Looking for an animal-themed picture book that will make your little readers giggle? Ten Little Puppies (2009) from Accord Publishing is certainly a lot of fun!

 Written by Marian Harris and illustrated by Jim Harris, the book leads the reader on a countdown from ten to zero and a survey of various dog breeds to boot. The book's text is set to the rhythm of the familiar “Five Little Monkeys” rhyme, and the colorful, quirky, and cute illustrations on each page portray a different breed of dog. The dogs themselves are depicted pretty realistically—well, except for the fact that they're wearing clothing and their eyes are several sizes out of proportion! This makes sense for the book, however, as part of its charm is its balance between fact and fantasy. No, they don't wear cowboy boots...but yes, dachshunds really do have short little legs and look a lot like the way Jim Harris has drawn them in this playful book. Other dog breeds covered include the husky, the beagle, the bulldog, the poodle, the Irish Setter, and more, and each variety is depicted again (sans clothes and other anthropomorphizing elements this time!) on the book's inside back cover.

Ten Little Puppies is an “Eyeball Animation” book, and besides its focus on dogs, its immediate appeal is its striking, odd appearance. The book features a pair of spherical eyes set into the front cover, with cut-outs on each page for the orbs to poke through to match up with each pictured dog. The pupils of the eyes float and drift, so that it appears that the dogs are shifting their gaze left, right, up, and down as the reader tilts and turns the book.

With its simple text and funny images, Ten Little Puppies is a delight to share with your child.