The First Dog

Brett takes us back in time with this new story, which explores ancient man and his relationship with the domesticated dog in an exciting journey where the two new characters meet, face challenges, and eventually become lifelong partners in survival. The story itself is pretty basic, but I liked how Brett used a heady mix of humour and danger to provide tension throughout the story as our protagonists run into dangerous animals and avoid them together. Without this careful blend, I’m sure the book would have been lacklustre in terms of narrative, and would have been redeemed only by Brett’s expectedly intricate illustrations. Some of her imagery has been seen before by her fans (bears and wolves are featured in many of her books), show more but Brett expands her range to include new creatures and settings inspired by the paleolithic time period - namely a sabertooth tiger and border illustrations characterized by true to life cave paintings. The story of early man is less intriguing to me as some of her other settings, but I can see this story of exploration and ancient times being popular with young readers who are just learning about the evolution of humankind. show less

While not one of my favorite of her books, still, I could not help but enjoy and remain in awe of the talent of this incredible writer and illustrator.

Set in prehistoric times, this is the tale of the adventure of Kip the cave boy who while traveling home, is followed by a Paleowolf who travels with him and saves him from danger. In search of food, the Paleowolf patiently waits until the boy will share. Finally, knowing how many times he is saved, he shares and calls his friend dog.

The drawings are creative as always.

#80, 2006

This is a lovely book about a Stone Age boy who domesticates a wolf. (Actually, it’s more the wolf domesticating the boy; the wolf seems the smarter of the two, really). The artwork is typical Jan Brett – gorgeous, with charming little details and embellishments throughout. We’re reading this book in conjunction with our current history study (early humans), and my son really enjoyed it; we read it once together, and he’s read it to himself several times since.

This book, this has never ever left my mind. I spent most of my childhood trying to draw like this, and to this day the collar the "dog" ends up with still has an echo in my concepts. The illustrations are so dang lovely.

Jan Brett tells the story of the first dog in a way that children will be entertained and also learn lifes lessons and historical information. This story teaches children the importance of being aware of your surroundings as well as the importance of sharing. Set in the days of cavemen, Jan Brett takes us on an adventure with Kip, a caveboy and his new friend Paleowolf. Together they encounter many dangers that lead them to become great friends.

Making a new folktale in the traditional form, speculating on how early man formed their partnership with wolf-dogs.

This is a great story about companionship and forming relationships. Young children will certainly be able to relate to this story. They all have great relationships with their pets, so they will understand the bond the main characters form. This is a great book to use when teaching about early life. The boy and the wolf are learning from each other in a way that would resemble the early years.