Bright, bold humorous illustrations will capture the reader’s attention, and guide them through this amusing story of a noisy day in the life of a big, old dog. In the end, the dog learns that many things that bark loudly do not bite. The large, clear text has repetitive qualities and a vocabulary level that is geared to the beginning reader. Pre-readers will learn about reactions and associated facial expressions by looking at the pictures of the endearing dog. The book highlights adjectives that begin with the letter S to describe the big, old dog’s responses to the noises. The dog is: speedy, silly, scared, skeptical, skittish, shaky, saggy, stunned, surprised, sleepy, snoring and most of all, sweet. An appendix offers additional activities for the reader, such as: listing their own doggy description words and drawing associated expressions. Teachers will find the appendix to be a helpful learning guide. Young and old will enjoy this story, and will want to read it again and again.