Snow dog, sand dog by Linda Joy Singleton

Jess Golden. Albert Whitman & Co., 2014. ISBN 9780807575369
What do you do when you desperately want a dog of your own, but real ones make you sneeze? Well, you can do what Ally does initially and draw pictures of them or you can go a step further and make one, using your imagination and a bit of magic. When it snowed and the other kids were making snowmen, Ally made a snow dog. She gave him pebble eyes, a pinecone collar and a crooked icicle tail. And even though her friends laughed at her, that snow dog followed Ally home and they had such fun together. But when spring came, the snow melted and so did snow dog so Ally made a flower dog. Then in summer she made a sand dog and in Autumn, a leaf dog, each giving her great fun and companionship.
This is a lovely story about a girl and her imagination with the edges of reality being blurred by the charming artworks which add something special to this delightful story. As an added bonus, for those children who can't have their own dogs because of their own allergies, there are instructions on how to make one - without snow, sand, leaves or flowers!
Barbara Braxton