Author: Harriet Ziefert
Illustrator: Barroux (click for HZ’s post on visiting Barroux)
Publisher: Blue Apple, 2012
Themes: dogs, animal rescue
Age Level: 4 and up
Opening: Here is Lucy at the pound, where we found her. She needed to be rescued. Her time was almost up.
Summary: (from the publisher) When Lucy is adopted from the local animal shelter, her new family thinks that they have chosen a perfect pet. And she is, right up to the minute she starts to howl, and howl, and howl some more. Treats, tricks, a soft red bed, lullabies, and even doggy therapy cannot stop her “Wah-ooo-ooo-roo!” It is the little girl who figures out that Lucy needs a comfy friend (her own stuffed animal) and Lucy who figures out that she needs as many as she can get her paws on. And then, all is well.
Why I like this book: I’ll admit, the cover grabbed me! And the end papers. And the seemingly simple yet heartwarming story. But the illustrator was able to show how an anxious puppy’s howling can fill a room. I have never owned a dog, but I live close to the local university. New college kids move in next door almost every year, getting a puppy and leaving it home a lot (sad to have to add this) so I know what puppy howling ‘looks’ like, and how heartbreaking it feels to hear it. Barroux must know this too!
Resources/Activities: Volunteering at your local Humane Society isn’t something kids can easily do on their own, but here are some ways kids can help; offer to watch a neighbor’s puppy when they go out!
julie rowan-zoch 