Frank and Lucky Get Schooled is a picture book about a boy and a dog who become fast friends, explore the world around them, and learn a lot of stuff together. Does this have anything to do with how when Frank, our red-headed real-life son, was growing up, we had a black lab-mix rescue dog named Lucky?
And how Lucky was afraid of water until one day he saw some ducks on the bay and swam right out to speak with them and stayed there for hours?
And how he came in the house one time with slender green weeds with little round burrs so artfully clinging (really clinging) to his fur all over his entire body that he looked like an Art Nouveau masterpiece?
No. Total coincidence. This is a work of fiction, and any resemblance to real persons, dogs, or actual events is purely accidental. If it were non-fiction, there would also be a sister. As our daughter has pointed out to us. (Sorry, honeypie. Next time.)
I had so much fun making this book. I hope you have fun reading it. I hope your dog, if you have one, lets you. Some dogs do. Sometimes they like to listen:
And sometimes they have other ideas:
P.S. If you finish reading this book and think, I wish there were a book about kids and dogs and music, and wouldn’t it be cool if it also had snow in it, you are in luck. Some years ago, I made just such a book, called Snow Music. Click here for a preview.
Fun things to do after reading Frank and Lucky Get Schooled:
- Go for a walk.
- Make a friend.
- Share a snack.
- Learn some words in another language.
- Make a map.
- Go for another walk. Call it a hike, to make it more adventurous.
- Draw a story.
- Your turn:_____________________.
Snippets from reviews of Frank and Lucky Get Schooled:
“This is foremost a story of love between a boy and dog, but even readers who don’t have pets will want to get schooled with Frank and Lucky.” (School Library Journal, starred review)
“Though it initially looks like a simple picture-book story of a boy and a dog, it’s much, much more . . . it . . .encourages the innocent curiosity (in both boy and dog) and perception of genuine relevance that is the spur to good learning in elementary-schoolers and Nobel Prizewinners alike . . . perfect for homeschoolers, but the combination of humor and gentle wonder will perk up any classroom — or young mind.” (Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, starred review)
“Perkins’ pen-and-ink-and-watercolor illustrations use vignettes and speech/thought bubbles to marvelous effect. And the humor is hysterically tongue-in-cheek . . . As with Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith’s Math Curse (1995), this book should open readers’ eyes to the learning all around them. Of course, if they have learning companions like Lucky, so much the better.” (Kirkus, starred review)
“Perkins brings a warm, conversational tone to the narrative, while her mixed-media pictures play up the story’s humor . . . From interdisciplinary connections to unanswerable questions, Perkins demonstrates the value and rewards of investigating one’s world, whether human or dog.” (Publisher’s Weekly, starred review)
“The strands of school and life, boy and dog, and curiosity and investigation are firmly, joyfully braided throughout. Who needs Core Standards?” (Horn Book Magazine, starred review)
“Informative and entertaining, Frank and Lucky Get Schooled is an A+ picture book in every way.” (BookPage)
Lynne Rae Perkins 