Kid Konnection: Top Dogs

Every Saturday, I host a feature called Kid Konnection -- a regular weekend feature about anything related to children's books. This week, I'm going to share with you a unique book for young sports enthusiasts and pet lovers alike.

Summary: From the imagination of Sports Illustrated Kids' editors comes one of the most playful - and visually funny - sports titles ever produced. Top Dogs - Babe Ruff and the Legendary Canines of Sports promises to showcase some of the greatest stars and most memorable moments from sports history as depicted by dogs. From current baseball slugger Albert Poodles to legendary Cleveland running back Jim Bow-wow-wown, kids will learn about the rich history of sports while laughing at visually arresting photo collages of dog faces on real athlete bodies. The text write-ups will include real sports facts enlivened with pet puns. (For example, who can forget how New York Yankees great Babe Ruff helped the Bronx Bombers fetch four of their 27 world championships from 1923 to 1932. Or how swimmer Michael Yelps lapped up the competition at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics.) Sports fans and dog lovers alike will sit up and beg for more! -- Sports Illustrated Kids

I hardly know where to start in this review of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED KIDS TOP DOGS: BABE RUFF AND THE LEGENDARY CANINES OF SPORTS by John Ueland. This book is unlike any sports book that I've ever seen. While the 64 page full-color book does include loads of interesting sports facts, it also is filled with funny and punny dog references.

And by punny, I mean punny! For example, the Great Air Jor-Dane is about none other than basketball star Michael Jordan. And the author/illustrator Ueland even took a photo of Jordan and superimposed a Great Dane face over his. The book also lists the All-Time Best Mushers (read that as Rushers!) which includes Bury Sanders, Jerome Bett-sniff, Walterrier Payton, and my favorite Franco Hairless.

I admit that I find TOP DOGS to be a little corny, but Booking Son absolutely loved this book. I think he read every single dog reference to me and giggled the entire time. He loved it when he "got" the dog reference, and he translated just in case I didn't "get" it. He especially loved the photograph of the dog Tebowing or should I say Te-Bow-Wowing, and he even commented that it's one of the best books he's ever read!

Despite the huge amount of dog puns, I still thought TOP DOGS was an adorable book. And even though I'm not the biggest dog lover (I like them, but I'm not crazy about them if that makes sense!), I loved the photographs of the dog-athletes! Every single page makes me smile!

TOP DOGS is obviously a special book in our household and I think all young sports enthusiasts will get a kick out of it. Highly recommended for dog lovers and sports fans!

Thanks to Goodman Media International, Inc. for providing a review copy of this book.

If you'd like to participate in Kid Konnection and share a post about anything related to children's books (picture, middle grade, or young adult) from the past week, please leave a comment as well as a link below with your name/blog name and the title of the book! Feel free to grab the little button too!