Soldier Dogs: Air Raid Search and Rescue (Chief), by Marcus Sutter (Harper Collins/Childrens, 2018, 218 pages, $7.99, grades 3-7, ages 8-12)
History Comes Alive Painlessly in Exciting Canine Adventures
Soldier Dogs is a series that teaches more history than a history book! Start with Chief, a German Shepherd Dog belonging to Eric who enlists during WW2 just as his family is moving to England. Twelve-year-old little brother Matt ‘inherits’ the dog and becomes a big brother himself to foster sister Rachel, a Kindertransport girl.
The kids are caught up in a bombing raid one night in Canterbury where they live and become separated from both Chief and their parents. The twists and turns that transpire will keep you reading breathlessly as they find a German soldier, are trapped in the rubble, and discover that Chief has a superpower! Matt has to grow up quickly as he feels responsible for Rachel yet is still so young himself.
Fun and Inspiring
Each chapter features a different drawing of Chief. Perhaps the kid-reader can determine if it foreshadows what will happen.
In addition, much of the book is told from Chief’s point of view with those sections alternating with Matt’s narrations. The boy’s thoughts are made known to the reader and depict a conflict between those of a child and those of someone forced to grow up suddenly. Matt learns a lot about himself and matures considerably in a short period of time – most of the book is set in one night so you can imagine how the many plots must be exciting!
Made-Up Words
New vocabulary, too! The reader will learn about girl-pups and boy-pups and fire-rocks and long-paws and iron-birds and perhaps the following quotes will even spark a conversation or two:
Matt yawned and said, “See you in June,” because it was the last day in May, and it would be June 1st in the morning. (p.14)
. . . Chief knew that humans didn’t have any sense. That’s why they needed dogs to look after them. (p.54)
Matt. . . reminded Chief of himself as a pup. . . The mother and father were just old. Chief always tried to let them pretend they were in charge. . . The older boy had raised Chief. Eric. He was partly a father to Chief, partly a brother, and partly a pup. The humans couldn’t hear the loudest noises, they couldn’t smell the strongest scents. They shivered in the wind and barely had any teeth at all. They were so useless sometimes! They needed a dog to look after them. (p. 23)
Chief licked the man’s cut. Humans weren’t very good at licking their own wounds, so you needed to take care of that for them. (p. 96)
A couple of furless human pups weren’t safe. . . not without a dog to help them. (p.113)
Quite the Adventure
Chief’s story will give you plenty of history slid unobtrusively into a fascinating adventure, along with a poster of Chief, a Q&A, a timeline, facts about Dogs for Defense, and more!
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Caveat: This book was purchased for review.
Next: Soldier Dogs, Book 2, Skipper, Attack on Pearl Harbor (Labrador Retriever)
The complete series, each with a poster of the dog:
1. Chief – Air Raid Search and Rescue (GSD)
2. Skipper – Attack on Pearl Harbor (Labrador Retriever)
3. Stryker – Capture the Island (Doberman)(Secret Mission – Guam)
4. Ace – Victory at Normandy (Boston Terrier)
5. Boss – Battle of the Bulge (Alaskan husky)
6. Buster – Heroes on the Homefront (yellow lab)
7. Jack - Shipwreck on the High Seas (Boxer)
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