Grace Builds an Almost-Perfect Dog

K-Gr 4–Grace really wants a dog. Her parents have objections until one day, Grace finds a robotic dog that seems to fit the bill. She must buy the kit and build it herself, which she agrees to do, even though it comes with lots of pieces and takes a long time. After a few missteps, Grace has a working dog that she can program to do whatever she asks. This is fun for a bit, but the dog is so consistent that Grace is bored. Grace finds new coding strategies that allow the dog to behave in a more random way, which is also not without pitfalls. Ultimately, through persistence, Grace gets a dog she’s happy with. The warmly colored watercolor artwork is a good accompaniment to the text, helping readers to understand the story more fully. For older readers, the coding for the dog is included as part of the text. Upper elementary students may find this interesting and possibly useful for ideas for other coding projects; the story is compelling, whether for story hours for younger children or a unit on coding.