Dog days of summer getting to you?

You know what they say: Every dog has its day. But come the last sultry weeks of summertime, seems like the canine species gets more than a month! These four to six weeks from late July through all of August and into early September have been known as "The Dog Days" since antiquity. The early Greeks and Romans blamed summer's hottest stretch on the Dog Star, Sirius, the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major, that for more than a month would rise and shine with the sun-and, they thought, intensify the sun's heat. So bright that it was visible in the daytime sky, the ancients considered Sirius (from the ancient Greek for "scorching") to be a beacon of the changing seasons and a predictor the future-not to mention the cause of many a maladies.

Not that the ancients were barking up the wrong tree, but nowadays Sirius rises in the fall and winter. Yet, the term "dog days of summer" has stuck like a sweaty T-shirt against hot leather bucket seats. Only now it has more to do with that all-too-familiar 98-in-the-shade daze or how kids start hangdogging during the last weeks of summer vacation as back-to-school dread begins to gnaw at them like a teething puppy in a furniture shop.But letting those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer get the best of you is like the tail waggin the dog. In our dogged pursuit of excellence in children's entertainment and educational products, we've dug up a few titles that are a breed apart in engaging young minds-even during these doldrum days of August. So, it's not too late to let summer go to the dogs. Just make sure it's the top dogs like these below.

-Ann and Don Oldenburg

Parents Choice reviewers and the authors of "The Washington DC-Baltimore Dog Lover's Companion" (Foghorn Press), a guidebook of places to go and things to do with your pooch-from the doggy perspective!

Movies

Blue's Clues: Rhythm and Blue
Ages 2 - 5 yrs.
Paramount Home Entertainment, $9.95 (VHS)

Blue continues to charm as she teaches. Young children will be absorbed by solving Blue’s Clues, asking to see this show over and over again.

Clifford The Big Red Dog: Clifford Saves the Day! and Clifford's Fluffiest Friend
Ages 3 - 12 yrs.
Scholastic Inc., $19.98

This video comes packed with eight fun, new Clifford episodes including Fluffed-Up Cleo, Cleo's Fair Share, Two's Company, and Circus Stars.

A Dog of Flanders
Ages 6 - 12 yrs.
Warner Home Video, $19.98

A remake of the original movie made in 1914, the story is about a poor farm boy named Nello who comes across a near-dead dog in the woods. He nurses the dog back to health and overtime to two become inseparable. As their friendship grow, Nello begins pursuing his dream of becoming an artist.

My Dog Skip
Ages 8 - 14 yrs.
Warner Home Video, $22.96

Set in the 1940's during World War II, this is a heart-warming story about nine-year-old Willie Morris, played by Malcolm In the Middle's Frankie Muniz, who is left alone when his only friend goes off to war. To ease the void, his parents get him a dog named Skip. Willie and Skip forge a strong and lasting bond, the kind the words "a boy and his dog" have always meant in the deepest sense.

Books

A Day, A Dog All Ages
By Gabrielle Vincent
Front Street, $16.95

This astonishing wordless picture book tells the heart-rending story of an abandoned dog. In remarkable black-and-white pencil drawings, the artist shows us the dog being heedlessly thrown out of a car, chasing after it fruitlessly and giving up, at last, unwittingly causing a major highway accident. Older children and adults in large numbers will be caught up in this powerful documentary in picture-book form.

Three More Stories You Can Read to the DogAll Ages
By Sara Swan Miller
Houghton Mifflin Co., $14.00

Any child who has a dog member of the family, as well as those who wish they had one, will enjoy these canine adventures from daily life: going to the vet, longing for a friend to play with, and being strong-armed into taking a bath. It won't take a young human listener long to notice the resemblances to his or her own daily-life adventures.

Lassie Come-Home
All Ages
By Rosemary Wells, Illustrated by Susan Jeffers
Henry Holt and Company Books for Young Readers, ISBN: 0-8050-3794-2, $16.95

An unorthodox picture-book text, to be sure, but this sensitive rendition of Eric Knight's 1938 classic about the much-loved collie that refuses to be separated from her young master is sure to win a large, latter-day audience of younger listener/viewers. The book's uplifting message that - just occasionally - love does conquer all is yet another plus.

Sally Goes to the Beach
Ages 2 - 4 yrs.
By Stephen Huneck
Harry N. Abrams, Inc., $17.95

This handsome, oversized book, illustrated by bold color woodcuts, gives youngest listener/viewers a dog's-eye view of a summer vacation at the beach. Sally, a black Labrador, takes a first timer's enthusiastic delight in the sights, sounds and sensations of a day in the sun, sea and sand.

Sally Goes to the Mountains
Ages 4 - 8 yrs.
By Stephen Huneck
Harry N. Abrams, Inc., ISBN: 0-8109-4485-5, $17.95

Join Sally, our curious black Labrador, on her first camping trip to the mountains.

I'm Not Going to Chase the Cat Today
Ages 3 - 7 yrs.
By Jessica Harper
Harper Collins, $15.95

This sprightly cautionary tale in enthusiastic support of the adage "One good turn deserves another," tells what happens when the family dog awakes from a nap resolving that he will not chase the cat today. His surprising change of heart inspires the family cat to decide not to chase the resident mouse. One act leads humorously into another and before too long, the house erupts into a giant party. And what kid doesn't like a party?

Hondo & Fabian
Ages 3 - 9 yrs.
By Peter McCarty
Henry Holt and Company Books for Young Readers, ISBN: 0-8050-6352-8, $16.95

Hondo, an ingratiating dog, and Fabian, a laid-back cat, are friends. No adult who ever loved a dog-- or cat-- is likely to pass this duo by: they are irresistible. Nothing world shaking happens to them: Hondo goes to the beach with Fred, a canine pal; Fabian stays at home where he's harassed by a child but then has solitary fun unrolling the toilet paper. But it is the masterful illustrations that are truly a treat in this book.

Dog Tales
Ages 4 - 8 yrs.
By Jennifer Rae
Tricycle Press, $14.95

These re-tellings of classic fairy tales with a doggy twist are great fun. Some favorites include Jack Russell and the Beanstalk, Cindersmelly, and Rapawnzul, the star of the story, has very long ears. Jennifer Rae's tales are great fun and Rose Cowles' dressed-up dog illustrations fit the whimsy just right.

The Great Poochini
Ages 4 - 8 yrs.
By Gary Clement
Groundwood Books, $15.95

By day, he's Jack, a regular dog who lives in the city. By night, he's Signor Poochini, the great canine lyric opera singer. Tonight is the premiere of Dog Giovanni and he will be singing, until he realizes his usual escape route-the window-is locked! Writer and illustrator Gary Clement offers a sophisticated setting for a pun-filled, fun-filled tale.

Brought to you by the TopDogs@ShortOrderDogs.com