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Tag: Dogs

Published on Leave a comment on My Dog is a Winner by Elizabeth Fensham

 

My dog, Ugly is a genius. All the kids in my class reckon he is too. He’s the school hero. I’m not showing off. It’s a fact.

If you’re a dog lover like me, you’ll love the adventures of Eric Bright and his best mate Ugly who was Eric's present for his eighth birthday. My Dog is a Winner by Elizabeth Fensham is the third book in the series including My Dog Doesn’t Like Me and My Dog Gets a Job.

These days Ugly is a star companion dog at Eric’s school where he proudly wears his therapy-dog vest and blue-and-gold school tie. Ugly and Eric’s Grandad volunteer to work with kids like Barnaby who is autistic and Maryam who has recently arrived from Syria. Ugly seems to know just the right thing to do to support and encourage them and be a friend. He can even talk in his own doggish way. Every school needs an Ugly!

Eric is sad to discover what is making his big sister Gretchen miserable and even meaner than usual and is determined to find a way to help her. 

With the school pet show coming up, Eric has plans for Ugly to win big time, then Ugly goes off his food and refuses to play. Eric knows something is up with his best mate.

Can Eric’s famous quiz help him with a plan to fix both Gretchen and Ugly?

My Dog is a Winner is a fun read that celebrates the gift of friendship, the joy of pets and the importance of caring for others.

Elizabeth Fensham has dedicated this book to Angela Davies, a headmistress and her dog, Chad who was a member of the school staff. I have often wished I could have a dog in my school library. My local Yarra Plenty Library branches have Doggy Tales so after school children can read to dogs who love to listen to stories.

jarmoluk / Pixabay

Thank you  to UQP for a copy of My Dog is a Winner to review. 

Happy reading!

 

 

 

 

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Published on 2 Comments on Heart and Soul by Carol Ann Martin and Tull Suwannakit

 

Charlie Wintergreen is an elderly musician who rescues a no-name pup from the Dog’s Home and gives him a home of his own and the name Louis. They become a team as Charlie plays his trumpet at night and Louis joins in with his ooh-ooh song.

“Louis you have to have heart and soul. It’s the only way to play!”

When Charlie gets sick, Louis becomes a lonely street dog, scavenging and scrounging for food and sleeping in dark corners until music brings Pete into his life along with one other special surprise.

This is a gentle and uplifting story of friendship that shows how friends can become the family we choose. It reminds us of how precious our elderly people are and celebrates the way music brings joy and connects us no matter our age.

I first discovered Tull Suwannakit when he illustrated one of my favourite books, Sad the Dog by Sandy Fussell. The front cover looked so much like a photo I had taken of my dog Jambo watching autumn leaves fall in my backyard. Can you see the likeness?

To illustrate this book, Tull uses a small palette of gentle watercolours that give the story a warm vintage feel. Can you see the colours he has chosen? Tull has designed beautiful moss green endpapers covered in musical notes. How might these have a connection with Charlie?

Author Carol Ann Martin’s husband is a jazz musician and I wonder if he was the inspiration for this story.

Heart and Soul is a book that will warm your heart and soul and might even bring a tear to your eye, in a good way.

Happy reading!

Published on Leave a comment on Evie and Pog: Take Off! by Tania McCartney

Meet two very best friends.
One is a girl and one is a dog.
And everyone knows them as Evie and Pog.


Evie and Pog are two quirky very best friends who live in a tree-house in a beautiful silver ash tree with pink leaves in Granny's backyard. The tree-house has a reading nook, a hanging chair and a slide with soft daisy-spot grass to land on - I could happily live there too!

Image by Goran Horvat: Pixabay

Evie and Pog love to have fun and in this book you can join them on three adventures.

Puppy School Mess

Granny Gladys constantly cleans and gets carried away tidying the grass by snipping the heads off Evie's precious daisies! Evie and Pog try to make her stop. Whoops-a-daisy! Granny Gladys ends up wearing a chocolate cake and poor Pog has to go to dreaded Puppy School, where it turns out Evie is better at the Puppy Challenge than the puppies!

School Play Drama

Evie is so excited to be the Butterfly Queen for the school play. Pog is not about happy being a fairy pug. When Granny Gladys tries to tidy Evie's wings, there's chaos as threads get tangled and the stage becomes a big woolly spider web. How can an enormous sneeze and a flying friend save Pog and the play?

Cake Stall Chaos

To raise money for the Puppy School at the annual Fair, Evie decides to have a cupcake stall. In Granny's shiny kitchen they all dance and bake and wipe and sing as they make 100 cupcakes -  kids' cupcakes, doggy cupcakes and spinach cupcakes (for Pog). Whoops-a-daisy! What are the chances of the cupcakes getting mixed up? Anyone for a caramel kidney cupcake??

Look out for Evie and Pog: Puppy Playtime too!

In her first junior fiction series, Tania McCartney has created two delightful characters for you to meet. Evie is a full of energy, often accident-prone and sometimes dog-like. Pog takes life a little more seriously and would rather drink tea and read the newspaper than learn to sit, beg and speak. They have lots of zany fun together and are good at solving problems in creative ways. Tania's gorgeous illustrations are a highlight as they bring Evie and Pog's adventures to life.

Happy reading!

 

Published on Leave a comment on Pig the Tourist by Aaron Blabey

You can't take him anywhere!

Pig was a Pug
and I'm sorry to say,
when he went on vacation
he'd cause great dismay.

You can't take Pig the Pug anywhere, especially on holidays! He will happily destroy holiday plans with behaviour so bad it's hard to describe. He'll break all the rules and cause great devastation. Watch out Mona Lisa and the Leaning Tower of Pisa! Even the poor Queen is left shaken by Pig's wild antics! Pig is the worst type of tourist, but In a clever twist, see who teaches Pig his latest lesson...OUCH!!

My holiday with Pig the Pug

Pig the Pug and I travelled together for five weeks. In Seattle we visited Mt Ranier, in Canada we flew over Whistler in a tiny seaplane and stood right next to Niagara Falls, while in New York we went up to the Top of the Rock, waved to the Statue of Liberty, wandered around Central Park, visited the New York Public Library and in Washington DC we saw the White House and visited the Library of Congress.

We also visited lots of libraries along the way and Pig the Pug was very excited to find some of his books in the Toronto Public Library in Canada!

I'm VERY glad Pig the Pug was on his BEST behaviour for our holiday after reading his new book!

Pig the Pug
I'm happy to say,
was the perfect travel buddy
On our holiday.

You can see the slideshow of our holiday HERE

Happy reading!

Published on Leave a comment on The Tales of Mr Walker by Jess Black

Mr Walker will steal your heart from the first page as he narrates and stars in his very own illustrated hardcover book!

On a brilliant autumn morning, Mr Walker arrives at the Park Hyatt, ready to put his best paw forward as a Guide Dog Ambassador. However, all he can see is a very tall, grand building whose top is covered by clouds. Where is the park?

In his new role as a hotel dog, Mr Walker learns to walk on slippery marble floors, ride in elevators, greet guests both friendly and not so friendly, help the hotel staff and settles in with his new family while having some unexpected adventures along the way in four fun and heart warming stories.

Jess Black brings Mr Walker to life as he shares the world though his eyes and his personality and warmth are perfectly captured by Sara Acton in her delightful watercolour illustrations. Jess and Sara are a dynamic duo of dog lovers who make you want to visit Mr Walker and give him a great big hug!

In his real life, Mr Walker is a charming golden Labrador who trained as a Guide dog, but his outgoing personality was better suited to being a Guide Dog Ambassador at the Park Hyatt in Melbourne where he greets guests as they first walk in the door and helps them feel at home. Guests can also request to take Mr Walker for walks in the morning, play with him in the park, or sometimes even practice yoga on the hotel deck. He has a specially made Tasmanian oak bed to lounge on in the hotel lobby and he even has his own Instagram account at mrwalker_parkhyatt where you can follow his adventures!

Photo credit: Park Hyatt Melbourne

Royalties from sales of this book go to Guide Dogs Victoria so when you buy this book you are supporting a wonderful organisation and dogs like Mr Walker.

Keep an eye out for more adventures with Mr Walker in February and August in 2019. Scroll down here for a sneak peek!

Happy Reading!

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Published on 2 Comments on Pig the Grub by Aaron Blabey

Pig the Pug is back!  Eww...don't get too close!

Pig isn't just the world's greediest Pug, he's the dirtiest too. He spends his days rolling in mud, playing with unspeakable muck and leaking smells that make neat and clean Trevor's eyes water. Personal hygiene is not a priority for Pig the Pug. 

So BATHTIME was called!
'You stinky old mutt!
You need a good clean
from your ears to your butt!'

The last thing Pig the Pug wants is a bath! Trevor waits patiently in his shower cap as Pig ducks and weaves and doubles back trying to avoid the dreaded soapy water. Pig has a plan...

They watched as Pig gloated.
They watched as Pig crowed.

Definitely not an idea for you to try at home!!


Can you see Pig's plan?
What do you think will happen?

Happy reading! 

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