Bial, Raymond. Rescuing Rover: Saving America's Dogs.Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011
While 39% of the homes in the US have at least one dog, there are many more dogs that do not have homes. This book explains why there are too many pets, and what animal shelters, rescue groups, and individuals can do to help. Well-illustrated with heart breaking pictures of rescue dogs, this is a matter-of-fact description of a sad failing of our society. Different animal welfare groups and their work are profiled, and the adoption process is explained. Animal shelter policies, internet resources, and a bibliography are included. At 80 pages, this is just the right size for nonfiction. The downside-- it's hard to read this book without wanting to go to a shelter and bring home another dog, but I don't think that Sylvie would approve!
Crisp, Marty. Everything Dog: What Kids Really Want to Know About Dogs. (2002)
This was a title that I got from one of our elementary libraries that is being closed down. It is a short book with a variety of interesting facts about dogs, with plenty of appealing pictures. It addresses topics such as why dogs wag their tails, what color dogs' skin is under their fur, how long their memories are, and why do dogs lick people? (I did not know that the temple of Asklepios had dogs that would likc people to cure them of various ailments!) Of course, I probably already knew that dogs like us because we can scratch places on their backs that they can't reach. Sadly, this book appears to be out of print, but dust it oss to hand to a reluctant reader if it is in your library.
It's Nonfiction Monday! This week's Round-Up is at Gathering Books, where they have a great post on a lot of books about extraordinary women. 
Wow! Nearly 40% of homes in the US have at least one dog! I find that amazing. I wonder what the equivalent figure is here in the UK.
ReplyDeleteA poll by the University of Bristol,(http://www.bris.ac.uk/news/2010/6826.html) found "In 2007, a telephone survey of households randomly selected from the electoral roll revealed that cats and dogs were owned by 26 per cent and 31 per cent of households, respectively." I would have thought that there were more across the pond. If nothing else, I think the British are somehow more fond of their dogs!
ReplyDeletePulling a the dog heart strings, are you? :) The covers make me want to pick them up! Thanks for sharing these titles. I will look into them.
ReplyDeleteMy 10 year old daughter has just recently finished reading the Newbery Medal book Sounder as part of a school requirement. These two books would have been great nonfiction companion material for her to have a more nuanced portrait of what dogs are like. Thanks for sharing these with us.
ReplyDeleteWow! Thanks for following up my query. 1 in 3 homes here also seems high to me - certainly that's not the level of ownership amongst people I know, but maybe that's because we're in a big city. Still, all good - I've learned something new today. thankyou
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