''Go, Dog. Go!'' is a 1961
children's book written and illustrated by
P. D. Eastman
Philip Dey Eastman (November 25, 1909January 7, 1986) was an American screenwriter, children's author, and illustrator.
Early life
Eastman was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, to Clarence Willis and Ann Hull (Dey) Eastman. After studying at ...
. It describes the actions and interactions of a group of highly mobile
dogs, who operate
cars and other conveyances in pursuit of work, play, and a final mysterious goal: a dog party.
The book introduces concepts such as color and relative position with simple language and humor. ("The blue dog is in. The red dog is out.")
The book helps children learn basic concepts and actions like playing, working, going up, going down. The book also teaches children colors and conveys emotion.
The dogs featured in the book use their cars to help them get their work done and get to places. Throughout the book, details in Eastman's illustrations seem to invite the reader to notice the deeper significance of small things.
In their first appearance, a pink dog asks a yellow dog if he likes her hat with its little flower. He does not, so they part. Several pages later, we meet them again as they are riding
scooters
Scooter may refer to:
Vehicles
Ground
Human or gravity powered
* Eccentric-hub scooter, propelled by a standing rider making a bouncing motion
* Kick scooter, propelled by a standing rider pushing off the ground
* Knee scooter, a mobility device ...
. She has a hat with a feather, and again he does not like her hat. But as they part, he has made off with the feather. When we next see them together, they are skiing. The yellow dog does not like the long ski cap the pink dog is wearing. As they leave, she bids him farewell. In their final meeting, her hat — now even more elaborate — finally meets the approval of the yellow dog. In this way, a relationship development is shown between the characters despite the simplicity of the text. It shows interaction when the dogs meet. Throughout the book, the conclusion is elusive, but at the end all the dogs have a wild party.
Adaptations
* In 2003, a musical version of the book was developed by
Steven Dietz and Allison Gregory for the
Seattle Children's Theatre. The play has been widely staged throughout the U.S., often as an introduction to theater for young children.
* A CGI
television series based on the book and produced by
DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios and simply known as DreamWorks) is an American animation studio that produces animated films and television programs and is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, a division ...
and
WildBrain Studios premiered on
Netflix on January 26, 2021.
Notes
{{Portal, Children's literature
1961 children's books
American picture books
Random House books
Books by P. D. Eastman
Books about dogs
Children's books adapted into television shows
Books adapted into plays