Book Review: Dogtown

Dogtown, by Katherine Applegate* and Gennifer Choldenko (Feiwel and Friends, 2023, 352pp HB, $17.99, 8 years and older, grades 4-6)

First, the bad news: this is a long book AND there are 131** chapters.

All the rest is good news though. Some chapters are only one page long. And there are pictures. And it reads so quickly your child can read it in one afternoon! And this is the first in a series of three. And there are alliterations*** to point out.

The Plot

Three-legged Chance lives in a dog shelter but has the run of it because Management (a girl) likes him. Chance's best friends are Mouse, a mouse, and Metal Head, a robot dog (see the cover)(though I wish he had been a stuffie). 

Chance's family went on sabbatical and hired a dogsitter who lost Chance. That's how he ended up in the shelter waiting for his family to return and find him. Metal Head's boy has outgrown him so he escapes the shelter to find another family, and his friends take off after him because they are, after all, friends.

The shelter has a "Read to the Dogs" program with the book's focus on a little boy who acts up and is banished from the program - temporarily. He has been reading to the the robot dog. . . . 

Your child will love the scrapes these friends get in to and will cheer for all the characters. Even adults may sneak a read, after hours - it is that good!

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*Appelgate is the stellar author of The One and Only Ivan, Odder and the Doggo and Pupper books.

**Can you imagine trying to come up with titles for 131 chapters?

***"a literary and rhetorical device where a series of words in a row—or closely connected—start with the same consonant sound" such as "I wouldn't trade all the Milk-Bones in Michigan for Mouse and Metal Head." page 337 

Book Review: Odder (a playful sea otter)(OT)

Odder, by Katherine Applegate (Feiwel and Friends, 2026. $16.99, 288pp HC, ages 8 and up, grades 4-6)* Based loosely on a true story with some history and geography tossed in

I have kept some of the books I review - two that I can recall offhand but Odder is the first one I read twice and definitely will keep, as well as consider it strongly for the Book of the Year for 2026.

A lovely little book by Newbery Medal author Katherine Applegate (The One and Only Ivan)! This reviewer is tempted to name it prematurely for the Children's Book of the Year for 2026** already! Or did I already say that? Nevertheless it bears repeating.

With only three chapters, albeit long ones, Odder will soon become a favorite with your young ones. The first chapter brings us Odder, a three-year-old sea otter who loves aquatic acrobatics and just simply  having fun. As a matter of fact, play can take precedence over eating for her!

Chapter two opens three years earlier when Odder was a young pup. A fairly common construct, skipping back and forth in time might have to be explained to young ones. 

Writing Style with Themes of Freedom and Hope

Author Applegate uses a rare form of writing style, free verse, which often includes a play on words. And her unique way of seeing and describing things will have the reader smile and remember.

Taking place in  Monterey Bay, California, home of that fabulous Monterey Bay Aquarium, Highwater to the otters, whose staff also rescue sea creatures, Odder is all about learning to care, and placing things in appropriate order: play before eating, for some otters, like Odder.

Attacked by a shark (perhaps mistakenly), Odder is rescued and sent to Highwater to rest and heal. There she meets a couple of older otters with names: the star of our book has only a number. The story behind names and numbers is a lesson not soon to be forgotten.***

And even otters in the Aquarium have jobs to do: discovering Odder's new job (which supplements her talent of acrobatic swimming and diving) is another lesson of Applegate's book.

Like Applegate's other books, your family will love and cherish this sweet story.

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*with a bibliography plus, for young readers, print and online resources

**not necessarily published in 2026 but reviewed in 2026

***p. 152 "They only name you, if you're staying for good." "Trust me. It's better to be a number."

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Wise Words

p. 86 "Ondine. . . , clutching her newborn like a pillow with a heartbeat"

p. 139 "How do you groom an otter pup?" "Carefully." (and constantly)

p. 159 "If you listen long enough, you learn things. . . whether you want to or not."

p. 209 "Hope can be exhausting."

p. 264 "Fiction is the lie that tells the truth after all."

Book Review: Discovered! A Beagle Called Bella (Rainbow Street Shelter Book 6 of 6)

Discovered! A Beagle Called Bella, by Wendy Orr (Macmillan, 2013, $5.99, 126pp PB, grades 2-5, ages 7-10) 

Every dog has a job to do. It's the discovery of which job it is that can take time and cause heartaches in the meantime.

A young couple adopt a young Beagle from the Rainbow Street Shelter: they fall in love with Bella, the name they gave the pupster because she was so cute and smelled her way everywhere. After all, she is a beagle. But she also chewed and chewed (after all, she is a puppy) and whined and whined when left alone (she had lived with her mom and littermates all her life and was not used to being alone while Kate and Julian worked).

On The Other Hand. . . .

Tim lives with his dad but goes to California to visit his mom in her new life. Tim's dad works at the airport with sniffer dog Sherlock who is retiring so Dad has to find another dog to work with.

How all these people and dogs meet is quite a breath-taking story and you will not guess how it ends. Plus another guess of yours takes a long time to develop and you, the reader, younger or older, are on the seat of your pants waiting for the inevitable to finally happen.

We have the same wonderful characters at the Rainbow Street Shelter like Hannah. And, finally, the illustrations are so real you just want to reach out and touch them. Thank you, Patricia Castelao.

Book Review: Lost! A Dog Called Bear (Rainbow Street Shelter Book 1 of 6)

 Lost! A Dog Called Bear, by Wendy Orr (Macmillan, 2011, $5.99, 128pp PB, 7-10 years, grades 3-4)

Bear, A Funny Name for a Border Collie

Logan's parents are splitting up -  his dad taking Bear, the dog, to a new and very small town, while Logan is going to live with his mom in the city. Also in the city, Hannah has wanted a dog all her life and thinks she could be a dog walker.

One day, Hannah finds a dog in the back of her dad's truck so they take the dog to the shelter and Hannah starts to volunteer. 

Find out how Logan and Hannah meet: they also "live" in the next book, Discovered! along with the Rainbow Street Shelter (actually there are six books in the series but only two are dog books).

A Knack for Writing

Author Wendy Orr certainly has a knack for writing children's books that are also great (short) stories for adults. She has that magic touch, whether it is the plot that is so believable or the characters who seem real or merely the sentences that are well put together.  And there are twists at the end of chapters that keep you wanting to go on and finish the book.

Bring in a guinea pig and a litter of new puppies, and you have a children's book that could be made into a much longer book for teens.

Book Review: Fun Day with Misa: Un Dia Divertido con Misa (children's book, dog)

Fun Day with Misa - Un Dia Divertido con Misa, by Mireya Saldua (Hot Tamale Publishing, $18.99, 44pp HB, ages 4-8, 2025) 

We love bi-lingual books, no matter what the second language is! They are generally easy enough to understand with their expressive pictures that a glossary or mini-dictionary is not usually needed if you read along with the English. Fun Day with Misa is no exception. And it's about a dog to boot.

An added bonus for the young reader is to find all the blue bones and flower blossoms as well as Misa's name in Japanese on the pages and count them up each time you read the book. See if your sum gets larger as you locate the objects.

Dogsitting with Grandma

Misa the dog wants to go to work with Mom but can't - Mom is a nurse. So, Grandma comes to get Misa for a day at Grandma's house. 

B-o-r-i-n-g!

Not! 

Misa goes for a walk, plays with some boys, takes a nap - all normal Australian Shepherd puppy activities - and more. These are just common everyday activities but fun nevertheless. 

Dad comes to pick her up and they go home for dinner and TV, waiting for when Mom arrives a short time later.

Here is a sample page, showing just how easy the two languages are:

Book Review: The Saint Bernards Decorate for Christmas (children's book)

The Saint Bernards Decorate for Christmas, by Elaina Firman (independently published, 2025, $15 PB, up to age 18, 25pp)

This series of little kid books (or, little series of kid books), five so far, appeals to grown-ups just as much as the little ones. Maybe that is why author Elaina Firman believes they should be owned by 'kids' up to age 18 - but we disagree. We think these books are written for adults, too! 

Saint Bernards are big dogs who turn out to be a big help decorating for the magic of the holidays. Everyone has their job to do, even the sheep who spin yarn and knit the stockings to hang by the fireplace. 

This is just the book to put you in the mood for Christmas because now that it's June, The Saint Bernards Decorate for Christmas is a lovely little experience, full of detailed pictures that we love to gaze over slowly - they are so busy! The story is easy and the words even flow and rhyme (so hard for an author to accomplish).

We also cherish the sleepy slow calm ending, with the close of the day - every decoration made and hung, thanks to all the animals who so graciously helped out. The ambient light is low, now that the sun has set, and the scenes are lit by only the glow of the Christmas tree lights and the cozy fireplaces. 

Note: Another title in the series is reviewed here (yesterday).

Book Review: The Saint Bernards Grow a Garden (children's book)

The Saint Bernards Grow a Garden, by Elaina Firman (independently published, 2026, $15 PB, up to age 10, 25pp)

Ah, the saints are at it again with their busy fun lives. This time it is spring and they take us through the growing season. Again, all the different farm animals help out, all season long.

These saints (and Saints) are the two best known Saint Bernards in the world, Koko and Jacey, but who is who is not important since they and the rest of the animals work together. However, child-readers will be able to tell the dogs apart. Adults, not so easily.

Immensely colorful and busy (detailed), Garden shows what can be accomplished with a little help from your friends in turning mistakes into successes - spilt water is soon soaked into the ground, helping the crops grow. Lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, green peppers and more delicious veggies grow to take the family through the cold New Hampshire winter on the Firman Family Farm.

Garden joins the other Saint Bernard books: one I'd personally love to read - The Saint Bernards' Summer Night, along with The Saint Bernards Explore the Farm, The Saint Bernards' Easter Egg Hunt and The Saint Bernards Decorate for Christmas, reviewed here tomorrow.