By: Claudia Guadalupe Martnez / Illustrated by: Laura Gonzlez

What’s that barking, yipping sound? It’s not a dog.

A Mexican prairie dog may look like a dog, but it is certainly not a dog. This adorable mammal is actually part of the rodent family!

With Spanish vocabulary and a clever shapes concept, Nota Dog explores the life cycle of the Mexican prairie dog, the species’ contribution to a healthy ecosystem, and the ways in which farming has destroyed their habitat and made them an endangered species.

If you like this book, youll enjoy these:
Not a Bean
Not a Monster

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Look Inside

Downloadables

Download the CoverDownload the Series Activity Kit

Author & Illustrator

Claudia Guadalupe Martnez, author

Claudia Guadalupe Martnez learned that letters form words from reading subtitles of old westerns with her father. Her debut novel, The Smell of Old Lady Perfume, received the 2009 Paterson Prize for Books for Young People, the 2008 Texas Institute of Letters Best Young Adult Book Award, and a 2009 Americas Award Commendation. Pig Park won the 2015 Texas Institute of Letters Best Young Adult Book and the 2015 NACCS Tejas Foco Young Adult Fiction Award.

Read more about Claudia.

Laura Gonzlez, illustrator

Laura Gonzlez has a degree in graphic design from Universidad Autnoma de Nuevo Len in Mexico, where she also studied illustration. She is a member of the Mexican Association of Illustrators (AMDI) and has illustrated several books for children.

Read more about Laura.

Awards & Honors

• Coming soon!

Editorial Reviews

Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Although it barks, a Mexican prairie dog is not a canine.
While the perrito llanero once dug underground colonies in grasslands from Mexico to Canada, their population declined as farmers took over their lands and culled many of the animals. Interspersed with Spanish words, this clever tribute to an endangered rodent is woven with introductions to shapes. At birth, the prairie dog is a tiny, hairless thing, nuzzling its mam with the tringulo of its nose. As it grows and joins other pups, they eat grass and plants with their sharp rectngulos for teeth. Though these animals face perils from humans, they also have allies. A diverse group of schoolchildren on a field trip learn about the prairie dogs and are spurred to help protect them, getting out their papel cuadrado (paper in the shape of a square) and writing letters. Their efforts pay off, and a No farming sign soon goes up. Now, as far as those valo-shaped eyes can see, there are prairie dogs and prairie dogs and prairie dogs. Like the creators previous titlesNot a Bean (2019) and Not a Monster (2023)this is a playful look at a potentially misunderstood creature. Gonzlezs earth-toned illustrations are both aw-inspiring and meticulously detailed, especially the cutaway images of the underground homes. A celebration of environmental action, a look at a most fascinating rodent, and an exploration of Spanish shape wordsthis one succeeds on all fronts.
A worthy continuation of a stellar series.

Details

English Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-62354-304-4

Spanish Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-62354-492-8

Spanish Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-62354-603-8

Ages: 37
Page count: 32
11 x 81/2

Publication date: June 17, 2025

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