Book Review: Mouse and His Dog, A Dogtown Book

Mouse and his Dog, A Dogtown Book, by Katherine Applegate and Gennifer Choldenko (Friwel and Friends, 2024, 336pp HB, $17.99, grades 4-6) Read a sample here.

Mouse has his own dog! Sort of. Yippy skippy, anyway!

Dogtown is a fictitious animal shelter that we know of only because of the mice who live there, one of whom tells this story about trying to find homes for the dogs in the shelter.

The Cover Tells it All

The front cover shows Buster and Mouse, and, the wrap-around to the back cover introduces the reader to Stewie and Smokey. Buster is that lovable golden retriever who keeps getting returned to the shelter (but your name goes on The List if it happens more than three times), Mouse lives in the rafters with other mice but manages to also live in the world of Dogtown dogs, Stewie was turned in for being aggressive (but is merely a lovable big oaf) and finally we meet Smokey, short for Smoke Alarm, a robot dog.

Mouse has "adopted" Buster and tries to find a forever home for him, as well as for Stewie and Smokey. Unlike the first book in the shelter series which has several mini-adventures, Mouse and His Dog is one long major adventure that lasts for 336 pages (after a slow start)(but several chapters are only one-pagers).

All readers will smile at the explanations of dog culture to humans and human culture to dogs (and micre) like this one: 

"We walked around looking for [human's name] . . . on a mailbox, on a door, on a ledger. Humans loved putting their names on everything. It's like how dogs and mice pee on our territory." (p. 215)

The Themes*

The young reader will learn about Reading Buddies (similar programs in other shelters) and will experience hope and love and helping others - or trying to. Will Mouse succeed in finding forever homes for his buddies even though he will lose them** to a new family? What a dilemma! "Sometimes humans find their dogs. And sometimes dogs find their humans." (p. 291)

Bonus: Author Applegate has included "8 Tips for Training the Perfect Pup."

*Other books play a role in this one: The Borrowers, The Tale of Despereaux, The Mouse and the Motorcycle, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, . . . v

**true love is doing the right thing, even if it hurts. "Your heart is a muscle. It gets stronger the more you use it." (p. 299)

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. 

Book Review: Here Comes Bella! (another dog. . . .)

 Here Comes Bella! by Seth Karnes (Wellness Writers Press, $12.99 PB, 2026, 25pp, 4 years and up)(read a sample here) When a child's dog passes away. . . .

                                                     

A boy and his dog, a girl growing up with her dog-best-friend. Every child needs a dog growing up but the only thing wrong with his picture is that too often the dog dies before the child is ready for it to happen. Like we have had our parents our whole lives, some of us have had our dogs our whole lives so it is additionally heart-breaking to lose them.

Books can help (and so can stuffies!) but nothing really takes the place of a childhood dog.

Liam grew up with Lola in Here Comes Bella! and they became best friends - for years. As Liam grew up, Lola grew older and started to slow down. The time came when they had to say goodbye.

The hole in Liam's heart never went away but suddenly he "was all alone. His heart felt like an empty box, hollow and aching." His life changed. His world changed. His family changed.

Then one day, a dog peeked at Liam through a hole in the backyard fence and the healing began.

Based on a true story (https://www.facebook.com/herecomesbella), author Seth Karnes writes with his heart about both dogs - the one who came to visit and stay, and the one who stayed in Liam's heart every day forever.

Book Review: Problems with Pooski (family loves a bad dog)

Problems with Pooski, by Sharon O'Flaherty (Archway Publishing, 2026, $14.99PB, 32pp, children's book) 

Puppy Pooski arrives in a box! And grows up to be her own boss: she doesn't fetch or come when called, she chews everything except her own bones (homework, socks, post-its, Mom's shoes). What's a family to do? Can the kids help take care of this mischievous pupster?

Should they put an ad in the paper to give her away? What if nobody responds? What if too many people respond so the family can't make a decision as to who gets their Pooski?

Should they take Pooski to dog school to learn how to behave? Or is she incorrigible?

Or, perhaps, is she perfect just the way she is, to a family that loves her?

Written in big book size, Pooski is just right for the littlest kid to hold and make his own as Mom and Dad read the story and then discuss responsibility and caring as the household changes with a new family member.

And perhaps your family has had a dog like Pooski. What did you do?

This probable cocker spaniel will steal your heart away.

Author Sharon O'Flaherty has written a book in rhyme, an admirable feat, and in triplets to boot!

Book Review: The Adventures of Spuddy and Biscotti: Big Farm Adventure!

The Adventures of Spuddy and Biscotti: Big Farm Adventure! by Linda Collins (Linda Collins/Lightning Source, 2026, $13.99, ages 3-7, 40 pp PB)(Every grandmother should also be a children's book author, don't you agree?) (sneak peek here)

Spuddy and Biscotti* are the cutest little goat kids you have ever seen! 

One day they wander around their farm meeting all the animals and trying them out - do what they do, try to 'say' what they say. And is that ever funny! First they meet the chickens and the cows and the pigs and the ducks. Then they can't forget the sheep, a horse, an apple tree, and - look out for the sheepdog who returns them to home, all tuckered out and ready for bed.

Spud and Biscotti help youngsters learn their animals** and learn about their animals in a fun way but realistic. And for you pooped parents out there, reading to the littles, it may be possible to cut out an animal or two to make for a shorter good-night story, but don't tell the kids this!

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*One little goat is brown and the other is black. Which do you think is which?

**There are plenty of animals on each page for young readers to identify them several times, thus making learning quicker.

Book Review: Caught in the Snare (a Chautauqua murder mystery)

Caught in the Snare: A Chautauqua Murder Mystery, by Deb Pines (Independently published,  278pp PB, 2024, $21.99)

I haven't read a Deb Pines book for several months now so I thought I had best 'get on with it' before I head up north to the Chautauqua Institution in a couple of months. And Caught in the Snare put me in the mood for my three weeks of a Chautauqua summer.

And this coming year, with her new book out, Tossing Seas,

I am going to list the place names and search them out. Finally. Of course, I know several of them, having taught special studies classes there for several years but I'm not familiar with the house addresses or streets not in the center of the grounds.

Now, On to the Review!

An elderly woman dies after falling down a flight of stairs but was her death due to a slip or a push? The cranky but wealthy old woman has several un-friends that might have done it. 

To the rescue we have again, Mimi Goldman, who writes for a daily newspaper (yes, they still exist!) at Chautauqua, a summer camp for families in upstate New York, replete with lectures, worship services, opera, sports (golf, sailing, SUP and kayaks), dog training (that's me), symphonies, movies and more. With no vehicles allowed on the grounds, walkers can take the free small buses or rent a bike to get around, from hotel to the grassy mall, to the bookstore, post office, shops and eateries. Nine weeks of programming with some residents staying all summer while others are one-week wonders.

Yes, our Mimi is a reporter but she is more than that. She is a grandmother. She is likable. And a sleuth to boot. Caught is a bit different than her other 10 books for two reasons: 1. it is her favorite (and I am going to ask her why when I attend one of her book-signings in July) and 2. the final few chapters star a dog.

Throw in some hanky-panky, a few crisp (ironed?) hundred dollar bills out of a few million, some purple martins (birds), a chemistry teacher, a yoga teacher, a knife skills class, a garbage collector, and a 94-year-old sidekick, and you have a book that you simply can't put down. With a plot that keeps you reading on and on and on - don't start it at 9pm or you won't be able to get a good night's sleep - and my favorite - 52 short chapters - you will soon be hooked on the Mimi Goldman series.

Book Review: Tiny Pieces (growing up and talking to nature)(OT)

 Tiny Pieces, by Kelly Artieri (Crisp Water Publishing, 2025, 48pp PB, $12.99, children's book) 

A small girl with her mother are walking in a field full of flowers, both yellow and white. The girl, though little, is big enough to walk by herself as long as she doesn't veer too far away from her mother. She is picking white flowers for her when a gust of wind comes along and blows the flowers from her hands: poor Penny is devastated watching the floating feathers, helpless and no longer a happy little flower angel.

Turning Disaster into a Little Bit of Heaven

Mother explains nature's ways to Penny while the reader recognizes that they are dandelions full of seeds: the reader recognizes dandelions full of seeds that the wind is dispersing - the first step nature takes to spread them. Mother shows Penny how to feel the sun and hear the wind in the grass.

Written and illustrated by Kelly Artieri, Tiny Pieces is a work of art for explaining how nature works to the little girl, but also for the portrait-like pages that I simply want to frame!

Artieri is also an accomplished medical and scientific illustrator and book cover designer.

Book Review: Pockets (penguins, being different)(OT)

Pockets, by Janet Anderson (Pegasus Publishers, $13.99PB, 2021, 38pp, up to 7 years of age especially grades K-2) 

What on earth is that on the cover? Is it a robot? Is it a sun bather? No, it's a penguin wearing shades and headphones, but why?

Pockets the penguin is happy. She is generous. She loves to laugh but cannot speak. She hears too well plus she is a little bit timid. And the other little penguins only notice how different she is from them. Her flippers are short, her beak is funny, even her feet are different. And, most of all, she has pockets! Six of them. On the front. What on earth can she do with those pockets?

Is your child different in any way? Does it bother her? Perhaps Pockets can show her that everyone is different, only some people (and some penguins) show it on the outside while others keep it on the inside. And what you put in your pockets can make all the difference in the world!

We like it that Pockets lives in Antarctica, a very different place for most of us, with crab cakes (for Marylanders), fishsicles (whatever they are), and snow cones (we all know what these are).

There is so much that is wonderful to unpack in Pockets - on every page. The more we read this book, the more we like it.

Book Review: Omar and the Supertails: First Day of School (OT)

Omar and the Supertails: First Day of School, by Nicky Girl (Nicole Brown, 26 pp PB, 4-8 years, $13.99, 2026)

Learning Life Made Easy

Great lesson in this book, one so colorful your youngster so won't even realize that it's a lesson in living.

Differences are Super!

It is the first day of school and Omar is a bit leery - he is short, you see (but still taller than his best friend the monkey who has ADHD). As a matter of fact, all the Supertails kids at the Animal Academy have a different but still super difference - a superpower! For some, it's height, or sight and emotions, or even a wheelchair. And I bet your child knows friends with other superpowers, too.

Your child can make this book his own by writing his name in the space provided at the front. And he just might notice before you do, that each character is identified with their own color: the giraffe with green and - but I'll let you two to discover the rest

Rhyming is Hard to Do!

Kids love rhymes - they help them remember things. But rhyming is hard to do for an author. Fortunately author Nicky Girl has done an excellent job.

Book Review: Perri's Pencil Problem (OT)

 Perri's Pencil Problem, by Marleigh Brown (Butterscotch Tape, 2026, 31pp PB, $8.49, ages 5-9)

What a delightful, astonished girl cover!

Perri, our cover girl, has a problem - too many pencils, and in her hair! How did that happen? By her astonished look, you can bet that it wasn't her. But who and why?

With lovely illustrations of a multicultural elementary school classroom with plenty of activity, Perri's Pencil Problem is a fun learning read on how to relate to people (even if they are adorable kids) who are very different from you. And what to say to anyone who may not realize how they can hurt with words. (A couple of pages in the back of the book give ideas of what to say to someone who has hurt you.)

We also loved the opening pages - of Perri looking in a mirror - and trying to figure out just what that was. This is an example of once you see it, you can't unsee it! Once you get it, you can't not get it.

A second lesson is about listening to your mama because she loves you and knows just what to do. And it may just be that the person whose words hurt you, did so because she is jealous of you.

Book Review: The Wrong War (Afghanistan)

The Wrong War: Grit, Strategy and the Way Out of Afghanistan, by Bing West (Random House, $28, 307 pp HB, 2011) Striking front book cover!

I couldn't put it down. 

But what is the "wrong war"? And, why? Are we truly always fighting the last war?

I know the name, Bing West, from somewhere but can't put my finger on where. He was a colonel in the Marines and perhaps wrote for Army Times (or Marine Corps Times or Air Force Times or Navy Times - they are all related), is an author of several highly acclaimed military books and served as Assistant Sec Dev (for International Security Affairs) after serving in combat in Viet Nam.

All that said, this should be a required text book at West Point and Annapolis (for future Marine leaders). West does an excellent job of telling it like it is for infantry troops in a "hot" northeastern province of Afghanistan (Konar) for half the book, then relating a difficult situation in Helmand province, down south in Pashtun* country. However, by the time you get to the "Helmand half," you may be as tired as I was hearing about patrols and small unit fighting. Even me who knows the place names and history, having spent a tour in southern Afghanistan a year prior to the times West depicts (2007-08 while West's Marines fought in Helmand primarily beginning in 2009 [the book was written in 2011]).

Who are the Players?

West describes the problem with exquisite explaining (the solution, not so well, but he does list the solution components) - all the different sides: farmers and villagers and insurgents and informants and mullahs and elders, corrupt Afghan police, corrupt Afghan soldiers, corrupt Afghan politicians (yes, even President Karzai is described in less than positive terms). the Taliban, US forces. "Demanding money and resources was a habit. The military was the cleanest Afghan institution, yet each rank took from those below them. Uniform standards, particularly in selecting leaders, were lacking . . . . The system lacked a uniform set of rewards and penalties. The Afghan security system paid low wages, . . . . There was no incentive to run risks today in order to be rewarded later. Some incompetent officers were promoted due to tribal connections or payoffs, while others were selected based on proven courage and leadership. In contrast, the Taliban relieved leaders who performed poorly,  . . . ." (p. 163)

And What About the Future? Is There an Entitlement Culture There?

Is counterinsurgency composed of "clear, hold, and build"? Should the US military be in the business of nation-building? Is materialism the unifying principle of a liberal counterinsurgency practice? (p. 242)

Love the Photos!

Primarily taken by the author (not a professional), the photos depict (and are called out in the text) life and combat in Afghanistan. However, three to a page makes them not quite as impressive as I would like.

Writing Style

Author West brings you along for the ride, as he was embedded with troops over three years. He also includes, as appendices,  General Petraeus' COIN** guidance of August 2010 and his own to-do list of counterinsurgency lessons as well as points from his final fact-finding trip. Definitely food for thought as higher-ups compare and contrast VietNam and Afghanistan.

West acknowledges the people who helped him make this book possible and names more than 16 columns of them, mostly Soldiers and Marines. What a tribute!

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Other tidbits:

Korengal is mentioned, as is Restrepo, the film. Greg Mortenson's Three Cups of Tea is explained on page 110. Also COP Keating in Nuristan.

Nation building features these tasks: 1. protect the population, 2. give money and projects to stimulate patriotism, and 3. link the population with competent government officials. (p. 249)

Defeating an insurgency requires three tasks: 1. we cannot defeat the Taliban. They are too elusive and have a vast sanctuary. 2. we don't have the time to build a nation when its top leaders are feckless. 3. training and instilling confidence in the Afghan forces should be the first priority at this juncture. This war turns on whether the Afghan forces show they can beat the Taliban. Only then will the Pashtun khans begin to cooperate. (p. 289, West's observations)

What role did sanctuary play - not only UBL but also Pakistan? Geography? History of the tribes?

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*The Pashtuns are the major tribe in Afghanistan and the "birthplace" of the Taliban is said to be Kandahar, a province next to Helmand in the south. President Karzai is a Pashtun.

** Counterinsurgency

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!

Book Review: My Life in Dog Years (dogs, of course)

My Life in Dog Years, by Gary Paulsen (Yearling Nonfiction, $6.99 PB, ages 8-12, grades 3-7, 144 pages, 1999) Review by Skye Anderson 

Somehow, I bet you are familiar with the title, My Life in Dog Years, and may have seen this book in bookstores, but you probably haven't read it. 

Yet. 

Do. Read it.

It's worth it, for a lazy Sunday afternoon, and, even with interruptions, will take only an hour or two. Unless you are reading to your child or he is reading to you.

Then listen to the CD here.

Born around 1940, Gary Paulsen, a Newbery award winner, lived in 'the olden times' when dogs (and boys) ran loose in small towns. He had a dog, Snowball, when his dad was stationed in the Philippines after World War 2, then another dog in small town Minnesota, then in larger towns in Minnesota, then in the country in Minnesota and Colorado and New Mexico - I have probably mixed up these locations (I didn't take notes while reading - I just enjoyed the book) because they played only a minor role in the saga of a boy and his dog(s).

Stories of unforgettable dogs. Meet them here in Paulsen's book. 

I read this years ago and still remember three of the dogs. There was: 

Cookie who saved his life, 

Snowball in the tropics, 

Dirk who saved him from being beat up as a kid by bullies, 

Rex the 24/7 farm dog who constantly patrolled the farm and herded the kids, 

Caesar the great gentle Great Dane who knocked over the couch, 

Fred the five dollar "destructo" pup, 

Quincy who moved on to a better match and became just a regular old dog, 

Josh, the smartest dog in the world, the quintessential Border Collie who epitomized the phrase, "Watch one, Do one, Teach one" (without the teaching), 

and my all-time fave, Ike, who went home to someone who needed him more (and this chapter is a tear-jerker, but a sweet one)!

Book Review: Chasing the Bear (A Young Spenser Novel)

Chasing the Bear: A Young Spenser Novel, by Robert Parker (Philomel Books [Penguin Young Readers Group], $14.99 HB, 169pp, 2009)

Remember Sheldon and then young Sheldon of the Big Bang Theory? Now we have Spenser and young Spenser, the PI (private investigator). We have 54 (or 40) Spenser books as well as other series that author Robert Parker has bestowed us with. 

Chasing the Bear begins in today's world (not the world of Spenser's childhood) with his girlfriend Susan, a brilliant Harvard psychiatrist,  and Spenser having a conversation in author Robert Parker's delightful manner: full of one-liners that come out with a bang over and over again - delightful!

Young Spenser is 14 and manages to save a friend who is a girl, not a girl friend, then inserts himself into a bullying situation. And young Spenser is raised by his father and two uncles, a family not known before in literature but unique and with plenty of situations to get into. 

Adults will like this book as it vacillates between the young Spenser of yore and the current-day of Spenser and his girl friend. Young boys will like this book for all the boxing terms and even young girls will like this book, skipping over the fights, but dwelling on young love.

If you are familiar with the Robert Parker who-dun-its, you will like this book, if not, you may just become a fan - and there is always a dog named Pearl!

Book Review: Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women (OT) (also, a movie)

Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women, by Kate Moore (Sourcebooks, 2016, 480pp HB, $26.99)

In the 1920s with the 1898 discovery of radium by Marie and Pierre Curie, the "healing" properties of this new element came to people's attention. Plus its ability to shine (glow) in the dark.

It was this latter property that made it so valuable. Girls* were hired to paint the numbers on watches and clocks with this new 'magical' paint that allowed people to tell time at night. This was especially valuable for soldiers in the field so these dial-painting companies became quite busy and the girls who were the dial-painters made a very good salary during the Depression. And 'girls' they were: some started in the 'studios' at the age of 14.

Dial-painting was a very prestigious job and not only for the rather high salary. The girls worked as much as they could and became very close: it was a fun job. 

Until they started dying. First their teeth fell out, then they had skeletal weaknesses. All this took from mere months to  years. They became living corpses and were fired for limping. By 1925 the world knew radium was  poison but the companies refused to believe it.

Ghost Women

The living dead became shrunken and shapeless, mere eggshells of their former selves. Most of them.

Radium Girls is a long book (nearly 500 pages) that reads quickly. Author Kate Moore wanted to give credence to all the girls so the reader may have a hard time remembering who is who: that's why the list of key characters goes on for four pages. And perhaps because they were young girls, their legal fights went on longer than necessary but may be the main reason we today have organizations like OSHA - to protect the naive who work so hard for the company executives.

Also a play in England and a movie, Radium Girls will stay in your mind for a long time.

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*I found it interesting how the girls were called 'girls' in the book but men were called 'men,' This might have mirrored society as a whole during those days. This reviewer also noticed some other little quirks in the writing that made her think English may not have been the author's (editor's) first language (then I found out the author is British).

Book Review: Green on Blue (Afghanistan civil war)

 Green on Blue, by Elliot Ackerman (Simon and Schuster, 243pp PB, $18, 2015)

Ah, Afghanistan - but from the viewpoint of a 'sort of' conscripted Afghan boy-soldier with an American, Mr. Jack, in the far background (blue refers to the US military while green refers to the 'other' side).

A Couple of Short Stories

Much of Green on Blue gives us the daily life of a soldier in the Afghan 'civil war' around a couple of critical incidents that might easily be missed. We start out meeting two brothers growing up alone in a village whose market is bombed by the Taliban: Aziz and his older brother Ali learn to  live on the street as beggars. Ali loses a leg but medical care is rationed, generally for the wealthy. Therefore, in exchange for Aziz joining a militant* group, his salary goes to care for his brother.

Pashtunwali

Author Elliot Ackerman gets the Afghan Code of Ethics down pat: nang** is honor, badal is justice, revenge or retribution, and the book is a demonstration of Pashtunwali all the way through, the unwritten rules that the country lives by. 

Coming of Age

Besides the theme of honor, Green on Blue takes us through winter, the season for military training, followed by the spring offensives, using roadblocks as a common method of gaining funds for supplies. Aziz somehow quickly ascends in rank and is requested by name to accompany some of his higher commanders.

The climax is very much food for thought in that some readers just won't 'get it' while others will thank the publisher for the book club guide and for Phil Klay's (Redeployment) interview of Ackerman in the back.

And yes, there is a dog in this novel and a pet dog at that (an animal not usually considered a pet in this country).

Writing Style

Ackerman, who spent a couple of tours in-country, knows the Afghan military. Still, I wonder at Aziz and his cohorts having IBAs (individual body armor) which would protect them but also slow them down. I also wonder about Mr. Jack, the American traveling alone to coordinate some of the Afghan troops. 

The author also has a unique writing style consisting mainly of many short choppy sentences interspersed with longer ones. The reader does become accustomed to this though.

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*Afghanistan is composed of many tribes, the largest of which is the Pashtun (the two main languages are Pashtu and Dari [similar to Persian Farsi]) tribe who usually rules even though they are located primarily in the south, in Kandahar, rather than around the capital Kabul. During the conflict of the Taliban around 2000, Afghans either took the side of the Americans or of the Taliban.

**Ackerman's book is missing a glossary that would make the reading so much easier:

shalwar kameez (like the Vietnamese woman's ao dai, wide pants with a long tunic)

shura, jurga, loya jurga (council)

zakat (tithe)

Book Review: The Fault in our Stars (OT)(teen love story, cancer)

 The Fault in our Stars, by John Green (Penguin Books, 318pp, $12.99, 2012, a number one book on many lists and now a movie) 

A true, made-up love story but also a life lesson in growing up. . . . another book that is probably on your list of books to read, that keeps getting longer and longer. My advice to you: get it and read it. Then watch the movie. Or, watch the movie and then get the book.

Love the Names!

Our teens are Hazel Grace and Augustus "Gus" Waters - the perfect pair - of names, that is. As far as being a couple, they are so much older than their years: they sprout poetry (with a surprise poet at the end).

Hazel has been stable for three years but homeschooled for that time. Her lungs are weak from thyroid cancer so she must use oxygen. Gus, on the other hand, seems quite healthy, in remission since his leg (and the cancer) was removed. He latches on to Hazel when they meet in a teen cancer survivor therapy group in the basement of a church. Eventually they become close and live through the demise of some of their friends.

Perhaps you have heard of the last wish? Hazel used hers for Disneyworld a couple of years ago but Gus has saved his so far. 

Poetry

The teens speak in poetry more and more as the pages fly by and Hazed and Gus end up in Amsterdam to see their favorite author - a trip full of memories, both good and frustrating. Fortunately, Hazel's mom is wonderful (and her dad is the sensitive one).

After Amsterdam, they hold a pre-funeral that is meaningful and . . . but I won't tell you how the book ends. Suffice it to say that this is a book you will hold in your heart for a long time.

Book Review: Where the Crawdads Sing (OT)(North Carolina swamps, girl)

Where the Crawdads* Sing, by Delia Owens (Random  House, Reese's Book Club, $18, 2021, 400pp PB, New York Times Bestselling Author)

Where the Crawdads Sing has probably been on your list to read for a long time: my advice is to read it. Now. Especially if you love, and who doesn't - To Kill a Mockingbird.

This reviewer read the large print version so she could read it better in bed at night, in low light. It was still a long book but a short read in that this book simply grasps you and doesn't let go yet, at the same time, it is smooth.

Kya, the March Girl, is left to fend for herself in the swamps at a young age and manages somehow to not only survive but, though terribly shy, to thrive. Author Delia Owens must have either grown up near the North Carolina swamps or perhaps she is an environmentalist, for she gets things right: the bird feathers, the grasses, navigating the coastline and interconnected islands, the shells. How she manages to also make Kya's story so captivating that we want to meet her shows her true skill as a first-time novelist.

The Plot

Kya raises herself, teaches herself to cook (mostly grits), which birds to befriend, which mushrooms to eat, as she spends her days collecting shells and oftentimes, before dawn, gathering mussels to sell to the black man in town. People know about Kya - the kids her age who taunt her for not knowing how to read, and a few adults who take her under their wing, and a couple of boys. One teaches her how to read and shares nature while the other merely takes. And then Kya is recognized for being a naturalist but one of 'her' boys is found dead and so, a trial ensues. 

The Magic of the Writing Style

Owens manages to modify the conversations according to who is speaking and, for Kya, her grasp of English grammar is mirrored as she reads biology textbooks for the more she educates herself, the better her speech becomes. 

*crawfish, crayfish, freshwater crustaceans

And one of the biology books she mentions was written by a professor where I did my undergraduate work!

Book Review: How Books Can Save Democracy (OT) (a little book with big ideas)

 How Books Can Save Democracy, by Michael Fischer (Trinity University Press, 12.95$, 2025, 84pp)

A Little Book That Packs a Big Wallop!

A book so small you can fit it easily in a pocket - new meaning for pocketbook! 

All I can say is, "Wow!" This is the book that can save democracy. It is best for a conversation-starter like in a book club or an upperclass college seminar (where the students have lived a bit and experienced different situations and, perhaps, different cultures, or at least have known different generations and SESs (socio-economic status').

When I found myself highlighting nearly every page in this little book, I knew I had to stop, and start to sing its praises.

How Books Can Save Democracy should be required reading for boards of directors and elected leaders, or anyone encountering varying opinions, power and responsibility for others.   

In a nutshell, literature and resulting discussions are safe places to practice disagreement and compromise, and that can be a good lesson for plain old families like those whose members disagree about politics over Thanksgiving dinner, especially if alcohol is served. People can agree to disagree which is more than simply avoiding a certain subject: it means a give-and-take in the conversation, finding some points to agree on and others not to.

Using titles and quotes from well-known books and authors, from Desmond Tutu to Dickens, author Michael Fischer, an English professor, opens the book with a multi-page synopsis from a case in point: in the park one day, three women friends find they disagree and argue when along comes a man who listens in and sparks them to stop, look and listen to each other. They eventually do.

Suggestion

I would make the opening literary synopsis shorter and from a book most people are familiar with as I would for most of the examples - being a STEM person I am not familiar with much of English literature so perhaps examples from children's books might be more meaningful. I would get more out of examples from To Kill a Mockingbird

or Tom Sawyer,

for example.

However

On the whole, this is an excellent little book to take along with you and read slowly over and over again.

Book Review: Still Alice (OT)(early onset Alzheimer's, also a movie)

 Still Alice, by Lisa Genova (Simon and Schuster, 2009, $16, 293 pp PB)

The Plot

An enthralling movie (2014) made me pick up the book* when I saw it and not want to put it down. For some reason, I identified with Alice even though I am not a Psychology professor at a prestigious college that I and my science professor husband can walk to, don't live in New England, don't have a house on the beach or three adult children with one grand on the way, am not a runner - so I don't know why I liked this book (and movie) so much. Perhaps it is because Julianne Moore won an Academy Award for portraying Alice.

I believe that if you read a book and see the movie, or see a movie and then read the book, that your favorite is the one you read/watch first. In rare circumstances you like both equally: To Kill a Mockingbird,

The Help,

and now, Still Alice. 

The astute inhabitant of today's world will know how the book ends but will keep reading it to hope against hope and to experience what gradual loss of memory feels like from the patient's point of view and because all the characters are likable. We want to shake Alice's husband, however, but love the estranged daughter for handling Alice so naturally - real, with all the bumps experienced in life. 

Written by a neurocientist, you will wonder just how much is true in this work of fiction. Most likely, the science and medicine are true, as well as the characters' feelings, emotions and reactions. And you will find the book and movie to be wonderfully on track** with each other. Remember that Alice has early-onset Alzheimer's which seemed to progress fairly rapidly. And keep it on your bookshelf to read again next year, after watching the movie again.

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* and yes, butterflies are significant

** This reviewer found a couple of scenes in the book that are not in the movie and vice versa but perhaps the bookmark fell out and was replaced in the wrong chapter. . . . 

Book Review: Dog Tags, Strays (Vietnam, Military Working Dog, YA novel)

Dog Tags: Strays, by C. Alexander London (Scholastic, 2012, 210 pp, $5.99, ages 10-14, book 2 in a 4-book series*) Review by Skye Anderson

How Far Would You Go To Save a Life?

We meet Chuck and Ajax, his German Shepherd military working dog (MWD), a scout dog, in Vietnam. Teams like Chuck and Ajax rotate from unit to unit and generally work as point, leading a patrol and acting as an early warning, thus saving lives. Chuck is at the end of his fourth tour, having re-upped because he feels his work in important, but suddenly he receives orders to return to the States near the end of the Vietnam Conflict. 

But what about Ajax? Chuck has been put in for a Bronze Star* but MWDs do not return home. Some have contracted a 'jungle disease' but most are classified as surplus military equipment and are euthanized not released while a war is going on and due to the expense of sending dogs back. A few are turned over to friendly forces, the ARVN.

A Hard Book to Read

About halfway through arises the realization that not all dogs make it back to the States after a conflict: they are euthanized (or were, in previous conflicts) at a rather young age. This can be very difficult for youngsters to learn about, particularly if they have a pet dog. For this reason, it might be a good idea for a parent to read this book first and then decide if the child is ready for it. And, of course, the parent should be ready for a discussion about this (and about other topics such as AWOL).

What The Reader Will Learn**

Young readers will learn a little about being a soldier during wartime in the Vietnam Conflict, as author Alexander London manages to seamlessly sneak in a history lesson or two. The reader will learn a lot about foxholes as all soldiers are experienced in digging and sleeping in.

The Plot

Strays is a thrill a minute (after about halfway) and the soldiers are very lucky as they flit from one situation to another. This reviewer tried to guess what would happen and was usually incorrect. Hopefully the young reader will be able to tell the characters apart (there are several of them) and the epilogue was probably written more for the adult reader, even causing some tears to flow.

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* but after 2 years, 1 month and 19 days, ". . . if anyone deserved the Bronze Star,  it was Ajax. Chuck was just the guy at the other end of the leash." (p. 72)"

** just a couple of things that illustrate poetic license perhaps: in the book, the command to stop firing was "Hold your fire!" but in my Army (1983 and beyond) the command was "Cease fire!" And MWDs nowadays are nearly pets when off-duty and dearly beloved by soldiers in the unit - petted and played with. Author London portrays Ajax as being rather barky and not terribly friendly towards other soldiers in the unit to the point that some fear him. And a dog's thoughts off-duty tend to be "Am I full and am I safe? Is it time to play?"

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Book 1: Semper Fido (Afghanistan, Black Lab)

Book 2: Strays

Book 3: Prisoners of War (WW2, Doberman)

Book 4: Divided We Fall (Civil War, hound)