This summer, curl up and cuddle with a favorite canine and these wonderful dog tales.
Sleepy Dog by Harriet Ziefert is boldly illustrated in full color by Norman Gorbaty. This simple tale told in rhyme follows a puppy and a kitten as they go to bed, sleep, dream, and wake up to a new morning. Either a bedtime story or a wake-up call, this sweet story is perfect for young children who are just beginning to read.
Bill Wallace has written many engaging animal stories, and No Dogs Allowed is one of my favorites. Kristine is a fifth grader in a loving family that welcomes her grandfather’s gift for her birthday – an adorable puppy. But Kristine is still grieving the death of an old horse that had belonged to her mother, and she’s determined not to allow another animal into her life or her heart. This story will appeal to both girls and boys in third through sixth grade who are ready for a realistic situation that’s thought provoking as well as entertaining.
In the novel Wild Life by Cynthia DeFelice, young readers who’re interested in hunting will find an accepting attitude. Eric, at twelve, has passed a course in gun safety and is planning his first hunting trip with his best friend and the other boy’s father. But Eric’s whole world changes when both his parents, military reservists, are deployed to Iraq. Eric finds himself in the strange, almost alien environment of North Dakota, living with his grandparents whom he hardly remembers. His grandfather is brusque to the point of rudeness, so when a lost dog shows up, Eric decides to run away, “borrowing” a gun, ammunition, and the well trained dog. For mature fourth graders on up, this exciting tale will appeal to readers who are both dog and adventure story enthusiasts.
Lassie Come-Home by Eric Knight is the classic story that began the Lassie craze. At the end of each school day, twelve-year-old Joe’s beautiful collie always meets him by the school gate in their Yorkshire village. But when his father loses his job, Lassie is sold, and after several escapes from her new kennel, her rich owner ships her off to his estate in Northern Scotland. Lassie slips away again and sets off to meet Joe, unaware that she is beginning a 1000-mile-trek. Set in the British Isles near the middle of the 20th century, this poignant tale will captivate proficient readers in fourth grade on up.
Sheila Kelly Welch is a mother, grandmother and retired teacher. She’s been writing all her life and counts among her children’s fiction books Little Prince Know-It-All A Horse for All Seasons. Sheila's most recent book,WAITING TO FORGET, published by namelos, has been selected by Bank Street College and Pennsylvania School Library Association for their lists of best-books-of-the-year.
You can learn more about Sheila on her web site.
