Book Review: Sally Goes to the Vet (dog, children's book)

Sally Goes to the Vet, by Stephen Huneck (Abrams, 2004, 40 pages, $18.95, ages 4-8)

Ouch!

Sally, America’s lovable Lab, gets hurt playing with a cat (of all things) and has to go to the vet. She wonders what will happen but the vet is nice and it doesn’t hurt a bit. Sally even manages to make friends with the vet. Of course, being a lovable Lab helps.

Sally Goes to the Vet is for all kids, big and small, who may not want to go to the doctor but, seeing how brave Sally is, will change their mind. That’s what dogs are for, after all.

Read and see Sally’s first visit to the vet, a doctor for “cats and rats, dogs and frogs.” Sally has to get an X-ray but it doesn’t hurt.

Your child will be reassured and just maybe, her next visit to the doctor will be just as fear-free, especially if she can take brave Sally with her.

Dog Chapel, Dog Mountain

Author and illustrator and woodcarver Stephen Huneck loved dogs and it shows - in his illustrations, the words of his stories, and his incredible, world famous Dog Chapel at Dog Mountain, Vermont. The Dog Chapel is a tribute to man’s best friend. Huneck was an artist depicting his best friend in numerous ways: one of which was to write and illustrate books for children - The Sally Books - starring Huneck’s black lab Sally, America’s favorite dog.

How Huneck Worked

Huneck first drew the illustrations in crayon, then, for each color, he carved a different block of wood. After each block was inked with its one color, the blocks were stamped onto paper and allowed to dry. Painstakingly finished and filled with love, these illustrations are a national treasure.

Lessons with Sally

Who does Sally meet and what new things does she experience? Each book is an adventure with Sally teaching her young readers how much fun it is to meet new friends and try new things in new places like at the vet’s.

No humans appear in the Sally books, not even children – only parts of humans, like little hands for petting dogs and adult arms for driving them around. Because, after all, these are dog books (for all children who understand dogs).

Charming and whimsical with a twist or two to keep the giggles coming, even from the adults, The Sally Books are books to keep. They are intensely child-centric and personal, told from a dog’s point of view so children just naturally understand.

Next: Sally’s Snow Adventure

The Sally Books:

Sally Goes to the Beach, Sally Goes to the Mountains, Sally Goes to the Farm, Sally Goes to the Vet , Sally’s Snow Adventure, Sally Gets a Job and Sally Goes to Heaven

Sally’s Great Balloon Adventure

Sally at the Farm, Sally in the Sand

My Dog’s Brain, The Dog Chapel, and Even Bad Dogs Go to Heaven