BALL

BALL, by Mary Sullivan (Houghton Mifflin 2013)(ages 3+).  In this nearly-wordless picture book, Dog is obsessed with playing fetch and Girl is happy to oblige.  When Girl has to go to school, though, what's a dog to do?

BALL is hilarious fun, terrifically capturing every dog's biggest obsession (after food and sleep).

Here are a couple pics from the launch party Saturday:

Mary Sullivan and Bethany Hegedus

Cyn and Mary

Erik Kuntz and me

LITTLE DOG LOST: THE TRUE STORY OF A BRAVE DOG NAMED BALTIC

LITTLE DOG LOST: THE TRUE STORY OF A BRAVE DOG NAMED BALTIC, by Monica Carnesi (Nancy Paulsen Books/Penguin 2012)(ages 3-5).  In January 2010, a little dog was seen floating on an ice flow in the middle of the Vistula River (Poland), some sixty miles from the Baltic.  Attempts to rescue him proved fruitless.  Two days after he was first spotted, the research vessel Baltica, fifteen miles off the coast, spotted him.  Several attempts and dunkings later, he was brought aboard, and is now an honored and dry member of the crew.

LITTLE DOG LOST is charming and sweet tale, the simple text and expressive drawings richly evoking the heartwarming drama.        


Read an interview with Monica on Cynsations.

BONE DOG

BONE DOG, by Eric Rohmann (Roaring Brook 2011)(ages 4+).  Ella, a dog, makes a promise to Gus, a boy, to be with him always.  So on Halloween, when Gus finds himself attacked by a bunch of skeletons, Ella, now a skeleton dog, appears and brings with her a pack of friends...

With whimsical illustrations and tall-tale vibe, BONE DOG provides a perfect and satisfying treat for Halloween.  

MASON DIXON: PET DISASTERS

MASON DIXON: PET DISASTERS, by Claudia Mills (Knopf 2011)(ages 7-10).  In this first of a new chapter book series, nine-year-old Mason Dixon likes his belongings ordered, his food simple, and his socks brown.  He does not want a pet, but his parents insist he needs one.  But fish, hamsters, and cats just aren't his thing.  When he and his best friend Brody adopt a dog, though, he discovers that, just possibly, having a pet companion isn't so bad after all.

MASON DIXON: PET DISASTERS is a winning tale of friendship, pets, and summer art camp.  Full of heart and humor, PET DISASTERS will have readers eagerly awaiting the next installment.  Illustrations by Guy Francis are equally fun and expressive.

WIENER WOLF

WIENER WOLF, by Jeff Crosby (Hyperion 2011).  Wiener dog is bored with life with grandma.  What he craves is excitement!

But when he answers the call of the wild, he finds out the rebuttal is a little more than he bargained for...

With expressive illustrations and a timeless story, WIENER WOLF brings to life one dachshund's quest for self-actualization in this thoroughly fun, hilarious, and engaging picture book.

Jeff read from WIENER WOLF at BookPeople

SMELLS LIKE DOG

SMELLS LIKE DOG, by Suzanne Selfors (Little Brown, May 2010)(ages 8-12). Twelve-year-old Homer Winslow Pudding lives and works on his family's goat farm in remote Milkydale, but would rather be hunting treasure like his uncle, the famous treasure hunter Drake Horatio Pudding. When Uncle Drake dies in a tortoise accident, Homer is surprised to inherit his dog, a droopy creature with no sense of smell and wearing a mysterious coin around its collar.

Homer is soon propelled into mystery and adventure as he and his sister run away to the dangerous City, where they encounter the evil Madame le Directeur of the Natural History Museum, and Homer undertakes a quest to find a pirate treasure map with some of Drake's former colleagues.

SMELLS LIKE DOG is a fun and entertaining tale of misfits discovering where they belong. The tongue-in-cheek, over-the-top humor and voice mesh perfectly with the zany adventure.

NUBS: THE TRUE STORY OF A MUTT, A MARINE, AND A MIRACLE

NUBS: THE TRUE STORY OF A MUTT, A MARINE, AND A MIRACLE, by Maj. Brian Dennis, Kirby Larson, and Mary Nethery (Little Brown 2009). In western Iraq, a group of American marines befriended a dog they called "Nubs," because his ears had been cut off. They couldn't keep him, but when they left, Nubs followed their humvee. For seventy miles across the desert...

So they organized a campaign to bring him back to the US...

Illustrated with photographs, evocative of LASSIE COME HOME, this charming tale will appeal to dog lovers everywhere. And, no, the dog does not die.