Bailey [Hardcover]

Harry Bliss (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2011 | Age Range: 3 - 5 years | Series: Bailey | Lexile Measure: 220L (What's this?)

Meet Bailey, a dog who surprises and charms his fellow human classmates with his irrepressible antics.

Follow Bailey the dog as he gets ready and goes to school. Should he wear the red or blue collar? Both are so fashionable! Will he be late? That squirrel is a distraction! And what about Bailey's homework? Would you believe he ate it? That is what dogs do, after all.

In this funny new book from the best selling children's illustrator Harry Bliss, school proves to be an unexpected place for Bailey to do all sorts of things he loves: reading, fetching, painting, digging, singing - and making friends!

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Harry Bliss

"Bliss creates a thrilling sense of place." — Publishers Weekly (review of Louise, The Adventures of a Chicken)

"The sly humor in both the first-person narrative and the speech-balloon comments is amplified in the expressive, ink-and-watercolor illustrations by New Yorker cartoonist Bliss." — Booklist (review of Countdown to Kindergarten)

About the Author

HARRY BLISS is a cartoonist and cover artist for The New Yorker magazine. His first book, A FINE, FINE SCHOOL by Newbery-award winning author, Sharon Creech, was a New York Times bestseller. He went on to illustrate many other books, including WHICH WOULD YOU RATHER BE, by William Steig; COUNTDOWN TO KINDERGARTEN by Alison McGhee, and DIARY OF A WORM by Doreen Cronin, a #1 New York Times bestseller as well as ADVENTURES OF A CHICKEN by Kate DiCamillo. Harry lives in South Burlington, Vermont.

Product Details

• Age Range: 3 - 5 years
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Press (August 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0545233445
• ISBN-13: 978-0545233446
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 11.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (114 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #286,914 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Harry Bliss is a cartoonist and cover artist for The New Yorker magazine and others. His first book A FINE, FINE SCHOOL by Newbery Award winning author Sharon Creech, was a New York Times bestseller. He went on to illustrate many other books, including, WHICH WOULD YOU RATHER BE by William Steig; COUNTDOWN TO KINDERGARTEN by Alison McGhee; the #1 New York Times bestseller DIARY OF A WORM by Doreen Cronin; and LOUISE, THE ADVENTURES OF A CHICKEN by Kate DeCamillo. Harry Bliss lives in South Burlington, Vermont. You can visit him at www.harrybliss.com

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Fair, but not terribly engaging children's story. November 13, 2011

By J. Perkins VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

The primary audience for this book in my household is my 6-year-old daughter. I might have given it an extra star, but she thought this book was just ok, not great. She thought it was a little boring. We have read this book several times, but it is not one of her favorites or one that she returns to frequently.

This story follows one day in the life of a dog, Bailey, as he attends school. There is one or two lines of text on each page plus a few thought or dialogue bubbles. The best part of this book is the illustrations, which are bright, engaging, and pretty clever at times. The main problem with this book is the story, which is a little sparse and choppy. The narrative does not flow very well. With the clever, detailed illustrations, this book could have used a more extensive storyline.

My daughter's favorite parts of the book are (1) when Bailey makes a mess in art class using his tail as a paint brush, (2) when he goes to the nurse because he felt sick from eating his own homework, and (3) when he chased after the bus because he was late going to and going home from school.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Bailey Goes to School October 25, 2011

By S. D. Fischer VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Bailey is a hardcover book with paper pages (not a sturdy board book) that could be a good way to introduce pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students to the routine of a school day. Colorful illustrations occupy the majority of each page.

Bailey's day begins with a wake-up from the early bird. He washes up and selects a collar for school before running for the school bus. He is greeted by the principal before storing his treats and toys in his cubby. He has to visit the nurse for a tummy ache (caused by eating his homework, of course). He returns to class in time to give a report on President Franklin D. Roosevelt's dog and do math on the chalkboard. He proceeds to lunch and spends time digging through the trash. After lunch, Bailey has art class and then recess followed by gardening and music class. He reads for a while before running to catch the bus home. A squirrel makes appearances throughout the book.

Adults may appreciate the clever details (such as a Puppy Weekly magazine in Bailey's bedroom and that the song lyrics he holds in music class are for Hound Dog) but they would likely go over the heads of children.

Many of the pages have thought bubbles for other students, which is not ideal for reading the book aloud.

The author did a good job representing a diverse student body and I appreciate that he chose to have a male nurse. Bailey's primary teacher is a women but he has male teachers for his art and music classes.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Baily and Bliss - a great team December 11, 2011

By Brenda VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Kids seem to love Baily. He's different and cool. When he gets ready for school all he has to worry about is which colored collar he wants to wear. Bailey can count and read and dance! But his mind often strays to dog subjects and the readers get to see what he's thinking about.

My grandson Alex really enjoyed meeting Baily. He enjoyed seeing Bailey chase the bus among other things. Baily dancing with the kids was his favorite. The sentences are in bubbles over each character speaking. As I read I pointed to each character speaking and notice how easy was for Alex to follow along. When it came to Baily and his distractions we all laughed. Reading about Baily and school was a book full of fun.

Highly recommended for ages 4 and up.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars My 2 Year Old LOVES This Book November 8, 2011

By KawaiiShop

Format:Hardcover

Everyone always remembers their favorite books from when they were a kid. It's funny, my parents still have some of them in a bookshelf in the guest room. Every time I see them, I kind of go "a[...] remember this book!" and I can't help but sit and read it again.

I think Harry Bliss` new book Bailey is going to be one of those books for many of today's kids - especially if you have a pet dog in your family!

It has gorgeous illustrations and is full of adorable cuteness and puppy humor. Best of all, the book encourages excitement for going to school.

My son just LOVES the little squirrel that makes cameo appearances throughout. He amazingly spots him out instantly on every page with a big "OOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! Kul!" (which means Squirrel in toddler talk).

My favorite part of the book also has to do with that rascally little squirrel. During sharing time in class, Bailey lists some of his favorite things on the chalkboard. One of the things he lists are "Slow-moving Squirrels". I thought that was quite funny.

There is actually a super cute YouTube clip about the book that I want to show you. It really captures the "mood" - just see for yourself! [...]

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars FROM A DOG'S POINT OF VIEW October 22, 2011

By Pamela A. Poddany VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

BAILEY

This book is especially fun and important for your child when they are entering school for the first time. Kids going into kindergarten can really relate to little Bailey the dog going to school.

Bailey loves to go to school but he is so easily distracted! There's the squirrel who is constantly teasing Bailey. It's always hard to remember to be on time for the school bus because there are so many interesting sticks in his yard.

The book takes you and your grand babies or children through an entire day with Bailey at school. He loves to go to school and the kids in his class love having Bailey there with them.

The story covers every aspect and hour of a normal and typical day at school -- putting belongings into his little cubby, saying good morning to his teacher, visiting the school nurse, writing on the chalk board, giving a report, art class, and everyone's favorite part of the school day -- lunch!

Little children going to school the first time will be able to relate well to Bailey's day. For those little ones not yet attending school but will shortly, this book will help them see how much fun school can be -- even if there isn't a dog in your class.

The illustrations are adorable and I love how Bailey's thoughts are in a bubble over his little head. The kids in his class are fun too and they also give us their two cents worth in the thought department.

My little grand daughter had some good giggles while being read this book. She will start kindergarten next year and was full of questions regarding school. She thought it was great fun that a dog would go to school and have to do homework.

All in all, a cute little book for your little ones.

Thanks.

Pam