Cone Dog

When Emma the dog leaves the vet’s office with a cone on her head, she finds that she cannot get it off. Initially, Emma finds it very frustrating because she’s unable to go around corners or dig holes, and even her dog-friend Garson stares at her awkwardly. So, Emma sulks. Emma stops sulking though when she finds that, among other advantages, the cone helps her play catch with her people, and even Garson comes to like the fashion statement. However, Keith, a squirrel, remains a problem by its ongoing teasing of Emma who would really like to scare Keith away. When Emma sees the birdbath fill with snow, she gets an idea. She lets the snow fill up her cone and waits like a statue with her treat baited snow cone. When Keith eventually goes for the treats, Emma is waiting and ready! She barks and scares Keith away! The next day, Emma’s cone gets removed, and she resumes her life as the best dog ever.

Sarah Howden’s humorous text is complemented by Carmen Mok’s lively illustrations. The author and illustrator do a great job of showing the frustration the dog experiences as well as how Emma’s mindset shifts from one of sulking to one of making the best of a difficult situation. Cone Dog will be enjoyed by readers who have ever wondered what a dog might be thinking when experiencing life with a cone on its head.

This reviewer enjoyed the book Cone Dog and read it to many classes. The children found it quite engaging which is really the ultimate test for a book. A humourous observation by an astute student was that, based on Mok’s illustrations, Emma must have had to wear the cone for an incredibly long time. It appears to be summer or maybe fall when Emma gets the cone. Is the first big snowfall in the winter? One student thought that the dog must have been extremely cold because the snow surrounded Emma’s face in the cone for a long time! Another observation related to how mean the squirrel was. Keith gets away with a lot - even pooping in Emma’s bed! And all that happens to Keith is that Emma gets to bark and scare Keith away!

Overall, Cone Dog is excellent and should be added to school or classroom libraries.