Pawfect Children’s Books for Dog Lovers Plus 2 Great New Releases

This is such a funny picture book about ants. A child is ready for a picnic and thinks they’ve found the perfect, ant-less spot to have it. Then an acorn ant shows up. But it’s only one ant, so she continues her picnic. More and more various species of ants arrive, disrupting her picnic, yet when an even more unwelcome guest drops by, she hides the ants to keep them from being eaten. Picnics, after all, are more fun if shared. Back matter includes further details about the types of ants in the book.

Luchy Zapata has two best friends: Cami and Mateo. Cami’s family come from the same area of Colombia as Luchy’s and the families are friends. Luchy is so excited that the trio will be going to the same school together, but on the first day, it feels like Cami is more interested in being cool than Luchy’s friend. Then Cami begins stealing Luchy’s things as a joke, and the joke escalates into an all-out war, with Mateo trying to mediate. This is a funny middle grade novel full of friend drama.

All of Corey R. Tabor’s picture books are so cleverly illustrated, and Simon and the Better Bone is no exception. It’s a modern retelling of Aesop’s “The Dog and His Reflection.” Simon is a good boy who is super excited about finding a bone by the pond. But as he passes the pond, he sees another dog, also with a bone! An even better bone. Simon wants that bone, and he tries numerous ways to get it. This hilarious read will be on repeat!

This is another hilarious picture book featuring a confused good boy. Milo loves playing with his human Louise. One day, Louise pretends to throw a stick, hiding it behind her back. Milo runs after the nonexistent stick, and when he doesn’t find it, he keeps on looking everywhere. His search for the stick takes him to faraway places. Meanwhile, as Milo searches for the stick, Louise is searching for Milo! Can the two reunite, and will Milo ever find the stick?

This charming early chapter book is the second in a series, though they can be read in any order. Both books are written in English with lots of Spanish words. José is excited about joining the soccer— fútbol—team. But when he kicks the ball at practice, his best canine friend Feliz chases after it. José needs to train Feliz so he won’t ruin his fútbol matches. The first book in the series is José and El Perro.

This is a funny first book in a new middle grade graphic novel series. Thunder wants to be a good dog for her human Sage, but her inner wolf keeps popping up and telling her to do things that Sage disapproves of, like barking at nearby dogs, tearing up clothes, chasing a squirrel, and more. While Sage gets irritated with Thunder, when Thunder goes missing, she’s desperate to find her. Back matter includes more about how dogs coevolved with humans.

If you’re decorating a dog-themed children’s room or nursery, this would be great to include! $34

While my daughter will always choose a cat book over a dog one, the one exception is with the Dogman graphic novels. She loves these! Here’s her latest drawing of the characters.

If you’d like to read more of my kidlit reviews, I’m on Instagram @BabyLibrarians, X @AReaderlyMom, Bluesky @AReaderlyMom, and blog irregularly at Baby Librarians. You can also read my Book Riot posts. If you’d like to drop me a line, my email is [email protected].

All the best,
Margaret Kingsbury