I thought it was very interesting to rad a book written from the dog's point of view. I really think that the pandemic affected animals who had their humans home all of a sudden. I enjoyed the story and illustrations of this book. It was nicely done and I have recommended it to the school librarian.

This book was excessively long and wordy. The author falls into the habit of ‘telling’ rather than “showing”. It is based on what happened in 2020 with the lock down. This book wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great. It has been done better by others.

I was expecting a story about a family that got one of those pandemic pooches. Jake behaved like a child. He even went to school on Zoom and wears a mask. When didn’t the author just make Jake a boy?

I really enjoyed reading Jake and the Pandemic. I enjoyed it so much that I read it to my nieces who are all under the age of eight and have all gone through the pandemic at different ages and with different understandings. They enjoyed listening to it and viewing the pictures as well! Chris Hardy did a fantastic job of depicting what the pandemic is while keeping the language and messaging at a level that a child would understand. The most important component of the book to me is that it continuously encouraged children to have hope that this pandemic will end one day, and things will be better, with tangible, real examples of how that could happen. The humanization of Jake as well worked well by allowing children to place themselves in Jake’s shoes with going to school online, only spending time with their immediate family in the house, and then finally going outside safely, like Jake riding his scooter and interacting with the people in his community. This is a great quick read for or even with kids and the illustrations are helpful and work perfectly with the story. My favorite was Jake and his little mask!

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for an advanced copy of this book; all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Even if the Covid-19 pandemic is over, people of all ages still have angst about it and all the changes it made in our lives. In this reassuring little book, a furry dog and his nemesis (a squirrel) think about how things were before and during that time and look to the future with hope. The prose is simple and clear enough for ESL and/or children. The illustrations by Victoria Osipova are simple, delightful, colorful, vibrant, and imaginative.
Well suited for reading WITH someone of any age and also for ESL readers.
I really want to get one for my local public library!
I requested and received a free temporary e-book on Kindle from BooksGoSocial via NetGalley. Thank you!

This is a cute book that would help kids see the brighter side of things in the pandemic and help young kids who didn’t understand at the time understand. I loved the little dogs in masks, fun graphics!

This was a very simply written and straightforward book. It basically retells our experience during the pandemic through the eyes of a dog. The dog is representing a young child who lives with mom and dad and goes to online school. This is something I know my children, both biological and my students, will love to read in the upcoming years. They are still processing so much at the moment about what happened during the pandemic. Books are always the best way to learn, and ask questions, and help children process something. This will make a great addition to any home or classroom library!

Jake is a cute little pup who’s world flips upside down one day when the world locks down for the pandemic. Jake tells a meaningful story about about working through the dead and anxiety of the scary time and the way he and his family coped. Would be very relatable to young child. .

A sweet tale about a puppy trying to navigate the world during the pandemic.

Jake likes to spend time outside with all his friends, but one day he wakes up to his world changed. The places he loves are closed, everyone is wearing masks, and he is worried about the new reality he lives in.

This book is wonderful to explain how the pandemic affected life and the worries children might experience during. It offers solutions for anyone experiencing isolation with creative ways to stay healthy and active. A wonderful story with adorable artwork.

Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the opportunity to read and review this book.

With thanks to the author, publishers BooksGoSocial, and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

This story of Jake the dog and his changing emotions before and during the Covid-19 pandemic is one that a lot of young kids will no doubt able to relate to. I thought that telling the story through the eyes of a dog was a fun and innovative way to get the message across to young readers.

The story tells of how Jake initially felt sad and afraid, but then happy and ultimately hopeful of an end to the pandemic, and that it was OK for him to feel each of these emotions. The book also shows how simple acts of kindness can have such a positive impact on others, especially those feeling the same way that Jake was.

This book was super sweet and cute! The illustrations were adorable and I think kids will love spotting Jake’s squirrel friend. I also think this book will be helpful for kids trying to process the pandemic and how it affected them. Plus, I can’t help but love books that support rescue dogs! The writing was a bit simplistic, but I am not the target audience, kids are, and I am sure they won’t mind. :)

Really sweet book from a child's perspective during the pandemic. Baking and playing games with his family, helping neighbors with outside chores, gardening and growing food, and doing yoga. A lesson in patience and kindness.
One of my favorite things in picture books is having something to look for on each page. In Jake and the Pandemic it's Jake's squirrel friend Stuart.

Jake and the Pandemic tells the story of the pandemic (specifically 2020) from the perspective of an anthropomorphic dog. Jake describes life before the pandemic and then how much things changed, including wearing masks, attending online school and having to stay inside a lot. Even though the story includes lots of things that dogs don't normally do, like mow the lawn or help make cookies, I think it is nice that the main character is a dog rather than a child. I think this brings a new layer of interest and engagement to the story because children can relate to the story with a bit more of a separation of their own experiences and those they are reading about. The book sends important messages about anxiety and mental health, especially the isolation related to the pandemic and how spending time with family and helping others in safe ways are great ways to get through difficult situations like this one. I think this is a nice book for parents of young children who are still experiencing some anxiety surrounding the pandemic or could benefit from reading positive stories about the recent past. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book!

Jake and the Pandemic is a really sweet story about a dog named Jake getting through the pandemic. His activities are like he's an actual human child, like helping to bake, going to school, and learning card games. I appreciated the sweet theme of being more thoughtful and helpful towards others.

Such a great book! It gives great insight into what it was like living in early stages of the pandemics and lockdowns yet it still install hope and empowerment within. great illustrations.

The good: Love opening these conversations with kids, and I think this did a good job of giving kids space to talk about their experiences of the pandemic, how it affected their lives and how they move on from it

The iffy: I'm not sure what age group this is for. The paragraphs versus the anthropomorphic dog confused it.

The bad: The book couldn't seem to decide exactly how anthropomorphic Jake should be and going from walking on a leash to his hind legs playing charades was jarring

How cute! Aimed at children aged 4-8, Chris Hardy's Jake and the Pandemic is a warm and friendly explanation of life during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020.

Told through Jake's eyes, Wally_LL's adorable illustrations show how the quarantine affected daily life for young children. Disruptions to school and playtime, even shopping trips and visits with the neighbors, changed significantly during this time.

Chris Hardy's story is playful and reassuring, with a hopeful ending we can all get behind!

Jake is a dog who doesn't really know what's going on when the pandemic started. He's lost, confused, lonely, and anxious. But his (human) mom tells him that it's okay to feel that way and that they'll get through this pandemic together. She shows him ways to cope (playing games as a family, planting new seeds, etc.) and gives him hope that they'll return to a normal life again.

What I really enjoyed about this book was that there was an acceptance of those feelings. I hear too many times of people who grew up with parents who dismissed their emotions. Even though this book doesn't go into all the issues caused by the pandemic (death, sickness, losing a job, etc.), it is from the perspective of a young child, so some of these things don't matter as much. The book could have benefited from adding a small section about death, but maybe that's just my opinion.

Bonus points: the dog in the book is based off of a dog in real life! Very cute.

This is a sweet intentioned book and it’s obvious the author means well but it’s not one I’d recommend. The main character is a dog who is treated like a human child, which makes no sense. If you’re going to have an animal character then give him animal parents. This dog has a human mother, goes to school, walks on his hind legs to mow the lawn and wears a face mask. The book also ends with the development of the vaccine and says he looks forward to the end of the pandemic, making it seem already outdated. It also doesn’t deal with the real hardships so many children dealt with— getting sick themselves, losing loved ones, etc.

Jake is the most adorable dog around. I love that he is based on a real dog and will continue to inspire us by sharing more stories. How fun to use this as am mentor text to inspire young writers to write a story featuring their pet or one they wish they had. I also love his friend, Stuart as a co-pilot in this story as he helps engage the reader with the illustrations. Animals can surely help our youngest readers navigate what is happening in their current world. At the end it says part of the profits will go to animal charities opening up to conversations about animal rescue and being a responsible animal owner.