Madeline Finn and the Library Dog by Lisa Papp

 
Madeline Finn hates reading. Because every time she tries, she always gets a heart sticker instead of a star sticker, and she wants to be a star.

But one day she goes to the library and meets Bonnie. Who is a great listener. And doesn't judge her when she struggles.

Bonnie is a dog.

And reading this book has made me even more determined to get my dog certified to be a therapy dog so I can bring him to our school library and have kids read to him every day. That would make me happy, him happy, and the kids happy. It's a win-win-win. :)

Madeline Finn and the Library Dog by Lisa Papp
Published: October 1, 2016
Publisher: Peachtree
Pages: 32
Format/Genre: Picture book
Audience: Primary/Middle Grade
Disclosure: Library Copy

If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound. 

Treat by Mary Sullivan

Mary Sullivan's picture book Ball is a favorite of mine, so I was elated to discover she had another one-word story, Treat, and it is just as charming as her first. I especially love that both Ball and Treat say "Word and Pictures by Mary Sullivan." That just makes me giggle every time I see it.  

As you would imagine, Treat is the story of a highly food-motivated dog who thinks of nothing but where he can find his next snack. As he begs several different members of his family and is teased mercilessly by the family toddler, this French Bulldog walks off dejected and has a series of odd dreams that all revolve around objects he encountered during the day. The big question readers are left wondering as they turn the pages is: will this neglected pooch find something to sate his hunger?

To say the dog in this book reminds me of my pug Frank would be an understatement. He has spent his entire life trying to think of ways to acquire his next meal or snack. And if he's not looking for a snack, he's looking for a lap. So I think I'm definitely going to have to own this book. 

Was Mary Sullivan inspired by my pug Frank? :)

Treat by Mary Sullivan
Published: March 1, 2016
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Pages: 40
Format: Picture Book
Disclosure: Library Copy

If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound. 

Naptime with Theo and Beau by Jessica Shyba

Jessica Shyba is a popular blogger who one day, innocently enough, posted some pictures of her son and new puppy on her blog, Momma's Gone City.  But the pictures soon went viral and Theo and Beau became an Internet sensation.

Naptime with Theo and Beau is peppered with minimal, simple text perfectly tailored for children up to pre-school age, but it honestly doesn't matter what age you are; if these pictures don't melt your heart, then, frankly, you don't have one.

 I mean. My heart. Oh my heart cannot handle such sweetness right now. Gah! MUST HAVE ALL THE BABIES AND PUPPIES!

As if the sweetness of Theo and Beau napping cheek to cheek didn't already get me all teary, this part of the author's note surely left me in a puddle of tears:

On his third day home with us, Theo came up to the bedroom as I quietly rocked Beau to sleep for his afternoon nap. I was nervous that they'd distract each other, but instead, he crawled right on top of Beau and they both fell asleep immediately. Each day since, Theo meets us at naptime and then wait patiently for Beau to fall asleep.

I mean seriously.  Why doesn't everyone have a dog?

Speaking of which, while not nearly as cute as Theo and Beau napping, I feel the need to go take a nap with my dogs right now. I think Theo and Beau are sure turn the hearts of even the most reluctant nappers.


Naptime with Theo and Beau by Jessica Shyba
Published: February 3, 2015
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Pages: 40
Genre/Format: Picture Book
Audience: Primary
Disclosure: Library Copy

If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound.  

Tuesday Tucks Me In by Luis Carlos Montalvan with Bret Witter, photographs by Dan Dion

Former Army Captain Luis Carlos Montalvan was wounded both physically and emotionally from his two tours in Iraq. Suffering from a traumatic brain injury and also post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Montalvan eventually stopped leaving his apartment and withdrawal caused him to turn away from friends and family.

But all that changed when Tuesday came into his life. As a service dog, Tuesday helps Montalvan with basic tasks of everyday life that his physical and emotional wounds have made difficult for him, such as walking down stairs and boarding a crowded subway. Tuesday can even sense when Montalvan is about to have a panic attack and is there to help get him through it. But Tuesday gives Montalvan so much more than support. He is a companion in every sense of the word and together they help educate communities about people with disabilities and the need for wounded veterans returning home to be given the care they deserve for serving their country.

About a year ago Luis Carlos Montalvan came to my town's public library to talk about his memoir, Until Tuesday, and it was so heartwarming to see the impact service dogs are having on these physically and emotionally wounded soldiers. I am elated that Montalvan has adapted his story into this beautiful book for children. I have and always will be a dog person, so I know what a comfort these animals can be in times of sadness, as evidenced by the spate of places that are now using therapy dogs to help with things as simple as helping people feel less stressed (like at nursing homes and even college campuses) to libraries, bookstores, and even teachers using them to help kids read, to helping victims of tragedies grieve, dogs truly are man's best friend.

If you are a dog-lover, this book will melt your heart. But even if you're not a dog-lover, books like Tuesday Tucks Me In and also Montalvan's memoir, Until Tuesday, are still important reads because they bring to light the need for us as a country to take better care of our veterans. Providing them with service dogs is a step in the right direction.

For more information about Luis Carlos Montalvan and Tuesday, check out their website. 

Also read this beautiful review of Tuesday Tucks Me In by Margie Myers-Culver.


Tuesday Tucks Me In: The Loyal Bond Between a Soldier and his Service Dog by Luis Carlos Montalvan with Bret Witter, photographs by Dan Dion
Published: May 27, 2014
Publisher: Roaring Book Press
Pages: 40
Genre: Nonfiction Picture Book
Audience: Primary/Middle Grade
Disclosure: Library Copy

If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound.  

You Tell Your Dog First by Alison Pace

Alison Pace has made a name for herself in the literary world by writing novels that revolve around dogs (my favorites being Pug Hill and A Pug's Tale for the obvious reason that I'm a pug owner). In You Tell Your Dog First, Pace takes her love for dogs and creates a personal series of essays that give her readers a better idea of why dogs are such an important part of her life and writing career.

With her trademark wit and humor, Pace not only shows that she gets dogs, but she gets dog-people too. In fact, I think I might be so bold as to call her the quintessential dog-person.

Despite her often self-deprecating humor and the assumption she makes that much of what she does for her dog would be considered loony to non-dog-people, Alison comes off as quite reasonable and charming. She is not the dog equivalent to the "crazy cat lady", but you get a small sense that she feels that way about herself . I, however, found her to be quite endearing and amiable, someone everyone would want to be friends with.

But with scenes like this, I don't know who could read this book and not get a good chuckle, dog-lover or not:

I didn't look at my boyfriend throughout the meal. Instead of living in the moment, or dealing with the reality of it, I busied myself with thinking about how much worse it could be. I thought: At least my sister isn't picking up Maude and suggesting that everyone pass her around the table. Because, really, she did that sometimes.

"Is it time?" I distracted myself imagining Joey saying.
"Oh, I think it is!" I imagined my uncle answering her.
"Pass the pug!" I could almost hear Nana exclaiming.
"Pass her indeed!"

As I imagined my family clapping rhythmically together, swaying from side to side and passing around a pug, as had happened before, I made it through dinner with my boyfriend sitting across from me, and my parents' Jack Russel terrier sitting happily beside him. I imagined everyone, en masse, bursting into a variation of Pass the Dutchie on the Left-Hand-Side. That never happened, but I imagined it anyway.

I find this scene hilarious for two reasons:
1) The association Pace makes with passing a pug around the table and the ridiculous song from the 80s about passing a joint around.
2) My husband and I used to play "pass the pug" when our pug Frank was a puppy to keep him from falling asleep too early and therefore wouldn't sleep through the night, so when I read "pass the pug", I immediately went to my own visions of my husband and I sitting on the couch passing a pug off each other for the better part of an evening.

I find Alison Pace's writing both endearing and intellectually stimulating and not just because it's mostly about dogs, but she has a breezy and whimsical style that always challenges my thinking with her word choice and punctuation. There are a few essays in this book that are perfect to share with students when talking about craft. I'm looking forward to using them as mentor texts.

You Tell Your Dog First is the perfect book for the dog-lover in your life or if you're just someone trying to figure out just what makes dog-people tick. So you could read this book for entertainment OR for research purposes. :)


You Tell Your Dog First by Alison Pace
Published: November 6, 2012
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Pages: 232
Genre: Nonfiction
Audience: Adults
Disclosure: Book provided by the publisher

This makes my heart happy

You have no idea how happy this video makes me. A mere 6 months ago our pug Frank was an amorphous blob who did nothing but sit around the house and sulk. We thought he had a bad back and was in pain, but this spring our vet suspected it might actually be his thyroid. Sure enough, his levels were low, we put him on meds and now he's back to the old Frank. So happy to see him playing again.

BTW, Frank is the light-colored pug, you know, like Frank the Pug from Men in Black. :)

Food trucks are finally infiltrating Michgian

I have been lamenting for a while now that Michigan hasn't caught up to the rest of the country in terms of the popularity of food trucks. Last weekend I finally got a taste (pun intended) of what some of the big cities around the country have been experiencing for a while now.

It appears as though Michigan is finally starting to catch on to the food truck trend and last Saturday, in the city of Ferndale, they shut down a section of East Troy right at Woodward and The Woodward Avenue Brewers conducted a "Truck Stop" so to speak. A handful of food trucks were there to sell their wares and wile the crowd with their delicious offerings.

Shutting down the street for the food trucks

The main reason I wanted to go to this event was simply because I've never experienced the pleasure of food truck cuisine before, which is quickly appealing to accomplished chefs from around the country for the simplicity of being able to move around from place to place and not have to worry about the expenses a brick and mortar restaurant would require of them.

The second reason I wanted to go was that it was advertised on the flyer that the event was dog-friendly. As a pet owner who longs for the pet-friendliness of Europe here in America, I appreciated a poster declaring pets welcome. I mean, I hate to go there, but my dogs are much better behaved in public than a lot of kids are (heck, they're better behaved than I was when I was a kid!). My husband and I like taking them to different places and putting them in different social situations because 1) it tires them out and so they are better behaved at home - where they DO tend to get in trouble. 2) They like people and always relish in the attention they get when they're around a big crowd. Plus, dogs are always a good conversation starter. It's impossible to be anti-social when you have a dog.

A long line is always a good sign at a food truck

So the event was successful to me in two regards: 1) The food was phenomenal and 2) Our dogs had a good time (though, as you will see, they wished we would have shared some of the food with them).

The first food truck where we stopped to eat had a really long line, but it was the one I wanted to try the most, and any time you have a long line of people waiting for food, that's always a good sign. The food truck was called El Guapo - Fresh Mexican Grill and they do a lot of Mexican fusion dishes. Here is a look at the tacos they offer for example:

My husband and I ordered three tacos at El Guapo and shared them.We ordered the pork belly confit

the braised beef

and the Korean beef

While all of the tacos were delicious, I have to tell you how smitten I was with the Korean one in particular. It was just the perfect blend of spicy and sweet with the added fresh crunch of the Asian slaw inside a soft, pillowy tortilla. I still dream about that taco. And Frank is still ticked off with us that we didn't share with him.

Hungry customers waiting for a travelburger at Ned's

The second place we went to was Ned's Travelburger. Ned makes his burgers so they're shaped like a sausage and then sticks them in a hot dog bun instead of a hamburger bun to make them easier to eat and also so the condiments can sit alongside the meat and you can get "the best bite in every bite".  The burger I ordered was the TravelPiggy and had ground pork, Dearborn ham, swiss cheese, and pickles. After eating this burger, I have to agree with Ned. A burger shaped like a hot dog is much easier to eat.

A hot dog shaped burger from Ned's

By this point, you'd think my husband and I would be full and ready to go home but oh no. We were still hungry. So we went and tried the Taco Mama truck where my husband ordered a Phily cheese steak taco (YUM!) and I ordered some chorizo rice (Double YUM!)

Again, Frank and Guenter really wished we would have shared our bounty with them

As if all that food we just consumed wasn't enough, we couldn't leave without stopping by the local ice cream place, Treat Dreams, that makes probably the best (and most unusual) ice cream in the metro Detroit area.

I ordered an ice cream sandwich with lemon basil ice cream between two sugar cookies. Oh Heavens. To say that was way better than any chocolate and vanilla ice cream sandwich you buy from the freezer case at the grocery store is an understatement.

Don't bother me when I'm eating my ice cream sandwich!

More cute pugness: wishing they could have some ice cream

Despite the fact that they didn't get to sample any of the food, the pugs basked in the glow of all the attention they received from doting dog-lovers. When we finally left, they immediately crashed in the car, tired and happy from their evening of people (and food) watching.

I hope more events in the future advertise dog-friendliness. When well behaved, they bring such happiness to the people around them. Maybe it's just me, but I think it's impossible to be unhappy when you're around a dog.

Life with Dogs: Never a Dull Moment

For the past couple years our one pug Frank lost all his energy. He lost that spark of life that was in him and for a while we thought it was because he had a slipped disc in his back. We had him on pain meds, which helped, but he still wasn't himself.

In the spring both our pugs had their annual vet visit for vaccinations and the like, which is when our vet noticed that Frank's hair looked really thin and lackluster. She suspected that he wasn't in pain at all, and that he really had low thyroid levels. A week later, the results of a blood test confirmed that he, indeed, had hypothyroidism.

Now he is on a thyroid supplement and within a few days, we noticed a marked improvement in his quality of life. So much so that he's making up for lost time - and getting himself into trouble.

Prior to his low energy issue, Frank was a dog that needed to be walked daily or he would get into things he wasn't supposed to: the bathroom trash, any food left on the end table or coffee table. My husband and I used to say it's a good thing he's not a lab or else our kitchen counters would be in danger too!

Well now that he's back to his old self, we have to remember what it's like to have a dog that gets into trouble. On Sunday we went over to my in-laws house with the dogs and got to talking around the kitchen table and so we weren't paying attention to the dogs. My sister-in-law went into the guest room where her purse was and came out to the kitchen holding a half empty bag of trail mix and said, "Frank was eating that out of my purse."

That's when panic set in. The trail mix was full of raisins! As many dog owners are aware (and if you're not, you need to be!), raisins and grapes are extremely toxic to dogs because they can cause renal failure.

After a panicked call to the emergency vet down the street, they told me to bring him in and they would force him to vomit them up.

We brought him into the office and they took him to the back room to give him an injection of something that would basically make him empty the contents of his entire stomach. Better them than me! An hour, many piles of regurgitated raisins (along with a feminine hygiene product that he must have rooted out of the trash, nasty dog!) and almost $200 later,  an injection was given to reverse the process and he was ready to go home.

Does this look like the face of a dog that just came back from the emergency vet?

Before they brought him back out, they mentioned to me that despite the gross-out factor of having to deal with all the stuff he puked up, they thought he was the cutest thing because once they gave him the reversal injection, he was back there  wagging has tail, just happy as a clam.

Once we brought him back to my mother-in-law's house, he immediately started begging for food and looking for trouble. I wish I were that chipper after I puked my guts out. Guess somebody didn't learn his lesson. We're definitely going to have to keep a much more diligent eye on that trouble maker.

Dogs. Gotta love how simple their minds are.

The only good thing about this recent rash of 90+ degree heat here in Michigan is that all I have to do is walk Frank around the block and he's tired out for the rest of the day. Given how much trouble he's getting himself into, I need all the leverage I can get.

Happy National Dog Day

Did you know there was a National Dog Day? I didn't. But I was perusing my regular book blogs this morning and  Mary Lee over at A Year of Reading did a post about it. So yes, August 26th is National Dog Day.

If you know me for longer than five minutes, you will realize very quickly that I am a huge dog lover. I will stop on the street just to fawn over someone's dog. While I have a penchant for pugs in particular, I love all dogs with equal gusto. It doesn't matter what kind they are.

Yesterday I read an article about the fallen Navy SEAL whose dog lay by his casket and wouldn't leave and I literally went into a full on Ugly Cry as Oprah would say. The love and loyalty of dogs never ceases to amaze me and this one in particular broke my heart.

So here's to my two dogs, Frank and Guenter. They might never save me from a burning building, or ward off burglars, but they never cease to make me laugh and they love me unconditionally (but I think they love me more when I'm feeding them).

Separating the darks and the lights

Why I Love Dogs

Ever since I was a little kid, I have always had a soft spot in my heart for dogs. All dogs. It doesn't matter if it's a large, regal Great Dane or a puny, hairless Chinese Crested, dogs just make me happy.

Yesterday was a perfect example for me of how loyalty to one's owner is exactly why they're man's (or woman's) best friend.

A few Saturdays ago I had to have my husband take me to the ER because I was having severe abdominal pain. Three hours and a bunch of tests later, they never did find out what was wrong with me. While I was there, they gave me xylacaine and an anti-inflammatory along with a prescription for an acid reducer and then sent me on my way.

I knew I wanted to pursue the problem further because even though their wonderful drugs took the pain away, it still felt like there was something there festering inside my stomach. So I went to my family doctor and he set me up to get a gastroscopy so they could look inside my stomach to see what the problem was.

I had that test yesterday morning. It basically involves getting put to sleep and then the doctor sticks a tube down your throat and into your stomach to look for any obvious problems (tumors, ulcers, etc.) but then they also do some biopsies so they can test for not-so-obvious problems (H. Pylori, Celiac's Disease, etc.)

After waking up from the anesthesia, the doctor told me I had some gastritis but no tumors or ulcers (phew!) and that I should get the results of the biopsies soon.

About an hour after I left the hospital, I developed a low-grade fever. Technically I was supposed to call the doctor at that point, but my mom was taking care of me and I trusted her judgment since she's been a nurse for over 40 years. She told me that I really shouldn't worry about a fever unless it goes over 101.

Still, despite the fact that my fever was low, I felt awful. All I wanted to do was lie in bed.

I took my dogs with me over to my mom's because she also has two dogs, along with a fenced in backyard, and they all love to play together so I thought that it would be better for them to hang out and play together than for me to leave them home in their kennel.

My one pug Frank, however, was extremely worried about me. He would not leave my side. Normally if I am lying in bed, he is constantly begging to get on the bed with me. But yesterday, something extraordinary happened. He didn't bother me. But he wanted to make sure I was OK, so he just lay on the floor right next to the bed.
 
I was so touched by his concern for me. You have to understand that this is not normal behavior for this dog. He is a lap dog to the nth degree and will climb up on strangers' laps just because it looks cozy.

After I started to feel a little better, and was getting up and walking around for a few minutes at a time, he started to beg to come up on the bed with me a little bit, but when he realized I wasn't bringing him up with me, he just lay back down on the floor next to the bed again.

"Mom, I know you're not feeling well, but you won't forget to feed me, right?"

The other three dogs played with each other and acted like I wasn't even there, but Frank stayed with me the whole day. Pretty much all the time we've had him he's been a Daddy's Boy because my husband has a bigger, cozier lap than I do, but yesterday, if only just for one day, he was a Mama's Boy.

Oogy: The Dog Only a Family Could Love by Larry Levin

In 2002, Larry Levin and his twin sons, Dan and Noah, took their terminally ill cat to the Ardmore Animal Hospital outside Philadelphia to have the beloved pet put to sleep. What would begin as a terrible day suddenly got brighter as the ugliest dog they had ever seen--one who was missing an ear and had half his face covered in scar tissue--ran up to them and captured their hearts. The dog had been used as bait for fighting dogs when he was just a few months old. He had been thrown in a cage and left to die until the police rescued him and the staff at Ardmore Animal Hospital saved his life. The Levins, whose sons are themselves adopted, were unable to resist Oogy's charms, and decided to take him home. - from Goodreads

I am a sucker for books about dogs.  I can't get enough of them.  Even when I know the endings will always break my heart because the dog dies.  I'm going to be spoilery here and tell you that this is not one such book.  The only tears you will shed are in the beginning when you read of the horrific condition Oogy was originally found when he was rescued. 

What makes this book different from all other dog books, besides the happy ending of course, is that Oogy's presence in the Levn family was not only heartwarming, it was downright inspirational.  He is a symbol and a lesson to the human world that anyone, be it dog, cat, or human, can overcome some of the most horrific of circumstances.  This is a dog that should have been put to sleep due to his condition when he was found.  This is a dog that, had he been saved from his physical scars, should have been destroyed due to his psychological ones and aggression toward people and/or other animals.  

But,  impossibly, none such thing happened. Miraculously, he lived, and the only rehabilitation he needed was from the physical scars. When you read this book, you are in a constant state of awe that Oogy only has the ability to show love and devotion to, not only his family, but to all the people he meets.  

When people fear Oogy due to his gruesome appearance, or just their prejudice at his breed (which most people assume is pit bull, but he's really a dogo), all Oogy does is wag his tail and hope to say hello.  

If you're a dog lover and you're looking for a book that will inspire you and won't leave you a weepy mess at the end, I highly recommend you give Oogy a chance.  I guarantee you will fall in love with him long before you reach the last page.  


Oogy: The Dog Only a Family Could Love by Larry Levin
Published: October 2010
Pages: 214
Genre: Memoir
Audience: Dog lovers

GoD And DoG

If you're a dog person like me, this song by Wendy Francisco will move you to tears. It's stunning in its simplicity, but it expresses everything that makes dogs so lovable. Apparently it has made quite the rounds on YouTube with over 2 million views, but tonight was the first time I'd ever seen or heard of it.

Basking in the sun's warm rays...

...are pugs too pooped to come out and play

Amazing Gracie: A Dog's Tale by Dan Dye and Mark Beckloff

This book was so heartwarming and full of love that you can't help but wish you knew Gracie personally. When you look at what a beautiful soul Gracie was, you immediately understand her name. Born deaf and albino, she was what her vet called a "little miracle" because not only did she die on the table and was brought back to life, but when Dan Dye "adopted" her, the breeder was planning on putting her to sleep because albinos are "a lotta trouble" and strongly cau..I am a dog person through and through so any books that are written about dogs, I'm gonna read 'em.

This book was so heartwarming and full of love that you can't help but wish you knew Gracie personally. When you look at what a beautiful soul Gracie was, you immediately understand her name. Born deaf and albino, she was what her vet called a "little miracle" because not only did she die on the table and was brought back to life, but when Dan Dye "adopted" her, the breeder was planning on putting her to sleep because albinos are "a lotta trouble" and strongly cautioned him that he was "probably not doing her a favor." Dye's interaction with Gracie's breeder just goes to show you that breeding dogs doesn't always mean you love them.

It was through the grace of Gracie and her finicky eating habits that he was able to come up with the idea for the Three Dog Bakery which now has franchises all over the country. She was the gentlest, most loving dog, but when it came to protecting her family, you didn't want to mess with her.

This book will make you smile, laugh, and cry, but in the end, you will be glad that you knew Gracie, even if it was just between the 250 pages of her life story.