr. Beefy. In his poem, he confesses that "I am not thin, but I am beautiful. When no one is looking, I steal tubs of butter off the table..." and finally, "Once I ate a PIE."

With the holidays coming up, I kind of know how Mr. Beefy feels. I love this book! With a new canine character on every page, it is a perfect read-aloud book. With big and little dogs, it is the perfect opportunity to get your little one barking.

As a side note, if Patricia MacLachlan's name rings a bell, it may be because she's the author of Sarah Plain and Tall, a Newbery Award winning book for young readers.

You can hear all about these goofy pups when we read Once I Ate a Pie at Bubbles Academy during Open Play, this Thursday at 4 p.m.

Woof Woof!