#22 in Picture books
Harry the Dirty Dog
- 32
- Pages
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Our view
“Harry the Dirty Dog” is a short, cheerful picture book with a simple story that young children can easily follow. Gene Zion’s text and Margaret Bloy Graham’s pictures trail a dog whose escapades leave him grubbier at every turn. Some readers recommend it warmly for children. Black and white when it first appeared in 1956, it returned in 2002 with touches of colour added by the illustrator herself.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
Harry the Dirty Dog is an American children's picture book written by Gene Zion and illustrated by Margaret Bloy Graham. Originally published in black and white in 1956 by Harper and Row, it was reprinted in 2002 with splashes of color added by the original artist. Based on a 2007 online poll, the National Education Association listed the book as one of its "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children." The story also spawned an animated short, which was released in 1997.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.2 across 57 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 28% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Picture books average of 8.3. That is how 8.0 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.4 | 21 | 37% |
| Hardcover | 8.2 | 36 | 63% |
Frequently asked
What age is Harry the Dirty Dog for?
Harry the Dirty Dog sits on the Children shelf in the sources we use, which by convention means roughly ages 5–10. This is a guide from the book’s category, not a publisher’s age rating. It has 32 pages — shorter than 99% of the ranked books in Picture books.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Picture books — with scores between 7.8 and 8.2, closest to this book.
