Top Dogs
RSS
Stories about dogs are guaranteed winners with even the most reluctant readers. Regardless of time period and setting, a good dog story serves as a tonic to many of life's woes. Dogs as heroes, mistreated dogs, dogs who perform amazing feats-these stories all capture children's attention.
COLLARD, Sneed. Dog Sense. Peachtree. 2005. Tr $14.95. ISBN 978-1-56145-351-1; pap. $7.95. ISBN 978-1-56145-460-0.
Gr 4-8-Thirteen-year-old Guy Martinez is definitely not living the dream. He's been yanked out of his beloved California and now lives in Montana with his mom and her father. He's at a new school, and the class bully, Brad, has painted a bull's-eye on him. New friend Luke encourages Guy to train his talented pooch to catch Frisbees, which results in a showdown with Brad and his dog, the leading contenders in the annual dog Frisbee-catching contest. There are themes of loyalty, loss, and hope woven throughout this book, an excellent choice for reluctant readers that need to be pulled along by a good story.
DICAMILLO, Kate. Because of Winn-Dixie. Candlewick. 2000. RTE $15.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-0776-0; pap. $6.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-4432-1.
Gr 4-6-Ten-year-old India Opal Buloni must adjust to her new town, tiny Naomi, FL, where her father has been made head of the Open-Arms Baptist Church. She finds a new friend, of the canine sort, in Winn-Dixie, a dog with charm and personality who helps Opal open up to all the most interesting (and perhaps strange) people in her community. Winn-Dixie ends up being the best kind of therapy Opal and her preacher dad could ever hope for. Funny and sweet with Southern charm, and just a bit of magic.
GARDINER, John Reynolds. Stone Fox. illus. by Marcia Sewall. HarperCollins. 1980. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-690-03984-9; pap. $5.99. ISBN 978-0-06-440132-6.
Gr 3-6-Little Willy lives on a potato farm in Wyoming. When his grandfather becomes ill, Willy takes over the farm with the help of his dog, Searchlight. Grandfather needs five hundred dollars to pay off the back taxes or they will lose the farm. To help, Little Willy enters a dogsled race. Up against the legendary Native American, Stone Fox and his pack of Samoyeds, Little Willy stakes everything on hope and his little dog. A stunning ending that never fails to draw tears.
SELFORS, Suzanne. Smells Like Dog. Little, Brown. 2010. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-316-04398-4.
Gr 4-7-There's a new hero in The City, and his name is Homer Pudding! After his adventuring uncle Drake Pudding has a deadly run-in with a giant tortoise, Homer finds himself in possession of a peculiar basset hound named Dog and just a few clues to how he can find and keep a treasure from a ruthless museum director and get to Drake's secret library. It seems that Dog has more to contribute than Homer ever thought, and using the Odyssey as a guide, this unlikely pair enjoys many high-spirited and just plain silly adventures. For readers who enjoy Georgia Byng's "Molly Moon" series.
