Happy National Dog Day

It is no secret that this blog likes dogs, one of the most accessed posts is Dogs at the Book Fair. Over the years we have accumulated quite a collection of books about dogs and even one that is narrated by a dog.

Gaston by Kelly DiPucchio and illustrated by Caldecott Honor recipient, Christian Robinson, features two dog families who meet in the park, a family of poodles who have a French bulldog member and a family of French bulldogs who have a poodle member. Clearly, there has been a mistake. A switch is made, can you guess how it turns out? The book is worth reading if only to read the the girl poodle names out loud: Fi-Fi, Foo-Foo and Ooh-La-La in your very best French accent. The Sonoma County Library has nine copies and the AR is 2.8.

I'm My Own Dog is written and illustrated by Caldecott Honor winner, David Ezra Stein. Our hero declares that, "I'm my own dog. No one owns me. I own myself." He takes care of everything he needs except for a little place on his back that needs a scratch that he can't reach.  A little guy scratches his back then follows him home. What is a dog to do but let him stay. He trains the little guy and soon they become best friends. The Sonoma County Library has eight copies and the AR is 1.5.

 Mrs. Birdhead has had it with Bobo's bad behavior in How To Be A Good Dog  by Gail Page. She sends him to the dog house. But Cat misses Bobo. Armed with a dog training manual, Cat  teaches Bobo to shake, fetch, heel, lie down, roll over and stay. All goes well until Mrs. Birdhead comes home from the grocery store. How does Bobo get back in her good graces? The Sonoma County Library has one copy and the AR is 1.4.

Homer by Elisha Cooper is a celebration of old dogs. Homer's family is at the beach house. does he want to play chase with the other dogs? No, sitting on the porch is fine. He also declines to explore the field, go to the beach and swim in the waves. Eventually everyone comes back and joins him on the porch and shares their adventures. Does he need anything? No he has everything he needs, he has his family. We have an old dog much like Homer, this story rings true. The Sonoma County Library has eleven copies and the AR is 1.8.

Percy loves puddles of all kinds but the one he loves most of all does not love him back because it is occupied by Mama Pig and her piglets. A big storm comes and a tree falls in the perfect puddle scattering Mama and her piglets. One is missing. Where could she be? Percy finds her and now the perfect puddle loves him back. The rhyming in this book is a great vocabulary builder.
Sonoma County Library has one copy and the AR is 2.4.

 A few more dog books reviewed over the years:

An easy reader, A Dog Is a Dog by Stephen Shaskan.

Atticus, the aforementioned dog narrator knows what is going on, his co-narrator, Ben, has no clue in Road Trip by Gary and Jim Paulsen.

Pug and Other Animal Poetry by Valerie Worth and illustrated by Stephan Jenkins is a collection of eighteen short poems about animal behavior.

Since National Dog Day is a celebration of rescue, it is only fitting that Trouper by Meg Kearney is included.

One more link from Brightly, 21 Woof-tastic Children's Books About Dogs. Enjoy!

Time Magazine’s 100 Best Young Adult Books of All Time

It is more accurate to say that this is a list of Middle Grade and Young Adult books. Charlotte's Web is probably read by more third graders than high school sophomores. Then again, The Hunger Games, would be more appropriate for an older reader. Some of my favorite books are on this list including From The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, The Invention of Hugo Cabret , Holes, A Wrinkle in Time, When You Reach Me, The Graveyard Book, Wonder, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime , Matilda and of course, The Sorcerer’s Stone (the first Harry Potter book).

NYPL Top Children’s Books of the Last 100 Years

The New York Public Library (NYPL) presented its first ever list of the Top Children’s Books of the Last 100 Years. Many of the books are no surprise: Cat in the Hat by Dr Seuss, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle and Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown. Some have been featured on this blog: Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo, Holes by Louis Sacher and The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats. There are books that I loved as a kid: Charlotte’s Web by E B White, Madeleine by Ludwig Bemelmans and The Hobbit by J R R Tolkien. A generation later my children loved: Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume, The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe by C S Lewis and Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst. My grandchildren love: The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J K Rowling .  Check out the  complete list at School Library Journal.

Road Trip

Readers of this blog will note that I review lots of “dog” books, but I believe Road Trip is the first one that has a dog co-narrator. Atticus is a fifteen year old border collie, he pays attention to everything. The other narrator, fourteen year old, Ben, like many of us,  does not.

On  the first day of summer vacation, Ben’s father wakes him up at 5 A.M. and announces that they are going on a trip to rescue a border collie puppy. Ben’s dad is a spur of the moment kind of guy, so he isn’t too surprised by the idea, but not too happy with it either. Atticus, who is less than thrilled that they are going to get a dog, is going along, too. As they are getting ready to leave, Ben finds out that there may not be money to send him to hockey camp this summer. A camp that he had been planning on since he got his first pair of skates at age five. And the reason: his dad had quit his job and was going to flip houses for a living. Ben is mad. To show his displeasure, he calls his new friend, Theo, who his dad thinks is a hoodlum and invites him along. Atticus fills us in on all that Ben has missed these past few months. The boss (as Atticus calls Ben’s dad) has been working until late at night and on the weekends on the house he bought. It  is finished and there is an offer on it. Ben didn’t notice his dad was always gone and always tired. Atticus did.

Theo is not the only one to join Ben and his dad on the trip to rescue the puppy. The truck breaks down and they pick up a school bus that comes with its own mechanic named Gus. And a waitress named, Mia, who is feed up with rowdy customers and quits her job after she saves Theo from a thug named Bobby. The five of them have a few exciting adventures on their trip and a big surprise when they arrive at the animal shelter.

Because this book is for children, everyone gets what they deserve. Gus steps in to help Mia and Theo get an education, Ben works with his dad over the summer and the thug, Bobby is arrested. Atticus discovers that the puppy isn’t a dog, but a border collie just like him.

Gary Paulsen, has written over a hundred books for kids. Three of them have won Newbery Honors. He co-wrote the book with his adult son, Jim Paulsen, who is a sculptor and a former elementary school teacher. It is tempting to think that some of their relationship is reflected in this story. I have absolutely no evidence, just an opinion.

The Sonoma County Library has several copies and it can still be found online at Scholastic with credit going to Yulupa School until March 19, 2013.

The AR level is 4.3.