Stick Dog Slurps Spaghetti
#6 of 12 in Stick Dog Series
What’s inside...
It’s slippery. It’s slurpable. It’s spaghetti! Perfect for fans of Big Nate, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and the previous Stick Dog books, Tom Watson’s hilarious Stick Dog Slurps Spaghetti is not to be missed. Stick Dog and his gang of hungry hounds want to play tug-of-war. Their search for rope leads to something even better—spaghetti! Once they get a taste, they must get some more. It will be their most difficult mission ever—and will demand all of Stick Dog’s problem-solving skills. They’ll need to scale the tallest mountain in the suburbs and sneak into a restaurant filled with people. Dangerous humans—a strange-talking girl, a huge chef, and a penguin-man—lurk around every corner. But there’s more than danger in the air. Stick Dog has caught the scent of something even more scrumptious than spaghetti. And he’ll risk everything to find out what it is. The beloved children’s book series continues as Stick Dog and his canine friends go on the prowl for pasta!
Discussion points
What do you think Stick Dog and his friends learned about teamwork while trying to get the spaghetti?
How did each character contribute to their adventure?
What would you have done if you were one of Stick Dog's friends?
How do you think Stick Dog felt when they finally got the spaghetti?
Can you think of a time when you worked together with friends to achieve something?
Tip: Role play these questions
Encourage your child to draw parallels between the story and their own experiences with friends.
Ask your child to describe each character’s traits and discuss how these traits helped or hindered their quest for spaghetti.
During the discussion, validate your child’s feelings and thoughts, relating them back to the story’s themes of friendship and teamwork.
Use expressive voices for different characters to make the reading experience more engaging and memorable for your child.
After reading, you might consider having a small spaghetti cooking session together, linking the fun activity with the lesson from the book.
Key lessons
Example Lesson: Teamwork and collaboration
Explanation: Stick Dog and his friends work together to find spaghetti, showcasing how cooperation can lead to achieving goals.
Real-World Application: Children learn the importance of working with others to solve problems, which can be applied in group activities at school or play.
Example Lesson: Problem-solving skills
Explanation: Throughout the book, Stick Dog and his crew encounter various challenges but come up with creative solutions to navigate through them.
Real-World Application: This encourages children to think critically and creatively when faced with obstacles, enhancing adaptability in real-life situations.
Example Lesson: The value of persistence
Explanation: Despite numerous setbacks, Stick Dog perseveres in his quest for spaghetti, teaching that determination often leads to success.
Real-World Application: Kids are motivated to persist in their endeavors, be it learning a new skill or completing a difficult task, understanding that effort is a key component of success.
Example Lesson: Humor as a coping mechanism
Explanation: The book uses humor to deal with setbacks, illustrating how a positive attitude can make challenges easier to handle.
Real-World Application: Children learn to approach difficult situations with a sense of humor, helping them deal with stress and maintain a positive outlook.