Jake’s voice has a different sound. Other critters won’t come around.But he is sweet and only wants to play. Will others start to see him that way?Follow Jake, a sweet, kind, and misunderstood dog as he tries to make friends despite his differences.Meet forest critters of all kinds while getting to know Jake. Jake loves to swim, hike, and play, but when he realizes he’s lonely a true friend … when he realizes he’s lonely a true friend comes to his aid. Soon others find friendship and understanding filling this tale with heart and hope.
Looking for books about Diversity & Friendship?
Jake the Growling Dog is a fun-loving tale about kindness, acceptance, friendship, and diversity.
Author and licensed school counselor, Samantha Shannon, and Illustrator and art educator, Kerrie Joyce, spotlight Jake, who is different from the other dogs and critters. With a little help and understanding, the others learn to love Jake despite his differences. This timely story is packed with tons of fun, while also educating our little ones about friendship and how to be kind to others.
Includes a loving-kindness and mindfulness activity for families, counselors, and schools
Along with Jake’s story, this picture book also includes a loving-kindness activity to promote character education, mindfulness, and gratitude. The activity is for families, schools, and counselors to reduce stress and bring families closer together while encouraging acts of kindness, forgiveness, and gratitude.
A Positive Story to Promote Empathy
Jake’s story encourages children to be kind, appreciate nature, find the good in all things with the power of gratitude, and to accept others who are different from them in a subtle, sweet, and impactful way.
Ages and Grades
While many kids ages 6-8 will be able to read this story on their own or with assistance, parents and grandparents will enjoy reading the story to baby, making it the perfect baby shower gift. Pre-teens to adults will also appreciate the illustrations, story, and the kindness activity to do as a family or in schools and counseling offices.
The Perfect Gift
Need a gift for a baby shower or birthday party? Jake the Growling Dog is the perfect gift for the mother-to-be, a child’s birthday party, holiday’s, and graduations. Plus, the ebook is FREE when you buy a print version.
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Jake the Growling Dog is perfect for my 8-year-old daughter! We read it together 3 times now, and she is able to understand and identify what Jake is going through. I think this book is a must-read for children, it teaches such a thoughtful lesson!
Can’t wait to see what Samantha Shannon comes out with next!
Jake the Growling Dog: (Jake the Growling Dog Book 1)
By: Samantha Shannon
5 out of 5 stars
The story Jake the Growling Dog (Jake the Growling Dog Book 1) by Samantha Shannon is a children’s book about a loveable and friendly dog. Jake is a wonderful and likeable character that children will love to read about. He wants to make friends however he is misunderstood. The illustrations complement the story and are eye catching. The book teaches lessons that young ones can learn from and it includes an activity that can be used by families and schools. This story is sweet, fun, and entertaining. Jake’s story is one that warms and touches the heart. It is about friendship and acceptance. Wonderfully written.
Jake is quite a character but no one seems to understand him. I love that he teaches us that we are all different and need to accept each other as we are. It’s a great story with cute rhymes which my granddaughter enjoyed. She took over the grrr’s in the story which made it more fun for her. Love Jake and yes she wants to read more.
I just fell in love with Jake! What a great story for the kids. I loved the message and how it is delivered to the kids. I read the book to my grandson who also liked the book. We then had a good chat about making friends. Thank you for this special book!
Jake the Growling Dog by Samantha Shannon is the first book of this series. This was a cute book to read to my sons at bed time. It has a theme of kindness and being accepting of others who are different. The illustrations are beautiful and very colorful. I will definitely be looking into other books in the series.
Jake the Growling Dog (Jake the Growling Dog Book 1) by Samantha Shannon is a five star children’s book. This is such a cute book about a misunderstood dog who growled all the time. Instead of a purr, like a cat, Jake has a growl that he lets out when he is happy. But this growl, makes everyone and every animal around him afraid of him. Then he meets a squirrel that tries to help him. As a school teacher, I loved this book for kids because it teaches them that just because someone is different doesn’t mean they are scary or mean or bad. It just means they are different and we can still be friends with them. I loved the extras at the end of the book to continue to help kids learn this important life skill.
Jake the Growling Dog (Jake the Growling Dog Book 1) by Samantha Shannon was a cute, heart warming read, that’s perfect for all ages.
My first read from this author, and going way out of my comfort zone, I was scouting books for my niece when I came across this one. I took a chance and decided to give it a read before I sent it off. This sweet read has such a wonderful lesson about judgement, friendship, working together, and looking beyond what we see. It hits a little home, as I can relate to Jake. I have a strong blunt personality, and people don’t always take to that. This book shows the progression and the way one outstretched hand can change everything. Oh and I have to touch on the illustrations, they are beautifully drawn, and flowed nicely into one another. So bright and inviting, with clean line work, it’s a delight for the eyes.
Overall this book is perfect a read for anyone, and everyone. So please take my super high recommendation and my stamp of approval, that this book will warm your heart, and have you looking out for Jake’s in the future.
Happy Reading
-E.A. Walsh
I loved this book! My young kids loved this book.We will read this again and again. The lessons that it teaches children like love and compassion I haven’t seen anywhere else! This hooked my younger kids from start to finish and they can’t wait for the next adventures!
This is a short read; for a certain age group in mind. This is about a dog trying to play and communicate with others. The only hiccup is that no one can understand him and becomes fearful of him. In his mind he is talking and wanting to playball but no oneone stays. The overall message I believe is to understand that everyone is unique in there own way.
Jake The Growling Dog by Samantha Shannon
5 stars
This is such a sweet book, it teaches that no matter if your different from everyone else, that is okay. Being unique is beautiful. I also like at the end the list of people or authority figures that you can teach your children to be thankful for.
Jake the Growling Dog: A Children’s Book about the Power of Kindness, Celebrating Diversity, and Friendship
Written by Samantha Shannon
4 out of 5 stars
I read this book with my almost 3 year old daughter this morning and I am looking forward to reading it with my son a bit later when he wakes up as I feel like the book and the additional pages after about kindness and encouraging empathy will really lead to a great discussion with him.
That being said, my daughter and I enjoyed this book. It kept her attention throughout the whole story and she really enjoyed pointing out the animal friends that Jake encounters along the tale. When asked at the end of the story her favorite part, she excitedly exclaimed, “Jake!”
Since this is a children’s book and I was reading the words out loud I did have some parts of the book that didn’t seem to flow correctly, I think I became accustomed to pages that rhymed and if there was a segment that didn’t, the flow felt awkward. Regardless, this isn’t something that would impact the book for a child. It was a story with a great message and I’m sure we will be reading it several more times in our household.
Jake the Growling Dog was a cute story by Samantha Shannon. It is about a dog named Jake who is trying to make friends, but everyone is afraid of him. He has a hard time communicating himself, and often growls. But his growl doesn’t mean he is scared, mean or dangerous. He growls when he is happy, excited, and wanting to play. It seems no one wants to play with him, until Neet, the squirrel. Neet understands, and tries to show others that Jake is friendly. They work on his nice voice and eventually the other animals and kids start playing with him. That makes Jake happy, and feel loved. I love the message behind this book. The end explains how kids can be like Neet, and be friendly to others. Accept others, even when they are different, or new. There is also a suggested activity on how to spread kindness. This is a very short cute book, with a powerful message. I think it would be enjoyable to elementary school aged children. It would be a great book to read as a family, and practice spreading kindness and love.
Jake the Growling Dog by Samantha Shannon is the first book in the Jake the Growling Dog series. This is a story about Jake who tends to growl. He scares the others away but it is not because he is mean but because he has a growl. A squirrel, Neet, helps him tame the growl down some and this allows others to see that he is an ok type of dog. The story is sweet and teaches children that we are all different. We need to be accepting of each other’s differences.
I look forward to sharing this sweet story with the children in my life and help them to understand an important lesson.
This terrific children’s book is great for the younger child. It is easy to read, has great rhymes and has a message built in.
The illustrations are sweet and the activities at the back of the book are good for the whole family.
Jake the Growling Dog by Samantha Shannon is a cute story with a great lesson to be learned.
I do not have little children any more or grandchildren, BUT I could not resist Jake. Jake is a misunderstood dog. He does not know that his actions were scaring everyone because he thought he was being nice. There is one who decided to help and turned him around. The illustrations with the book are so simple and amazing. At the end of the book there is some wonderful activities to do with the little one reading the book with you. It is refreshing to see a simple story with a wonderful moral.
I give Jake the Growling Dog: A Children’s Book about the Power of Kindness, Celebrating Diversity, and Friendship by Samantha Shannon, 5 stars.
Jake is a kind, fun dog but doesn’t have any friends. He’s different than other dogs. Can others understand and accept his differences or is he always going to be alone? Maybe there are others out there who understand…
This is a wonderful children’s book showing how others can be different, but should be accepted too. The images are fun and go along well with the story and the story itself is fun while also teaching children a lesson. Jake is a great main character and would love to see him in other books.
I think the author did a very good job with this book and highly recommend this for young children.
Jake the Growling Dog (Jake the Growling Dog Book 1) by Samantha Shannon
4 stars
What a very fast but very powerful read. My kids loved me reading this book, we read it a few times at bedtime in one night!
The message this book gives you is so great, and my kids enjoyed the activity as well.
I found this tale to be a delightful short story with a wonderful message for all its readers. This is a book I will gladly share with my three daughters. They will love the well crafted characters and will adore Jake and his growl. Two thumbs up – just a sweet, sweet book.
Jake the Growling Dog- Samantha Shannon
5-stars
I loved everything about this children’s book! This author did an amazing job of conveying an important message in a way that children can actually understand.
Jake is a very misunderstood dog, he’s nothing like he appears and thankfully one of his friends is able to see through his scary growl and recognize him for who he is. Everyone is unique in their very own way and we need to be thankful for our differences and be open to change.
I was able to read this book with my 3-year-old and even he was able to understand that Jake is a good dog and his growl is his only way of communicating, well done Samantha! I will definitely be reading this to him again and again!
Jake the Growling Dog was a sweet Book. Everyone Jake tried to play with all went away scared and thought he was a mean dog because he growled at them. Jake wasn’t very mean at all. He wanted to have friends and play with the kids but every time they heard his grrr they quickly left. One day a black squirrel named Neet tried to
make Jakes voice sound sweet.
Not every dog who growls is mean. He just didn’t know his sounds scared everyone away. This was a quick sweet book showing how everyone is different.