"Give it back!" "Stop that!" "He won't share!" "I had it first!" "She kicked me!" "That's not fair!"

As educators and parents, we've all been there. You get more than one child in a room, and there's bound to be at least a couple of them arguing over something.

In this tale of her three dogs, award-winning author Julia Cook tells the funny and relatable story of how each dog views his or her siblings. Jake remembers what it was like when life was perfect, and he was still the only dog. Angus hates being stuck in the middle. And Kirby just feels like she's always bossed around.

Children, educators, and parents will have a great time with this story as we are reminded that having siblings helps us practice many skills, such as tolerance, patience, sharing, conflict resolution - and makes cleaning up a lot easier too!

I Want to Be the Only Dog is part of the Building Relationships series which supports social competence. This is one more resource from Julia Cook for helping kids get the social skills they need to get along with others. Tips for parents and educators are located at the end of the story to further address the issue of rivalry with siblings or peers.

The series also includes:

• Rumor Has It
• The Judgmental Flower
• Table Talk
• Hygiene... You Stink!
• Peer Pressure Gauge
• Tease Monster
• Cliques Just Don't Make Cents
• Making Friends Is an Art!

Julia Cook, a former school counselor and teacher, has written many books on behavior and health for children. Her Building Relationships series of 9 storybooks helps kids develop healthy relationships with their peers, parents, and teachers. Julia regularly presents in schools across the country and delivers keynote addresses at national education and counseling conferences. She has received the Association for Educational Publishers Distinguished Achievement Award, and her books have been honored by the National Parenting Center and Mom's Choice Awards.