Book Review: Nathan Hacks Santa (dogless)

Nathan Hacks Santa, by Elaine Spanner (Friesen Press, 2025, 44pp HB, up to 12 years of age) 

The title tells it all!

It's almost Christmas and Nathan is sure he is on Santa's Naughty List, so why even try to be good at this late a date? It's also much more fun pulling pranks on people! And one of them that he is working on is how to guess Santa's password* so he can create more havoc up in the North Pole toy shops. Nathan spends days - and pages, trying to guess the right password and finally he is lucky, ready to do some creative and felonious deeds.

The downside is Nathan's dislike of getting only coal for Christmas so his practical jokes have to be really good to make up for the black stuff. And good they are!

Now, there comes a time in every movie that I realize there are only a few minutes left and I have no idea if the characters will be able to pull off a believable ending or not. I thought the same thing when reading Nathan Hacks Santa - how is this book going to end? How will Nathan repent in his ways and have a Merry Christmas? Will he be able to? Will he learn a lesson in kindness and goodness and ethics or will this book end up in the air? Will Nathan be able to help Santa?

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*Nathan asks Santa what he likes doing in his spare time, and still it takes him a long time to figure out the password. Can you beat him?

Book Review: Hop's Tales: The Kind Bunny (and a scruffy dog named Ruff)

Hop's Tales: The Kind Bunny, by Evelina Ruimy (Mascot Books, $19.95, 2026, ages 3-6, 38pp,HB)

What a Lovely Book!

With water color animals like your child's favorite stuffed ones, The Kind Bunny has lots of friends - a bear, a mouse, a duck, a fox, a squirrel, a raccoon, and, of course, Bunny's sister and mummy at home. And lots of little flying friends, too. 

The animals go to school, of course, where they learn numbers, and drawing, and reading. And have fun doing so, with their friends.

School is Cool! Or, is it?

Little Hop thinks school is cool. Until it isn't. That happens when Hop meets a pup named Ruff who thinks school is so not-cool. That feeling is absorbed by Hop who tells his mom and Mom saves the day by teaching Hop a lesson he can share with Ruff, now his new best friend.

Friends can be different. Friends can teach each other and share courage. We can all change and learn and grow together. And have fun doing it! And even though many of these animals are of the four-footed kind, they look natural on two feet and their body language is spot-on in relation to their emotions.

Illustrator Siski Kalla did an exceptional job of the animals - so good that I'd like to frame a few pages. Or, at least read the book every night. My youngster wouldn't mind.

If you or your young one would like to know if school is really cool, just read about Hop and The Kind Bunny! or other titles in the series.

Book Review: AI Simplified (OT)

AI Simplified, by Hilary Lamb, Joel Levy, and Claire Quigley* (Penguin Random House, DK, 160 pp HB, 2nd ed.,  2025, $17.99, also sold as Simply AI: Facts Made Easy (front cover directly below) - content previously published as Simply AI) 

I could have chosen the AI book in the (reviewed here yesterday) series by New Burlington but I thought it more valuable to review two different series of books on similar topics. Both series are similar: too cursory and too advanced, Good review for graduate school, though.

Sample pages appear below:

Each page has a paragraph or two plus cartoon-like drawings, some of which are even helpful. These books are similar to the Complete Idiot's Guides or Dummies Guides which I highly recommend, though they (the latter) are a bit more costly. At least the format here makes the books easy to put down and pick up again later when you have more time.

Chapters are introduced on colored pages, some of which are printed on pages too dark to read easily (e.g., dark royal blue). Each page has references to other pages: I finally figured out they are like a built-in index, within the text, so this book can be read in any order of chapters or pages - great if you know a little bit about the subject and can't wait to get to the more interesting parts (for you). However, the authors have also included an index.

*later version below:

Book Review: Forensic Science (OT)

Forensic Science: Discover the fascinating science of crime science analysis, by Tom Jackson and Paul Knepper (New Burlington, 2025, $18.999HC, 176pp)

Yup, every once in a while, I break down and spend some time at a bookstore like I did last week (as if I don't get enough books to review as it is!). I tell myself I'm just looking. . . . and end up with a bookbag full of new reading. 

I was especially excited about this book, Forensic Science. It is sort of like an idiot's guide or a dummie's guide, full of short chapters (one pagers), cute illustrations in few colors, and, I hoped, elementary, though I had taken a course in forensic anthropology and several criminology courses.

Here is the table of contents to give you an idea of what the book covers:

And a sample page about blood spatter: 

Basically, each page is a paragraph or two plus a simplified graphic or illustration which may or may not help with the text. It is also helpful to have the chapter titles at the bottom of each page. Pages are white or very pastel, giving a clean look.

The Reader Can't Get Lost!

With a basic table of contents plus a sub-table of contents in more detail on each inside chapter page, the readers simply can't get lost, though they can easily skip around from topic to topic, as the average readers know a bit about a lot of them. Now they will know more.

This series also has a title about AI, artificial intelligence (though if you went to an ag college, AI will always be artificial insemination), but I selected an AI book from another series to give you more information. Check back for that one tomorrow.

Book Review: 101 Salivations: For the Love of Dogs (a coffee table book)

101 Salivations: For the Love of Dogs, by Rachel Hale (Bulfinch Press, $19.95 HB, 2003, 176 pp) 

Every coffee table needs a coffee table book - of dogs, of course! And 101 Salivations may be yours.

Full of one-dog-to-a-page* of mostly pure bred dogs, a few crosses (mixed breeds) manage to sneak their way into this celebration of all things dog. I just want to cut out some of these dog photos and frame them!

The first 101 pages have few words but the appendix makes up for that, for it describes each dog-page* with  page number, breed (mix), name and age, along with a couple of sentences about the chance meeting between human and dog and the photographer that is captured here.

*like page 11 nd 12, Akita Hiro and Australian Cattle Dog Amigo: 

Book Review: When Harry met Minnie (two bull terriers in NYC)

When Harry met Minnie: A True Story of Love and Friendship, by Martha Teichner* (Celadon Books, 2021, 246pp HB, $26.99) 

Fast Friends, Dogs and People - one black, one white, with their own coat of arms (Sir Harry Fertig and Lady Minnie Teichner). Chance made them friends, as it does for all of us.

A Lovely Read for a Lazy Afternoon (about 6 hours)

I would read any book by a journalist or reporter (except some 'report' style non-fiction that tends to be b-o-r-i-n-g) - When Harry met Minnie is no exception. A lovely first book about love and friendship - the love between dogs and humans and the friendship between women and also between men and women.

But, About that Title, . . . and a Delightful Front Cover Photo

"Harry"met Minnie and, like many humans, they ended up living together but their meeting (or any meeting) certainly cannot be the crux of a book, and it isn't. We get to know New York City (and its traffic) through Harry, we meet some high-society** designers, single people in their later years, and, of course, dogs (some, also in their later years).

I'm a dog person, a trainer who prefers sporting breeds (Labs and Goldens, ready to please) over the more independent terriers (like Harry and Minnie) but having judged the temperaments of Bull Terriers (BTs), this reviewer almost fell in love with the breed. Any book about stubborn, independent BTs is bound to be full of their antics but they have to share space with stories of human friendship, new and old, as they are honored. 

Martha has a bull terrier (BT) and is gradually convinced to take in an older BT belonging to a woman who is terminal. Gradually, the two women introduce the two dogs as the women also become good friends over six months. 

But, about that title, . . . I can't think of a better one!

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*"CBS Sunday Morning" - How does an international radio reporter ever manage to have a dog? With a canine au pair, of course!

**and Teichner refers to the description of a high-end line of ladies shoes ("Too much is never enough") which is also the (approximate) title of a book about Donald Trump by his niece, a psychologist 

Book Review: Lab Dog (Beagle)

Lab Dog, A Beagle and His Human Investigate the Surprising World of Animal Research, by Melanie Kaplan (Hachette, $32, 2025, 344 pp HB)

A Long Book that Covers Everything Dog

From research to companions, cadavers and adoptions, author Melanie Kaplan must have spent 10 years researching this book. And her rescue Beagle Hammy went along, too, for most of her interview trips across the country.

I'm not a barky Beagle fan. At least I wasn't until I was confronted with the relationship Kaplan had with her dog and although I'm a Lab and Golden Retriever person, I may just look into the Beagle world.

Part non-fiction, part memoir, part name dropping , part research summaries, Lab Dog has the admiration of canine behavior people, most of them PhDs, less so in the world of veterinary research. though. Change happens slowly.

I thought Lab Dog would be a gory tearjerker but Kaplan tells about research animals (and their scientists) with humor and caring. However, I give you, dear reader, permission to skim chapters 3-5 since they are quite repetitive with experiment after experiment and chock full of science. A cursory read will suffice.

Kaplan is a talented writer when it comes to human interest stories (the ending to this book is a real tear jerker). Although I am a scientist, I felt some parts of the book (chemistry, the FDA)  could be shortened. 

Basically, Kaplan adopts a Beagle and wonders about his history. Did he live in a small cage in a noisy research kennel? Was he subjected to hurtful experimentation and, if so, did the technicians consider the dogs mere "things"?

As Kaplan (and Hammy) learn about research and rescue on animals, dogs, Beagles and Hammy himself, Kaplan searches for two things: Hammy's personal story and someone in his former life seeking forgiveness (restorative justice). And Kaplan herself grows as she learns she already has the answers. 

Ethical Reality Check

I would have liked to know more about the three R's of replacement of animals with non-animal models, reduction in the number of animals used and refinement of the process by minimizing pain and suffering. I would have liked to learn more bout the four pillars of ethics: autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice (p 302).

But, on the whole, if you want to know more about animal experimentation (dog, Beagle) Lab Dog is a great place to start knowing who's who in the field - the veterinarians, the universities and other research facilities. And the dogs, of course. Hopefully there will be fewer research dogs in the future as test tube and petri dish models proliferate.

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Fun Facts

It takes an average of 14 years for a drug's approval

Of the drugs that show promise in pre-clinical studies (a euphemism for animal studies), more than 95% fail in human clinical trials, because they prove toxic or ineffective in humans

Until 2021, new drugs for Alzheimer's came with a 99.6% failure rate.

The average cost of each drug that makes it to market is more than $1 billion

And, finally, read this book and meet PBM, Peanut Butter Man!