Book of the Week: My Dog is as Smelly as Dirty Socks!

By: Hanoch Piven

Our book of the week is perfect for 2nd-5th grade as a way to focus on similes and other figurative language. This book is narrated by a young girl. She draws a picture for her class, but she is not satisfied with her pictures of her family. The picture she drew did not show everything she wanted to share about her mom, dad, brother, dog or herself, so she redraws each picture with more detail and description. She describes her dog as, "nasty as an onion, smelly as as canned fish, and as icky as pepperoni."As you can see from the front cover she incorporates all of these elements into a descriptive portrait of her dog. This book is a short read but will be sure to stimulate student interest in discussing similes to create comparisons in their own lives.

Vocabulary:

Jumpy-Anxious or Uneasy

Playful-Awanting to play or feeling of play

Stubborn-Not wanting to move or give in

Fluff-Filled with air or puffed up

Amusing-Something to cause enjoyment or that amuses

Alarm-Something that Alerts

Majestic-Having or showing beauty

Sparkly-Shiny or having sparkles that reflect light

Beach Glass-Glass shaped by waves and sand until it is smooth and looks like a stone.

Questions:

She describes her dad as jumpy, nutty and stubborn. How would you describe your dad?
She describes her mom as fluff, delicious, and yummy. How would describe your mom?
If you could describe your self what three words would you use?
Did you like this story? Why or why not?
She said her baby brother was loud, what does she compare him to?
She said her dog is smelly, What could she do to change that? Name 3 things her family could do.
What is a simile? What does it do? How is it different from a metaphor.

Other Lesson Resources:

http://www.ux1.eiu.edu/~cfder/dogsmellysocks.pdf

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/My-Dog-is-as-Smelly-as-Dirty-Socks-1213687


*Don't have the book you can watch it here.