Doggies

All of a sudden, Silas has a favorite book: "Doggies" by Sandra Boynton.

Aside from the cloying title (really, what was wrong with calling it "Dogs"?), it's great. This is the first book Silas seems to understand as a book -- as something to read, not something to chew.

Up until now, Silas approached reading as a game in which one side tries to grab the book and shove it into his mouth, and the other side tries to turn the pages while droning on about something or other. But with "Doggies," Silas understands what to do. He picks the book up and hands it to us, and as we read he impatiently turns the pages to hear what's next. When we're done, he flips to the front of the book and waits for a second go-round.

Why is "Doggies" such a success? Probably because it has no words -- it's just a bunch of barking noises. We ham it up like crazy and Silas loves it.



Speaking of doggies, our friend Karen, an entrepreneur of all things canine, visited Silas last week. Karen just returned from Thailand, where she adopted a beautiful stray named Ping Pong and brought him back to the states.






Karen's book of dog photography will be published this fall. It has a better title than "Doggies."