Children love books, dogs, dog books

I've heard from several librarians that they can't keep dog books on the shelves.

Here are some recently published books about dogs:

“Little Dog Lost: The True Story of a Brave Dog Named Baltic”

Monica Carnesi heard a story on National Public Radio about a dog found floating on an ice floe in the Vistula River near Grudziadz, Poland. As she listened to the story of the dog's dramatic rescue, she thought that would make a good children's book. That's how she came to write “Little Dog Lost: The True Story of a Brave Dog Named Baltic” (Nancy Paulsen Books, 2012, ages 4 and up). First firemen try to rescue the dog, but the river flows too fast. The dog floats away. Then a ship pulls up and the crew tries to get the dog to jump into a net. But the dog misses the net and falls into the water. Finally, the dog is rescued, and he joins the crew of R/V Baltica, a scientific research vessel. Carnesi does a great job retelling the story in a way that's not too difficult for a 4 year old to understand, and not too scary, either.

“Stay: The True Story of Ten Dogs”

(Scholastic, 2012, ages 4 and up) written by Michaela Muntean and photographed by K.C. Bailey and Stephen Kazmierski is an inspirational story about Luciano Anastasini, who set out to save a few dogs and ended up saving himself in the process. Anastasini was a seventh generation circus performer. But one day he fell 50 feet from high wire in Chicago. He broke so many bones that it took “four operations to put him back together.” His days as acrobat were over. But circus life was the only life he'd ever known; he didn't know what he was going to do next. He tried selling circus tickets and putting up posters, but he wasn't happy. He wanted an act. Maybe something with dogs? This new act was a second chance for him, so he decided rather than go to a pet store or a breeder, he would go to a shelter and give some dogs a second chance, too. He spent months just getting to know his new friends and finding out what they liked to do. Readers learn a lot about the nature of dogs from this book. It's true that sometimes “a dog will show up when a person needs one most. Sometimes a person will show up when a dog needs one most. Sometimes a dog and a person will find each other at just the right moment, when they need each other more than either could ever imagine.” That's the true message in this book.

“What the Dog Said”

(Bloomsbury, 2012, ages 10 and Up) by Randi Reisfeld is a fiction story about two sisters and a dog. Grace's sister Regan needs to have an interesting experience she can write about in her college applications, so she decides to adopt a dog from an animal shelter and train him to be a service dog. Grace's mom insists that Grace go along with Regan to choose the dog. Grace and Regan's police officer father was recently shot and killed, so Mom thinks Grace needs something else to think about. At the shelter, Regan chooses a white fluff ball of a dog. But before they can actually adopt him, another dog with shaggy gray muzzle calls out to Grace, “No, no … pick me!” He literally speaks to Grace, but she is only one who can hear him. Grace does manage to talk Regan into adopting this dog instead of the fluff ball, which is just as well because Grace ends up doing all of the training herself. Grace ends up in training class with J.J. Pico, a troubled boy that her father was trying to help. J.J. has admitted to police that he was in car with the person who shot Grace's dad, but he hasn't offered any further information. With the help of her new dog, Grace is determined to find out what really happened the afternoon her dad was killed. This is a great family story, a great sister story, and a great dog story. Readers also will come away with knowledge about what it takes to raise a service puppy and how it feels to give up that puppy when training is complete.

“Buddy”

(Viking, 2012, Ages 9 and Up) written by M. H. Herlong is among the best books I've read this year. Thirteen-year-old Tyrone (or Li'l T) and his family are on their way to church one Sunday when all of a sudden they feel a bump. They've accidentally hit a stray dog. The family doesn't have much money, so when they arrive at church they ask for donations so they can take the dog to the vet. The vet has no choice but to amputate the dog's leg. Soon the dog (Buddy) is well again. Li'l T sells his Game Boy and mows lawns to pay for Buddy's food. Nobody ever loved a dog as much as Li'l T loves Buddy. Then Hurricane Katrina comes and the family is forced to abandon Buddy. When they return, Buddy is gone. Will It's a story of holding on and letting go. I promise Buddy doesn't die, but the end will still make you cry. Li'l T's earnest voice will remain with you long after you've closed the book.

Dori Hillestad Butler of Coralville is the author of many books for children, including the Edgar award winning series, “The Buddy Files.”