Move Over Rover! By Karen Beaumont Illustrated by Jane Dyer

The dog in this book is illustrated so well, it looks real! Just staring at the cover of this book was almost enough to make me head to the pound and find a dog like him to adopt! This picture book tells the story of what happens in a backyard when a thunderstorm hits, and the only dry place is Rover’s dog house. One by one the animals in the backyard say, “Move Over Rover!” and nudge poor Rover into the corner of his dog house. Six animals crowd into Rover’s dog house until the skunk decides she’s had enough and finds a way to clear all the animals out!

As is critical in all picture books, the illustrations play an important role in this story. Jane Dyer hides all of the animals on the first two page spread of the book, and these weren’t noticeable to me until I went back through the book and analyzed each page. Some of the animals are more obviously placed, but some are very subtly hidden in the picture. Dyer makes expert use of dark hues and colors which make the rainstorm so realistic that one might find themselves reaching out to touch Rover to see if he really is wet! Be sure and pay attention to the sides of the dog house as all animals crowd in, as that tells the story as well as the text does. The author’s use of rhyme throughout the book gives the text a nice sing song rhythm that begs to be read out loud. The rhythm of the text will definitely make the reader smile. This book is appropriate for K-adults.

I love the expressions of the animals’ faces in this book. I love how the cat is eyeing Rover sleeping peacefully in his doghouse, and the cat is trying to decide if he trusts the dog or not. When the blue jay is eyeing the cat in the doghouse, he also has to make the same decision, “That’s my natural predator in there…should I go in or not?” And obviously, there’s no carnage in this picture book, but I was charmed by how there were several natural predators sharing a dry spot peacefully.

Key Words:
Romp, squirrel, squeeze, whiff, sopping