Monday, June 9, 2014

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 6/9/14


I am excited to be a part of the conversation at #IMWAYR! Thank you to SheilaJen and Kellee
for inspiring and hosting this meme.

I am definitely more of a cat person than a dog person, but dogs undeniably have a special place in the world of children's literature, and this past week I read a couple of wonderful exemplars.



There are quite a few books out there about dogs who have played a role in wars, but Stubby the War Dog: The True Story of World War I's Bravest Dog is exceptional.  Written by Ann Bausum, this nonfiction narrative uses primary sources (including some incredible photographs) to tell the story of one "war dog" and his soldier.  Meticulously researched and cited, Stubby the War Dog is a fascinating read and will appeal to animal lovers and war buffs, reluctant and voracious readers.






Ice Dogs by Terry Lynn Johnson is a riveting fictional account of the Alaskan wilderness, a girl striving to find her place in it, and the dogs who help her survive. Victoria lives for her sled dogs, especially after her father is killed in an accident.  Over confident about her navigational abilities, she makes a rash decision to go out with her dogs alone and gets stuck in a blizzard; along the way she rescues a boy who has been in a snowmobile accident. Together they fight the elements and try to keep themselves and the dogs alive. This is fast paced with riveting action and I loved the strong female protagonist.





I loved both of these books… and now I'm ready for a cat hero story!







6 comments:

  1. See if you can find Beil's Lantern Sam mystery. The cat talks and helps solve the mystery, but it's not too much for me, and I usually hate talking animals. I can't think of any other heroic cats right now! I adored Ice Dogs!

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    1. Thank you so much for that suggestion! I just put in an ILL request for Lantern Sam - can't wait to check it out!

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  2. Although I am not a dog person, I loved Me and Jack by Danette Haworth. I admit to also loving A Dog's Purpose. The Dogs of War is on my to read list for the summer. Have you read The Metro Dogs of Moscow? That's another one that's on my list...

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    1. Ooh, I haven't read The Metro Dogs of Moscow, but the title alone is very intriguing! Thank you!

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  3. These titles reminded me of Margarita Engle's newest novel in verse Mountain Dog. Have you read that one too? They look like they would be great companion reading materials.

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    1. I loved, loved, loved Mountain Dog. It was one of my favorites published last year!

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