Puppies, Dogs, and Blue Northers

Gary Paulsen

67 pages

An experienced Iditarod racer, Gary Paulsen celebrates his lead dog and longtime companion, Cookie, in this intimate essay. Paulsen takes readers inside the kennel as Cookie's last litter of pups grow and learn to pull sleds across the snowy frontier. 

Because of Winn-Dixie

Kate DiCamillo

192 pages

The summer Opal and her father, the preacher, move to Naomi, Florida, Opal goes into the Winn-Dixie supermarket -- and comes out with a dog. With the help of her new pal, whom she names Winn-Dixie, Opal makes a variety of new, interesting friends and spends the summer collecting stories about them and thinking about her absent mother. But because of Winn-Dixie, or perhaps because she has grown, Opal learns to let go, just a little, and that friendship -- and forgiveness -- can sneak up on you like a sudden summer storm.

A Dog's Life

Ann M. Martin

192 pages

Squirrel and her brother Bone begin their lives in a toolshed behind someone's summer house. Their mother nurtures them and teaches them the many skills they will need to survive as stray dogs. But when their mother is taken from them suddenly and too soon, the puppies are forced to make their own way in the world, facing humans both gentle and brutal, busy highways, other animals, and the changing seasons. When Bone and Squirrel become separated, Squirrel must fend for herself, and in the process makes two friends who in very different ways define her fate.

Cracker: The Best Dog in Vietnam

Cynthia Kadohata

320 pages

CRACKER IS ONE OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY'S MOST VALUABLE WEAPONS: a German shepherd trained to sniff out bombs, traps, and the enemy. The fate of entire platoons rests on her keen sense of smell. She's a Big Deal, and she likes it that way. Sometimes Cracker remembers when she was younger, and her previous owner would feed her hot dogs and let her sleep in his bed. That was nice, too. Rick Hanski is headed to Vietnam. There, he's going to whip the world and prove to his family and his sergeant -- and everyone else who didn't think he was cut out for war -- wrong. But sometimes Rick can't help but wonder that maybe everyone else is right. Maybe he should have just stayed at home and worked in his dad's hardware store. When Cracker is paired with Rick, she isn't so sure about this new owner. He's going to have to prove himself to her before she's going to prove herself to him. They need to be friends before they can be a team, and they have to be a team if they want to get home alive

Shelter Dogs

Peg Kehret

134 pages

Abig, jumpy dog who's "hard to handle," a scared little dog who snarls and snaps at everyone, a blind dog who hasn't been house-trained -- all have come to the shelter. What is going to happen to these abandoned animals? Must they be euthanized? Or can they be adopted and live happily ever after?

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DOG BOOKS

Old Yeller

Fred Gipson

192 pages

At first, Travis couldn't stand the sight of Old Yeller. The stray dog was ugly, and a thieving rascal, too. But he sure was clever, and a smart dog could be a big help on the wild Texas frontier, especially with Papa away on a long cattle drive up to Abilene. Strong and courageous, Old Yeller proved that he could protect Travis's family from any sort of danger. But can Travis do the same for Old Yeller?

Shiloh

Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

144 pages

Eleven-year-old Marty Preston loves to spend time up in the hills behind his home near Friendly, West Virginia. Sometimes he takes his .22 rifle to see what he can shoot, like some cans lined up on a rail fence. Other times he goes up early in the morning just to sit and watch the fox and deer. But one summer Sunday, Marty comes across something different on the road just past the old Shiloh schoolhouses-a young beagle-and the trouble begins. What do you do when a dog you suspect is being mistreated runs away and comes to you? When it is someone else's dog? When the man who owns him has a gun? This is Marty's problem, and he finds it is one he has to face alone. When his solution gets too big for him to handle, things become more frightening still. Marty puts his courage on the line, and discovers in the process that it is not always easy to separate right from wrong. Sometimes, however, you do almost anything to save a dog.

White Star

Marty Crisp

150 pages

The year is 1912, and twelve-year-old Sam Harris is traveling from England to America on the grand ship the Titanic. Sam is lonely at first, but is soon delighted to discover that there are dogs aboard! When Sam volunteers to help out in the kennel, he meets Star, a spunky Irish setter that belongs to the ship's captain. Sam and Star become fast friends, and when disaster strikes, the boy and dog must rely on each other more than ever before. The harrowing, breathless conclusion -- and fascinating historical information -- makes this boy-and-dog tale truly unforgettable.

Dragon: Hound of Honor

Julie Andrews Edwards

193 pages

In the noble and dangerous times of medieval France, the young knight Aubrey de Montdidier, nephew of the Count of Montargis, has been strangely murdered. His friend the brave Sieur DeNarsac, captain of the count's men-at-arms, and Thierry, a young page, must now solve the tragic mystery. Yet it is a magnificent white wolfhound by the name of Dragon -- Montdidier's faithful companion -- who brings an unexpected, shocking conclusion to the puzzle of his master's untimely death.

Strider

Beverly Cleary

152 page

Can a stray dog change the life of a teenage boy? It looks as if Strider can. He's a dog that loves to run; because of Strider, Leigh Botts finds himself running -- well enough to join the school track team. Strider changes Leigh on the inside, too, as he finally begins to accept his parents' divorce and gets to know a redheaded girl he's been admiring. With Strider's help, Leigh finds that the future he once hated to be asked about now holds something he never expected: hope.

The Good Dog

Avi

256 pages

In the Colorado mountain town of Steamboat Springs there must be three hundred dogs.
Jack's malamute, McKinley, is the leader of them all. But Jack, being human, has no way of knowing that. For him, his family's dog is just a great pal. And protector. Jack cannot know that Redburn, a "leash-licking" Irish setter, is McKinley's rival for the job of head dog. The boy cannot know, with the sudden hillside appearance of a she-wolf, Lupin, that not only McKinley's job -- but his life -- is in danger. Lupin's message: Dogs free yourselves from mankind. Come join us, we who need you to replenish our diminishing wolf pack in the wild. But imagine how a good dog, loyal to his human pup, would hear Lupin's call! McKinley's thrilling story tells itself, as first he and the boy together encounter Lupin in a canyon perfect for an old-time ambush, and later as they try to save her from both Redburn and a neighbor, a vicious man armed with a gun and a grudge. No one -- not even McKinley -- can foresee the end.