List Price: $19.95
Official URL: www.murphysbone.com
Author: Tim Young
Rating:

“Murphy’s Safety Songs” is a book and CD that teaches children about dog safety and care. Children, especially young children, learn very quickly through songs, which makes the lessons in this book very easy for them to remember and absorb even if they’re not yet able to read.

THE BOOK

The book is a hardcover book. Even pages are fully illustrated in color, and odd pages show the lyrics for each song. Illustrations are behind each song’s lyrics. The illustrations are a playful comic book style.

After the lyrics, there are pages with more information about the different topics covered in the song. “Strange Dogs” has information on dog bites and signs of aggression. There’s information about the different temperatures at which dogs need to be kept warm/cool, reasons why the dog might need to visit the vet, etc.

THE CD

The style of the music is very upbeat and humorous. Classic “Kids music”, a bit too classic.. It seems almost like a parody at times. If you’ve ever seen “Two and a Half Men” and Charlie’s attempts at writing music for kids, you’ll have a pretty good idea of the lyrics of these songs. The messages are good, the music is fun with a great beat, and the lyrics are sometimes good and sometimes so “bad” that they’re ridiculously funny (and therefore good). The music is well produced and has a clean sound that is refreshing for a production geared toward kids.

The songs include: “Strange Dogs” (Stay away from doggies that you don’t know), “Collars and Tags” (Make sure your dog has a collar and tags, and what should be on it.) “Hot Dogs’ (Make sure you give your dog water and a shady place, and if it’s too hot for you it’s too hot for your dog), “Road Dogs” (Traveling with your dog), “Chilly Dogs” (make sure your dog is kept warm!) , “Chow Time” (Dogs like to eat, but sometimes they eat things that make them feel bad, so always check with mom and dad. Also, don’t bug a dog that’s eating.), “When We Go-A-Walking” (make sure the leash is on, hold on tight!), “Play Time” (Doggies need play!), “Take Me to the Vet” (Different reasons why you might need to take your dog to the vet for care or for vaccines), “Groom-a-Boom Boom” (How to take care of your dog: Bath, nails clipping, teeth brushing…), “The Belly Rub Song” (Doggies looove belly rubs!)

BOTTOM LINE

This book and CD combo include almost everything that a child (or an adult!) might need to know about their new pet. It’s a great book for dog lovers or for a young child who is going to be getting his first dog. The songs really involve the child in all aspects of the care and feeding of the dog and make it obvious to the child that the dog is a living breathing creature and not another toy that can be put into a toy box and forgotten about.

I love how the focus of this book isn’t just on the safety of the child and the chores involved, but also on how to keep the dog comfortable and happy. Tim Young is obviously a lover of dogs, and with Murphy’s Safety Songs, your child will be too.