The Adventures of Taxi Dog Book

Title: The Adventures of Taxi Dog
Author: Debra and Sal Barracca
Illustrator: Mark Buehner
Genre: Picture Book
Theme(s): Adventures, family, love and being wanted
Opening line/sentence: My name is Maxi, I ride in a taxi around New York City all day.
Brief Book Summary: One day a dog who lived alone on the streets found a man who was a taxi driver. The man took him in and the dog now lived in his home and road in his taxi with him all day. He saw many people each day and when on lots of adventures.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
Carol E. Lynch (Children's Literature)
Sometimes good fortune comes from out of nowhere to turn the unpleasant into the delightful. That's exactly what happens to Maxi, a dog who "grew up in the city/ all dirty and gritty/ looking for food after dark." By chance, Maxi meets a loving taxi driver named Jim and is offered a home. As the two become partners in the transportation business, they encounter a number of interesting passengers--a singer, an expectant mother, and two clowns with a monkey. Each page of text is bordered in bright yellow with a black-and-white checkerboard pattern in the frame to carry out the taxi motif. Bright, colorful illustrations of their adventures in the city add to the text; watch for the scenes of Maxi in a Groucho Marx disguise and with his head thrust out the open window. The central theme of this story is how nice it is to be loved and wanted, a message that we all like to hear now and then. 2000 (orig. 1990), Puffin Books, $15.99 and $5.99. Ages 4 to 8.
(PUBLISHER: Puffin Books $15.99 and $5.99., PUBLISHED: 2000 (orig. 1990))
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Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
Publishers Weekly (Publishers Weekly)
My name is Maxi, / I ride in a taxi / Around New York City all day.'' This rhythmic beginning sets the tone for the beguiling tale of a former stray dog. Jim, a taxi driver, finds Maxi in a park, takes him home and feeds him and, from then on, takes his new friend with him to work every day. Maxi loves the sights, the sounds and even the occasional emergencies--but most of all he loves Jim, who saved him from the streets. Jim is surprised when he begins receiving big tips, but readers--and this canny canine--know the reason why. The Barraccas' narrative so perfectly echoes Maxi's jaunty attitude that children might suppose that being a New York taxi dog is the best job in the world. Buehner's black, yellow and white borders that surround the text cleverly suggest Checker cabs, and his use of dark, intense colors suggest a New York that is both familiar and funny. For dog fanciers, taxi riders and lovers of fine picture books, this is a sheer delight. Ages 4-8. (May)
(PUBLISHER: Dial Books for Young Readers (New York:), PUBLISHED: c1990.)
Response to Two Professional Reviews:
The first review talks about how good things can happen when you least expect it and the other review talks about the rhyming throughout the book. Both reviews talk about the bright illustrations and the yellow and black taxi border. Also the mention how the friendly taxi driver found this dog and took him in as his own. He took care of him and drove the taxi with him everyday.
Evaluation of Literary Elements:
This book uses the rhyme scheme AABCCB throughout the whole book. This is a great way to teach about poems and different type of rhyme scheme. It also has a lot of rhyming words, which is fun and interactive for students. Rhyming words can also relate to poems and learning how to write poems.
Consideration of Instructional Application: (3-4 sentences in your own words)
This book has so many opportunities for activities and application. One activity would be rewriting their own story about where the taxi man and dog when in their taxi. They could use their own pet or choose an animal they wish they had as a pet. They could also write stories using the AABCCB rhyme scheme in their stories.