I was blown away by how wonderful this book is--I love it asmuch as my daughter does, and it is appropriate to a much wider agerange than just four to eight--very few adults would find this book less than wonderful, if they love dogs. This book is so lovingly written for people who really appreciate dogs, by a person who is clearly a dog lover. It has such warmth and charm--I really like reading this book when I am by myself too! (Of course, I also talk to my dog a lot and understand his answers, so I may not be representative of all walks of people).
The drawings of Sue Truesdell are as wonderful and charming as they could possibly be, but the most special part of the book is how some of the illustrations include a picture of the author (not a drawing) juxtaposed with one of the fabulous cartoonlike dog illustrations! It's sort of like the mixture of people and cartoons in the "Roger Rabbit" movie or "SpaceJam", but even cuter! The communication between dog and author seems as real as if it were a photo of the author and her real dog, but have the whimsey of cartoon dogs--it's a stroke of genius and works so well I want to give this book to every dog lover I know.
The charming text also provides more information than most of the adults I know have about communicating with dogs--especially the special dogs you love.
My daughter was born loving dogs as much as people and this book is such a delight for her and me to read together (and our dog likes it too!)
The text is written in very large print, but there is a good deal of text on each page to hold the attention of a better than just beginning child reader as well as an older sibling reading to a younger child. In fact, this book would still be appropriate for a dog lover even if there is no child in the house at all--I find it absolutely fascinating, and I'm almost 49! .
If you love dogs, GET THIS BOOK!