Remember when an enthusiastic dog started school last year in Harry Bliss’s Bailey? (Click to check out my review if you’re looking for a back-to-school book to read with your children.) Well, just as our kids are settling into a new school year these days, Bailey is too, and his class is heading out on a field trip in Bailey at the Museum.
As the bus rolls away on the opening pages, Bailey’s head is perched out the open window, huge smile firmly in place. All around him, his classmates are engaged in conversation, reading comic books, or catching a few zzz’s on the ride. When they arrive, Bailey partners up with a girl in his class, but she may not have been fully prepared for his level of excitement. Bailey, being a dog and all, is tempted by the large fountain out front, and just might be a little intimidated by the re-creations of life-like predatory creatures. Their museum tour guide finds Mrs. Smith’s group “extraordinary,” and he offers interesting information about the exhibits as they walk around, but even he is flustered when Bailey’s instincts get the better of him near the large T-Rex skeleton model!
A museum guard comes to Bailey’s rescue and stays with him throughout the remainder of the tour. Accompanied by his new pal, Bailey stays mostly out of trouble, but of course, the fun for young readers is in Bailey’s mischief. Even with his (mis)adventures, Bailey finds himself with his class by the end of the field trip, happy to doze a bit on the return bus ride.
As is Bliss’s style, many speech and thought bubbles pop up in throughout the illustrations, telling brief side stories about the other background characters, both human and animal! (I especially enjoyed a pigeon’s commentary as he looked down from a museum ledge upon the class’s arrival. Funny stuff!) First and second graders may get the most out of this picture book, since the concept of traditional school field trips is a familiar one to them, and the side conversations contribute more complexity to the story than a traditional picture book whose text is read straight through. If you know about an upcoming field trip for your children, or you’re an elementary school teacher planning a trip for your class, give Bailey at the Museum a read through with your kids.
As a preschool teacher, Dawn has taken many young’uns to museums, post offices, grocery stores, farms, you name it. When she’s not reading to her class, she tries to find a spare moment or two to blog away at my thoughts exactly.