Princesses and Puppies (Disney Princess) (Step into Reading)

Sounds odd, I know, that someone would say that of a Level-1 "Step Into Reading" book, but as usual with books where the illustrations are the main feature--they're what makes this really interesting. And they are gorgeous! Being a fanatical dog lover and Disneyphile, the cover attracted me immediately. Finally, the Scottish Deerhounds from Brave get some recognition!! Excellent. I had to see the other princess' dogs. Oddly enough, the cover shows Rapunzel holding a puppy who isn't featured in the book at all. S/he resembles Cinderella's new one, so, perhaps a littermate.As it turns out, the Palace Pets game/toy line really should have been more realistic like some of these canines.The following princesses either own or simply encounter a variety of dogs in this easy-reader:Jasmine observes a little stray brown/tan mutt balancing a bone on his nose in the middle of the bazaar. Whether or not she adopts him or finds him a home is not addressed, but he at least looks happy enough with his life of street performing for food.Tiana meets a plump little red mixed-breed pup (probably part Cocker spaniel?) while out shopping. S/he tugs at her dress, then takes a nap in her lap. Again, we don't know whether the dog winds up being Tiana's or what, but she certainly looks very taken with him/her ("it" from now on, since genders aren't revealed.) The most traditional ways for a princess to obtain pets, it seems, is either to randomly find and adopt a stray, or to receive one as a present--typically from her prince/husband.Ariel's is an example of the latter. Taking a cue from Jim Dear, Eric gifts her a puppy in a ribbon-tied box. Clearly he bred Max to a female Old English Sheepdog, because this puppy is Max's spittin' image. Adorable! I wonder what she named it. (That goes for all of them. If only this were a Level-5 or something with more detail.)On the cover, Merida's got two lovely Deerhound puppies--probably either Fergus' two hounds when they were young, or the offspring or one or both of them. My headcanon gives Merida a Deerhound pup named Grady, born of the two adults (Rhona and Evander), as well as an Irish Water Spaniel named Bedelia. So, in the book, Merida and Angus come upon a pup rolling in a mud puddle, and she takes him inside for a bath.The dwarfs return home to find Snow White tickling a surprise new pet--a brown/tan little mixed-breed pup.Adam/Beast is looking beastlier than ever these days. He must be taking a page out of Gaston's book and eating five dozen eggs a day, approaching the size of a barge. Gaston just wasn't huge enough for Belle's taste. Anyhow, he has another awesome surprise for her. Some dude is giving away his three Pug puppies, and she gets to choose one. The other two appear to be adopted by an older Chip and one of his sisters. I had imagined her getting one of the loads of French breeds, but somehow a Pug suits her. Mulan and Pocahontas would be thrilled for her.Rapunzel discovers a "fluffy" (but it's not very fluffy) white puppy in a patch of flowers, and returns it to its apparently stray (collar-free) parents and littermates, who're living on a patch of straw beside some building in town. Because she's got the flower-embellished, braided-up magical infinite blonde hair instead of her true brown, we know that this happened during the "in town" scene in the film. So at that point, she definitely wasn't able to adopt the family, and I doubt there was a local animal shelter. But in happy little books like this, the strays all look happy and in good shape, and are likely treated well by most people in the area. These puppies are a mix of numerous breeds I've guessed at based upon the parents' appearances, which are quite cool.My favorite entry in this book besides Merida's Deerhounds is Aurora's. By some logic or random selection, she now has two Whippets. (Well, since they're referred to as puppies, I suppose they could be young Greyhounds, but they really look like Whippets. Maybe they're 11 months old or something.) These delightful sighthounds enjoy romping in the grass with her woodland-critter friends and chasing sticks. Awesome.Prince Charmin' further charms his Cindy with a new little pal for Bruno--a fawn-colored, "colorpoint"-patterned mix.It's just a shame that Elsa and Anna are still too new to be included in a lot of the princess stuff; I'd have LOVED to see them get some palace pooches.

Purchased this book as a gift for my neighbors daughter. When I asked her what she wanted, her reply was, "A PUPPY"! Knowing I couldn't buy her an actual dog, I set out to find books regarding puppies for her. She immediately started reading & flipping through the pages. Excellent book for any princess or puppy fans.

Daughter enjoyed

I bought this for my niece and she loves it. She really wants to read and this book is helping. I've shown her how to recognize certain words to pictures on the page and she can now identify on her own. She is just about able to read a full page without help.

I guess it is my fault. I did not look at the number of pages before I bought it. it is not something I would order again. Also I could not get my Kindle Fire HDX to read it.

These read aloud books with the themes they are interested in are amazing for new readers

This book has beautiful pictures of Disney princesses and their puppies. It is an early learn to read book so there are not many worlds and no real story. Great for a princess fan who is learning to read. Boring for everyone else.

One of my grandchild's favorite books. The pages have good quality ink and the drawings are wonderful.

Livre très sympa et adorable!Les illustrations sont sublimes, et les petites histoires sont vraiment mignonnes! Avec deux pages minimum par princesses, allant jusqu'à quatre pour certaines, on ne peut qu'être attendrit par nos chères princesses et leur adorables petits chiots!