Sleepy Dog

"Sleepy Dog"

I remember many important reading experiences in my life. I was interested in reading at a very young age. While most young children despised reading, and preferred coloring pictures or hot wheels, I was fascinated with reading from the start. I used to observe my parents at the kitchen table while they read the newspaper. I was always interested in what was going on. I would always walk over to them and I would ask them what all the different articles said. The only things I could identify were the pictures. I can remember many experiences when I think about it. There is one experience that sticks out in my mind.

I was about 5 years old. My mom ordered the book from the school, one of the book order deals that was sent home. My parents used to let me order books I thought I would be able to read. The name of the book was Sleepy Dog, by Harriet Ziefert and Norman Gorbaty. My mother read the description of the book to me, and I loved the picture of the dog on the cover. I couldn't wait for the book to come in. This process was always a great surprise too. When I finally got the book, I never remembered ordering it, so it was a great surprise to just receive a book when I went to school.

Sleepy Dog was a book for beginners. I was still working toward reading, being I was only 5 or 6 years old. The book was great. I needed help the first few times I read it because there are always new words to learn. Of course I probably didn't learn to read it, I probably just memorized the lines and pretended I could read it. Sleepy Dog was a great bedtime story and it is still very popular today. The cover of the book also grabs your attention when you're at that age. How can you go wrong with a big sleepy dog, a cat, and some stars? When you're that young, pictures definitely matter, much more than the words. The pictures were big and animated. There was only a sentence or two per page. The book was easy to read and not too long, which made it perfect. The book was about a dog and cat that went to sleep and shared playful dreams until they woke up in the morning.

After my parents helped me read Sleepy Dog for the first few times, it was addicting and I couldn't stop reading it. I read "Sleepy Dog" almost every night. I couldn't wait to get home so I could practice reading it.