Discussion guide for

Help Me, Mr. Mutt!

Expert Answers for Dogs with People Problems
Have each student write a “how to” paragraph about the dos and don’ts of pet ownership.
Tell the students to think of the advice Mr. Mutt imparts in the book as they write their paragraphs.
Would Mr. Mutt agree with their dos and don’ts?
Mr. Mutt writes proper letters. His letters include his address, the recipient’s address, and
the date, body, and signature. Have each student write a friendly letter to his or her pet, or the pet
they’d like to have if they don’t have one, or the pet of their parents, or a friend. The letter should
incorporate all the parts listed above.
Pet owners like the idea that animals have human traits and can even communicate with people.
As a class, draw up a list of things the students think their pets understand about them and what
they understand about their pets based on body language and sounds.
Help Me,
Have each student bring a photo of his or her pet to class. If a student does not have a pet, he
or she can bring in a photo of the kind of pet they would like to have. Have each student show the Mr. Mutt!
class the pet’s picture and talk about its name, personality, and a funny thing the pet did. Expert Answers for Dogs
Mr. Mutt constructs a doggie food pyramid. Find a copy of the human food pyramid. As a with People Problems
class, compare this to the doggie food pyramid. What foods are the same on both? Which ones are Janet Stevens &
different? Today, the USDA recommends a custom food pyramid for each person, rather than an Susan Stevens Crummel
across-the-board standard food pyramid. Have students visit www.mypyramid.gov to create their Illustrated by Janet Stevens
own custom food pyramid.
978-0-15-204628-6
Ask the class who has a dog, a cat, another kind of pet, or no pet. Write the results on the board
Ages 3 to 7
and ask each student to create a bar graph of the results. Instruct students to label their axis. Explain $17.00
to them the horizontal, or x axis, should list types of pets, such as dog and cat. The vertical, or y axis, Higher in Canada
should have a numeric scale, such as zero to sixty. This scale can count by units of one, two, five, or
ten. For an extra challenge, ask the students to put the same information in the form of a pie chart.

Janet Stevens is the author and illustrator of many popular books
for children. Her picture books have garnered such awards as
a Caldecott Honor, a Texas Bluebonnet Award, and an American
Booksellers Book of the Year Honor. She lives in Boulder, Colorado.
www.janetstevens.com
Susan Stevens Crummel is the author of a number of acclaimed
picture books, many of which she’s written with her sister, Janet
Stevens. She is a popular speaker and visiting author at schools
throughout the country. She lives in Fort Worth, Texas.
www.susanstevenscrummel.com

The activities in this guide were written by Mary Lou Meerson, an educational consultant who lives in San Diego, California. Copyright © 2008 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. www.HarcourtBooks.com