Please welcome children’s author and retired elementary educator Mary Louise Kelly to Frog on a Blog! Mary’s picture book Dogs In Coats is perfect for kids who love dogs. It’s a concept book that helps kids learn the fundamentals of addition by counting up dogs who are wearing coats and adding that number to dogs who are not wearing coats. In all, kids will “meet” 400 real dogs and even learn each dog’s name. Painted backgrounds by artist Jenn Sargent add more variety and visual elements to each page. It’s super cute and a great way for children to have fun while learning!
Mary stopped by today to share the inspiration behind the book and her passion for joyful learning. Let’s hear from Mary!
The Inspiration Behind Dogs In Coats
by Mary Louise Kelly
I have lived in Vienna, Austria, for the past nineteen years, and one of the things I love most about this beautiful city is how much people love their dogs. Dogs are everywhere. They ride public transportation, relax beside their owners in cafés and restaurants, accompany families into many shops, and are even welcome on golf courses. They truly are part of the family.
We moved to Vienna with our two-year-old Sheltie, Lydia, she immediately fell in love with her new home. Almost every day we visited one of Vienna’s many beautiful dog parks, where she could run freely, play with other dogs, and simply enjoy being a dog. Those wonderful parks eventually became the inspiration for Dogs In Coats. Every page in the book is set in a different dog park throughout the changing seasons, and if you look carefully, you’ll notice that the people are shown only from the waist down. That was intentional; I wanted readers to experience the world from a dog’s point of view.
Throughout my forty-three years as an elementary educator, I always believed that children learn best when they are actively involved in the learning process. My teaching philosophy has been influenced by Maria Montessori, Jean Piaget, and Howard Gardner, whose work on Multiple Intelligences I had the privilege of learning about firsthand while teaching at The Howard Gardner School in Pennsylvania. Every child learns differently, and I have always tried to make learning engaging, meaningful, and enjoyable rather than something to be memorized simply for a test.
My love of mathematics naturally found its way into my classroom. While teaching five-year-old Austrian children who were also learning English as a second language, we celebrated each day of school by counting together. We counted by ones, twos, fives, and tens, gradually helping the children recognize number patterns before introducing addition facts. I wanted mathematics to become something they could see, experience, and enjoy.
Dogs became the perfect teaching partners. Children naturally notice them, talk about them, laugh at them, and remember them. That simple observation inspired me to use groups of dogs to visually demonstrate addition facts. Instead of seeing numbers alone, children could actually see the math happening through playful photographs of dogs, making learning both memorable and fun.
Creating Dogs In Coats became a journey of its own. For four years, I photographed dogs wherever I traveled throughout Europe and the United States, always asking owners for permission before including their beloved companions in the book. Even the Vienna Animal Shelter generously contributed photographs. In the end, the book featured 400 dogs, 160 wearing coats and 240 without. Every photograph reminds me of the wonderful people and remarkable dogs I met along the way.
Looking back, I realize that Dogs In Coats represents everything I loved about teaching. It brings together curiosity, storytelling, joyful learning, and the simple happiness that animals bring into children’s lives. If one child finishes the book smiling a little more confidently about both dogs and mathematics, then every photograph, every lesson, and every moment spent creating it was worthwhile.
Mary Louise Kelly is a retired elementary educator whose teaching career spans more than four decades across Pennsylvania, Ecuador, and Vienna, Austria.
Today, she continues sharing her passion for joyful learning through children’s books, classroom visits, and author presentations, always believing that when children are curious, meaningful learning naturally follows.
More About DOGS IN COATS
Dogs In Coats is a children’s picture book for ages 5–7 by former elementary educator Mary Louise Kelly.
Inspired by more than forty years of classroom experience, the book combines real dog photography with early addition concepts to help children build confidence in mathematics through observation, curiosity, and play. Featuring 400 real dogs photographed in beautiful seasonal settings, Dogs In Coats transforms foundational learning into an engaging and memorable reading experience for children, families, educators, and homeschoolers alike.
Learn more about Mary Louise Kelly and her book at:
