"Puppy Tales: Hello, Baby" by Gigi O'Dea

Our family has had more adventures with our dog than we care to remember. Some memories involve a trip to the vet. Sometimes Puppy finds something she wasn't supposed to eat in the backyard or she'll help herself to some human food conveniently within her reach.

Puppy spends most of her time with Lovie, who has told us the dog is her child. Puppy sleeps in her room. This is fine with Kitty, who tries to avoid puppy and her games of chase and wrestling. Puppy's abundant energy can be a lot for the family. Lucky for us, we have a fenced-in backyard that gives her room to run around. If time permits, I'll take her to a local dog park where she can expend more energy. If she's lucky, there will be other dogs in the park for her to play with.

Caring for Pets and Children

Shh! Baby's sleeping!

There are other children Lovie takes care of. Some of these are actual human children. Our family helps take care of our extended family from time to time. This will include babies and small children. Sometimes these children will stay overnight with us.

Sometimes the children who come to our house will ask to be read to. Lovie or The Oppressed will take it upon themselves to read to the children. Reading is nothing new in this house. The family is always reading something. Books are being read to the children, and some people will read books by themselves.

Puppy Tales

I recently came across a book written by Gigi O'Dea titled "Puppy Tales: Hello, Baby!". The book is the first in a series of children's story books for children that features babies and dogs. In "Hello, Baby", O'Dea features a dog named Millie who poses for photos with various small children. In some of these scenarios, the children have food, and Millie is hoping to get a bite or two of the children's morsels.

This is not uncommon in our home. When our family sits down to dinner, Doggie will sit and watch us with the saddest, most pathetic face you could ever imagine. If we are preparing dinner, she will come to the table where final preparations are being made. Someone will tell her, "No," and she will walk around the table in hopes of finding someone else along the way or that the person will shooed her away will forget the shooing or think she is a different dog and this time she will be successful in her endeavor for food.

A treat!

Alas, this is not the case, and people remember her from her last attempt. There are times where she is able to get some food, but that is when she is alone, and food wasn't put up beyond her reach. It's not often, but when it is, it's usually an adventure.

Taking care of our pets, like our children, is a team effort. I do what I can. This will include feeding Doggie or taking her on a walk. This is good for me, too, because I am trying to keep my figure. When it comes to taking care of our children, this will involve reading to them sometimes. "Puppy Tales" is a great book to read with your children. It is a book that your children can read to you or on their own. It's not a long or a difficult read, and you or your children can finish it in one night. Who knows? It just might become their favorite book to read and will want to read it again.

Millie's adventures in the book include many different outfits, balls and even meals. In addition to reading the story, kids can point out different objects in the picture and learn about the different articles of clothing. There are plenty of things parents, children, and pets can do together. The best part of the book is that, when it's done, the animals go away too. This means there aren't any additional animals or messes to clean up after.

Hello, Millie!