Dog Book Review: Julia Gillian (and the Art of Knowing) (girl, St. Bernard, Minneapolis)

Julia Gillian (and the Art of Knowing), by Alison McGhee (Scholastic Press, 2010, 304 pages, $16.99, grades 3-7, ages 8-12)

Dog Book or Not? Or the Best Kind of Dog Book?

Julia Gillian is not a dog book even though there is a dog on the cover.

However, a dog plays a major role in the story. The St. Bernard, Bigfoot, is so much a part of Julia Gillian’s life (note: Julia Gillian, not Julia) that you will fall in love with him as he follows her around. They talk long walks together. They think thoughts to each other. Bigfoot sleeps in Julia Gillian’s bedroom on a magenta pillow on the floor beside Julia Gillian’s bed. They are almost one.

Julia Gillian is almost an adult. Her two adult parents, both teachers, are almost hippie-like. They all live in Minneapolis and Minnesotans will love the references to Lake Harriet and Hennepin Avenue and all the other landmarks.*

Dogs! Please Help Yourselves!

Julia Gillian is nine years old so she can walk Bigfoot in a nine-block square if she is gone less than one hour and behaves according to the parameters (or else, the police are called – but that has never happened).

Bigfoot is kind and gentle and everyone knows him. Julia Gillian has known him all her life: they are the same age. In their walks around Minneapolis, they always stop at the house with the water bowl for dogs in front of it. (A couple of books later, they find out who lives there, loves dogs and keeps refilling the water bowl.)

This book is about Julia Gillian, the girl who does not like to read. She has tried reading a green book with a dog on the cover but the book is sad so, instead of finishing it, she hides it.

Pen and Ink Illustrations Make Julia Gillian Come to Life

Artist Drazen Kozjan the Magnificent penned the drawings and make Julia Gillian come to life (remember Pippi Longstocking?).

A More than Excellent Series

If the Wimpy books are for boys, then the Julia Gillian books are for girls – girls who love dogs. Follow Julia Gillian through the summer and meet her neighbors: 19 year old Enzo who lives with her older brother in the apartment downstairs. Follow Julia Gillian as she adds to her list of accomplishments that she keeps under her mattress.

If Julia Gillian isn’t simply the best role model for young girls, I don’t know who is. Adults reading the series will relive their school days, too.

*Sudden thought: in this day and age, why can’t the Julia Gillian series be printed with the location in Seattle for readers in Seattle, and Chicago to Chicagoans, and Miami for Miamians. I think a lot more girls interested in dogs would become more interested in reading!

Tomorrow: Julia Gillian (and the Dream of a Dog)

Next in the series

Caveat: This title was first found in a bookstore and then checked out from the county library. Then DogEvals also checked out Julia Gillian (and the Dream of the Dog)!

Bambi Redux

Bambi Redux

Bambi (Walt Disney Studios, June 6, 2017, 78 minutes, Rated G), first reviewed in DogEvals here.

Bonus Extras

Now that I have had time to view the extras that come with the Blu-Ray version of newly-released Bambi (had to go to a friend’s house), I have returned to tell you again just how wonderful an experience this has been in reliving Bambi.

Would you believe you will spend more time watching the Bonus Extras than you did watching the animated version of Bambi? What a deal! So many extras that I can’t recall them all – a couple of short animated flicks, several interviews, watching the artists at work (fascinating for your budding young creator).

Bambi is a classic that took five years to create and has withstood the test of time. Walt Disney was not only incredibly creative but also a perfectionist: the Disney staff studied the movement of real deer (and fawns), and bunnies like Thumper, and skunks like the shy Flower and all the other characters. The artists also watched a drop of water falling over and over again so they could make the rain more realistic.

Gem

Donald Dunagan*, the voice of young Bambi, hid his claim to fame during his adult life until it was rediscovered in 2004. You would too if you became the youngest ever Marine Corps drill instructor and rose to the rank of major. In the military, we are often given nicknames that stick with us into civilian life – how would you like your commanding officer to answer to the call of “Bambi!” (Bronze Star, Purple Hearts, tours in Vietnam)

Again

We here at DogEvals cannot more enthusiastically recommend revisiting Bambi with your kids or grandkids. They will ooh and ah and you will be amazed all over again at the cute little things you never noticed before plus the marvelous watercolor 3D backgrounds.

However, . . . .

The only drawback we could find was when we tried to download the movie with our secret code: it ‘took’ but didn’t like our browser (“We are working on a solution.”) and when we tried another browser, we were told that we had already accessed our digital version. One disappointed child could not watch Bambi on TV, computer, tablet, phone or console – only using the DVD/Blu-Ray itself. Poor little spoiled kid. . . .

*for the major part of his childhood from the age of 3 ½ to 13, Dunagan was his family’s main breadwinner.

Book Review: Puppy Love (true stores and fun facts)

Puppy Love (True Stories of Doggie Devotion), by Lisa Gerry (National Geographic, 2014, 160 pages, $12.99, ages 10 and up, grades 5 and up)

Our Kind of Book!

Wonderful puppy photos, 25 short stories (all true but not sad tear-jerkers), interspersed with pages of fun facts! And a golden retriever pup on the cover. What more could this dog book reviewer ask for?

Of course, being a National Geographic book, a few pages highlight other Nat Geo books, like Jennifer Holland’s Unlikely Friendships. (Read about the unlikely friendship of Bella and Tara – dog and elephant.)

Fun Facts

According to Paul McCartney, the next time you listen to “Sergeant Pepper,” watch your dog. The Beatles put a sound on the recording that only dogs can hear.

Did you know a dog can wiggle each nostril independently to determine which direction a smell is coming from? How cool is that?

Dogs – Loyal, Wise, Caring, Strong, Inspiring

Caring: Read about service dog Mr. Gibbs who carries an oxygen tank for his little 5-year-old human girl Alida and who sits when she tells him to, and lies down when she tells him to but their favorite is “Let’s go!”

Read about Cooper, the dog with a Seeing Eye Human, and read about a dog who can read. Learn to understand dog talk.

Strong: Read the story of the surfing dog, Ricochet* (or read DogEvals review of the Ricochet book here),

and little Hooch who skydives AND scuba dives.

Remember Tillman, the English bulldog skateboarding sensation? Did you know that “the one thing he hasn’t quite mastered yet is stopping. So, instead, to avoid running into things, he turns by shifting his weight to the left or right.” Just like some little human kids I know!

Inspiring: Read that Mathilde de Cagny, the premier dog trainer to the movie industry, trains with positive reinforcement, making lessons a fun game for the dog. She says, “The clicker is a great tool to use and . . . a great way to bond with your dog.” (p. 155)

May I Quote You on That?

“Dogs are great. Bad dogs, . . .are perhaps the greatest of them all.” (John Grogan of Marley and Me fame, p. 153)

Back Cover of Puppy Love

And with a quote from our favorite Ree Drummond of the Charlie books fame (get the book to find it), we close Puppy Love.

Read More About It: Yesterday’s blog – To Shave or Not to Shave (or, Should I Shave my Dog in the Summer?)

* p. 105 “Ricochet. . .instinctively knows where she should stand on the [surf] board to adjust to the person’s disability. She’ll stand at the front, at the back, or even sideways in order to maintain balance.”