Space Boy and His Dog

Title: Space Boy and His Dog 
Author: Dian Curtis Regan 
Illustrator: Robert Neubecker 
Publisher: Boyds Mills Press 
Publication Date: April 7th, 2015 
Genre/Format: Fiction/Picture Book 
GoodReads Summary: Niko may live on boring old Earth with his family, but he’s always finding a new adventure. Using the spaceship that he built from a box in his backyard and a little imagination, he flies off into space with his robot, Radar, and his dog, Tag. The only one NOT invited is his sister Posh who keeps trying to insert herself into Niko’s story. In this first mission, Niko and crew (and maybe also pesky Posh) fly to the moon in search of a lost cat. Illustrated in comic–book style and featuring easy–to–read text packed with humor, Space Boy and His Dog is Niko’s first adventure, with two more books planned in the series. 
What I Think: Oh, sibling rivalry. This story is part imagination and part how to get along with your sibling. With two boys in my house, I know what it's like to have two kids with different personalities and different ideas trying to play together. Most of the time it works out well, but we had our moments. This books provides a great opportunity to talk to kids about how we get along with others. I like that it is a picture book but kind of has chapters or different parts of the story. It would make a great topic to discuss but also help kids see how we have different scenes and how we transition from one to the next in our writing.
     The snatch of text that I pulled shows how in dialogue we can use slang or words that bring our characters to life. It's kind of fun to think what the Man in the Moon might talk like! Would he have an accent!?
Read Together: Grades Pre-K - 1 
Read Alone: Grades K - 1 
Read With: Chloe, Instead by Micah Player, My Name is Elizabeth by Annika Dunklee, Emma Dilemma by Kristine O'Connell George
Snatch of Text:   

"With Radar's help, Niko and Tag search the top of the highest moon mountain. No cat.

They search the bottom of the deepest moon crater.

They ask the Man in the Moon. The Man in the Moon says, 'The cat went thataway!'"

Writing Prompts: Write about a time when something didn't go your way. How did you deal with situation? Were there other people involved? How did you resolve things with him or her?
Topics Covered: Siblings, Adventure, Problem  Solving, Getting Along 

I *heart* It:

*Thanks to Blue Slip Media for 

a copy of this title in exchange for an honest review!*