View source for A Day With Dogs by Dorothee de Monfreid

{{infobox2
|title=A Day With Dogs
|sort=Day With Dogs
|author=Dorothee de Monfreid
|reviewer=Sue Magee
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=A Richard Scarry-esque look at what dogs (or really people) do all day. A fun way of starting conversations with kids.
|rating=4
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=40
|publisher=Gacko Press
|date=October 2016
|isbn=978-1776570980
|website=http://www.geckopress.co.nz/Dorothee-de-Monfreid_617.aspx
|video=
|aznuk=1776570987
|aznus=1776570987
|cover=1776570987 
}}

I couldn't resist a book entitled ''A Day With Dogs'', not least because it's my idea of heaven, and I was intrigued by the subtitle ''What Do Dogs Do All Day?''  Well, when you open the book you'll get an answer to that question, although it certainly won't be the one that you're expecting: these dogs are in cars, on skis, in the kitchen, at the doctor and in lots more places.  There's a hint to the style of the book in the dedication: ''for [[:Category:Richard Scarry|Richard Scarry]]''.

You wouldn't read a Scarry book with a child for the story: you read it for the wonderful way that it opens up conversations and leads to discussions about all sorts of things which you never expected.  It's exactly the same with ''A Day With Dogs''.  We're going to be following nine dogs: they all have names, and you can work out which breeds they are if you look at the first double-page spread.  Kipp's a dachshund and Popov's a St Bernard, but breeds are only important to purists like me.  It's what they ''do'' that matter in this book. And we start with them being at home.

We have an open-fronted view of a house, rather like a doll's house and most things in the house a labeled: ''table'', ''fireplace'' and even ''drafting table'' in the ''office''.  Omar the border collie has a ''watering can''.  It's a lovely way of discussing what might be done in various places or with certain objects.  I spent quite a long time just ''looking'', following staircases, even checking that the television is unplugged.

There's mayhem in the bathroom: I've bathed two dogs together.  Nine creates a lot of mess (although, in fairness, Zaza the shih tzu is sitting on the loo) particularly when you have the shower running over the bath.  In total there are thirty double-page spreads covering all sorts of subjects  from the Alphabet (dogs' names, dontcha know), through the supermarket, to the mountain and dinnertime.

I could quibble and say that this ''isn't'' what dogs do all day (someone once commented that one of my dogs didn't do very much and was rather offended when I replied that it was a pity we didn't have a piano),  but that would miss the point of the book.  It's a great way of getting kids talking and gently allowing them to learn some unusual words, such as ''snorkel'', ''magenta'' and ''kung fu''.  I'd like to thank the publisher for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

We also loved [[What Do People Do All Day? by Richard Scarry]].

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