If you were a child in the past 50 years, you’re bound to recognize Harry the Dirty Dog. The first book in Gene Zion’s classic series, published in 1956 and beautifully illustrated by Margaret Bloy Graham (now in colour!), is a childhood bedtime staple. Grandparents and parents alike will remember empathizing as children with Harry, a dog who does not like taking baths. In this first book, Harry buries his scrub brush and runs away to avoid a bath. When he finally returns home filthy after a day of mischief, he has transformed from a white dog with black spots to a black dog with white spots, and no one knows who he is! What can Harry do to get his family to recognize him again?
It’s a simple story, but one that resonates with children. Why do you think that is? Do children love the story simply because they identify with Harry’s bath avoidance techniques, or do they take comfort in the underlying message of family acceptance no matter how badly you mess up? From a personal level, I just remember loving the pictures as a kid. But I may not have been particularly deep – let’s hear your comments below as to why you or your children loved the book!
For those of you with a little one in your life who hasn’t had the pleasure of meeting Harry yet, we have a wonderful Harry the Dirty Dog gift basket with the 50th anniversary board book as well as an award-winning chenille plush Harry. It’s pretty darn cute and makes a wonderful gift for a preschooler.
Harry the Dirty Dog Activities and Story Time
If you are familiar with the book, here are some fun activities you may want to try with your kids, as well as an embedded video of the estimable Betty White reading the entire book aloud! (Seriously – Betty White just gets cooler the more you learn about her – she’s an incredibly active animal activist; her energy and passion puts most of us to shame. And the Screen Actors Guild project affiliated with her reading, Storyline Online, is almost as cool as Betty herself – check it out if you can.)
Harry the Dirty Dog Activity (Preschool) – Make Your Own Dirty Dog
You need: white construction paper; black crayon; flour; water; brown tempera paint; scissors; comb
Click on this dog outline thumbnail, print onto white construction paper and cut out.
With a black crayon, have your child colour spots on the dog.
Mix a little flour and water together to make a thick, runny paste. Add some brown tempura paint and mix.
Have your child spread the mix completely over the white construction paper dog, then take a comb and make swirls and lines in the brown paste. You may want to do this over newspaper!
Let it dry, and the end result is a dirty dog (with discernable spots under the dirt!).
Up the imagination quotient: When doing this activity, it’s fun to start with two spotted dogs and only apply the paste to one of them. That way when you’re done, your child is left with one dirty dog and one clean dog – all the better to reenact the story on their own!
Harry the Dirty Dog Activity (Toddler) – Match the Clean Dog with the Dirty Dog!
This one’s pretty simple – click and print the picture on the left (or open it up on screen) and let your child figure out which dirty dog looked like which clean dog before getting into mischief!
Note there is no answer key, for obvious reasons. :)
A special note: inspiration for both activities was pulled from Early Childhood Teacher Created Materials, Inc. 1989, although modified and updated by By Heart Books.
Enjoy! And please share your thoughts about Harry below. Do you remember him? And if so, why does he stand out for you?
As published by By Heart Books - children's books, children's gifts and loot bags