These Books Have Gone to the Dogs!

I love stories about dogs. Even better are books that are written by the dogs themselves - or at least from their point of view. Here are three, recently published by Peachtree Publishers.

Leo, Dog of the Sea
by Alison Hart; illus. by Michael G. Montgomery
165 pages; ages 7-10

Here is the fourth installment in Alison Hart's "Dog Chronicles" series - and another great tale told by a tail-wagging protagonist. Previous adventures feature Murphy, Darling, and Finder.

The year is 1519 and Leo has hopped aboard one of Ferdinand Magellan's ships. Leo's had lots of experience hunting and catching rats on ships, so he thinks this will be one more voyage. What he doesn't know is this ship is headed on a westward journey that circumnavigate the globe.

The journey begins as any good seafaring adventure should: with 60 days of stormy weather, followed by becalmed seas in the equatorial seas. Humans turn against each other, reinforcing Leo's belief that people should not be trusted. And yet... he makes friends.

We see, through a dog's eyes, a journey to Brazil, sailing down the coast to a land of penguins and frozen seas; starving sailors who skin and roast the rats Leo provides; a mutiny - or two; hubris when Magellan involves himself in island politics and meets his untimely demise.

What I like about this book: aside from the excitement of adventure and exploration, is the Back Matter. Yes, Hart includes an author's note about the real history behind the story. "There are no records of a dog on board any of Magellan's ships," she writes. "However, dogs have long been used in Spain to control mice and rats." So there probably were dogs aboard the vessels in Magellan's fleet. She includes a glossary and a diagram of a sixteenth-century ship, further reading, and more.

Dori Hillestad Butler has a delightful new series of chapter books titled "King & Kayla", illustrated by Nancy Meyers. The first two in the series are:
King & Kayla and the Case of the Missing Dog Treats
and
King & Kayla and the Case of the Secret Code
Each is 48 pages, for ages 7-9

How can you not want to read a book that starts out, "Hello! My name is King. I'm a dog. This is Kayla. She is my human."

Kayla is making peanut butter dog treats - King's favorite. But she won't let him have one until they have cooled. She won't even let him lick the bowl!

And then... some treats go missing. King smells an intruder! He tries to tell Kayla, but she doesn't understand him... and accuses him of snitching the cookies! You will want to read it to learn how King proves he's innocent and brings the culprit to justice.

In the Case of the Secret Code, King and Kayla team up to solve the mystery of who is leaving letters around, and what the code means. Moral of the story: if you're delivering secret messages, the dog will sniff you out!

On Monday we'll be hanging out on Marvelous Middle Grade Monday with other  bloggers over at Shannon Messenger's blog. Hop over to see what other people are reading. Review copies provided by publisher.