Favorite books
Don’t-miss-‘em dog books have a distinguished history and keep coming on strong in the 21st century. Among my current favorites: “The Knife of Never Letting Go” by Patrick Ness. It’s the first volume in a fantasy trilogy (and the only part of the trilogy with a dog as an important character). Here’s my review from Audiofile Magazine:
The first book of the Chaos Walking trilogy is a wild ride in a new world with some old problems. Patrick Ness built the world, but narrator Nick Podehl pulls the listener into it through the embittered voice of Todd, a droll 13-year-old stuck in a community of men in which everyone can hear everyone else’s thoughts. Now and then, the book gives a sample of the audible cacophony. Todd and his dog, Manchee (whose thoughts are simple and doggish), find a hole of silence in the swamp – a girl. The trio – boy, girl, and dog – takes off, pursued by angry men, into a world much bigger than Todd imagined. Podehl’s voice gradually becomes the safety bar we cling to as this roller coaster of bridge burning, space travel, and, yes, knife fights, whips us around unexpected corners. The only problem is that the story ends in the middle of a sharp right angle. But that doesn’t make it any less breathtaking. M.M.C. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, copyright AudioFile, December 2010, Portland, Maine. Young Adult, 12 hours, unabridged.
Visit the Audiofile Magazine website.
“Dog On It” and three more books in the Chet and Bernie series by Spencer Quinn are narrated by Chet, a faithful and very funny dog who works with his master, Bernie Little, in the Little Detective Agency. Although aimed at adults, this is good reading for anyone 12 and up who likes mysteries. There’s humor, adventure, and happy endings, but also some dangerous situations and occasional mild swearing.
There's a new detective on the mystery scene. He's shoeless, never takes his coat off, and can follow a scent along any trail. Meet Chet, the canine sleuth who's not a sidekick or a talking dog, but the first-person (first dog?) narrator of his own story. Narrator Jim Frangione gives Chet a laid back confidence combined with animal innocence. He excels at the chatty "just-between-you-and-me" asides Chet favors. Although the exact location of the southwest-based Little Detective Agency and Chet's exact breed (large, black-and-white, pointed ears) are never specified, the story is well drawn, with Chet frequently in scenery-chewing peril. The fur-footed non-sequiturs are funny and the danger biting. A second mystery is due out next year. As Chet would say, "what's more fun than this?" M.M.C.
copyright AudioFile, May 2009, Portland Maine. Mystery & Suspense, 9.75 hours, unabridged.
And, if you loved Gennifer Choldenko’s “Al Capone Does My Shirts,” don’t miss her 2003 novel, “Notes from a Liar and Her Dog.”
There are many wonderful canine Newbery Medal winners and honor books, like Gary Paulsen’s “Dogsong,” Phyllis Reynold Naylor’s “Shiloh,” William H. Armstrong’s “Sounder,” Elizabeth Janet Gray’s “Adam of the Road,” and Kate DiCamillo’s “Because of Winn-Dixie.”
The first book of the Chaos Walking trilogy is a wild ride in a new world with some old problems. Patrick Ness built the world, but narrator Nick Podehl pulls the listener into it through the embittered voice of Todd, a droll 13-year-old stuck in a community of men in which everyone can hear everyone else’s thoughts. Now and then, the book gives a sample of the audible cacophony. Todd and his dog, Manchee (whose thoughts are simple and doggish), find a hole of silence in the swamp – a girl. The trio – boy, girl, and dog – takes off, pursued by angry men, into a world much bigger than Todd imagined. Podehl’s voice gradually becomes the safety bar we cling to as this roller coaster of bridge burning, space travel, and, yes, knife fights, whips us around unexpected corners. The only problem is that the story ends in the middle of a sharp right angle. But that doesn’t make it any less breathtaking. M.M.C. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, copyright AudioFile, December 2010, Portland, Maine. Young Adult, 12 hours, unabridged.
Visit the Audiofile Magazine website.
“Dog On It” and three more books in the Chet and Bernie series by Spencer Quinn are narrated by Chet, a faithful and very funny dog who works with his master, Bernie Little, in the Little Detective Agency. Although aimed at adults, this is good reading for anyone 12 and up who likes mysteries. There’s humor, adventure, and happy endings, but also some dangerous situations and occasional mild swearing.
There's a new detective on the mystery scene. He's shoeless, never takes his coat off, and can follow a scent along any trail. Meet Chet, the canine sleuth who's not a sidekick or a talking dog, but the first-person (first dog?) narrator of his own story. Narrator Jim Frangione gives Chet a laid back confidence combined with animal innocence. He excels at the chatty "just-between-you-and-me" asides Chet favors. Although the exact location of the southwest-based Little Detective Agency and Chet's exact breed (large, black-and-white, pointed ears) are never specified, the story is well drawn, with Chet frequently in scenery-chewing peril. The fur-footed non-sequiturs are funny and the danger biting. A second mystery is due out next year. As Chet would say, "what's more fun than this?" M.M.C.
copyright AudioFile, May 2009, Portland Maine. Mystery & Suspense, 9.75 hours, unabridged.
And, if you loved Gennifer Choldenko’s “Al Capone Does My Shirts,” don’t miss her 2003 novel, “Notes from a Liar and Her Dog.”
There are many wonderful canine Newbery Medal winners and honor books, like Gary Paulsen’s “Dogsong,” Phyllis Reynold Naylor’s “Shiloh,” William H. Armstrong’s “Sounder,” Elizabeth Janet Gray’s “Adam of the Road,” and Kate DiCamillo’s “Because of Winn-Dixie.”
My favorite author from childhood is Jim Kjelgaard (pronounced Kel-guard), an outdoorsman and park ranger who especially loved writing about dogs. He put readers directly into a dog’s mind and demonstrated in the most believable way the unshakeable bond between man and dog. His books included “Stormy,” “Big Red,” “Outlaw Red,” “Irish Red,” “Lion Hound,” “Desert Dog,” “Snow Dog,” “Wild Trek,” “A Nose For Trouble,” “Two Dogs and a Horse,” and many more. I still search for new (to me) Kjelgaard titles in used bookstores. Sadly, this writer I admire so much died in 1959.
