Maki (Ma'ingan -- Ojibwe for wolf): The Restless One
Owner of LouiseMaki read The Sense of An Ending by Julian Barnes. This book was a one night read and although filled with typical British angst over sex and communication, it had a zinger of an ending. So an unqualified recommend. He knows Louise is reading The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje, and that she loves this book. But Maki refuses to read it -- dogs don't have tables, cats shouldn't have them either. And no way he's going to pick up IQ84 even though Louise has been reading it every night for what seems like a century.
Rowdy: The Protector
Owner of PersiaRowdy wants to make a public service announcement. If you buy the book Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet by Bill McKibben from Birchbark Books we will only make enough on its margin to cover part of the cost of stocking it. That's the way it is with the book business. BUT if you buy the book at Birchbark Books and read it, you'll end up doing something that will help your planet because this is the most persuasive book about the planet Rowdy's ever read. And you'll be part of something called the Slow Money movement, which is all about supporting little businesses like us -- we're here to help the world by remaining a locavore business selling mind food in a city setting. We're not here to get big and eat up more farmland in some mall. Please read eaarth and try not to cry at the beginning because McKibben makes it better -- makes you consider how you can change your life in sensible ways to support this lovely, lovely, planet we are making tougher to live on for ourselves and our dogs.
Dharma: The Enlightened One
Owner of SusanDharma: This Summer I became separated from my Human in a very busy Uptown intersection. The loud metal things honking and squealing, just missing me and my leash. I could not hear her calling over all that noise! So. I ran. Fast. Very fast. No one could catch me. No scent trail to follow, so I headed West. One hour running stretched into two. Three. Eight. Darkness, and still I ran.
(Human: Only someone who has lost a pet can imagine the absolute gut- wrenching horror of knowing that your dog is lost in a busy Metro area, dragging a long leash and with no bearings to home.)
Dharma: Thirsty, my paws are very sore, and still I run until the Sun comes up. I am very, very frightened. I am very lost. Water! The Lake! I know this way! Run. Run. Drink.
(Human: By noon the following day I had put up 100 posters, placed a "lost" ad on Craigslist, and added 100 miles to my car. No dog. Many had spotted Dharma, but she ran away in fright. I am at the bookstore. I despair of seeing her alive. The busy city streets she had to manuveur seem impossible to cross unscathed.
The front door to the bookstore is open on the warm Fall day. At one o'clock a black blur dashes into the store and collapses, panting heavily on a favorite stuffed chair. Dharma had found her way to the place she occupies each day with me. My big-hearted friend had found her way to the bookstore!)
Postscript: Birchbark Books is right around the corner from the Kenwood Veterinary Clinic. Dharma was in good shape but the pads of her paws were shredded. The Doc said she must have never quit running on the city asphalt.
Dharma: I got a LOT of chicken to eat for a week!
So, to remind my Human of how special I am, I will recommend Old Dogs Are the Best Dogs by Gene Weingarten. It is the perfect book of photos and essays for any one who loves or has loved one of us!
Home Ground : Language for an American Landscape
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Annabelle
Owner of EmilyAnnabelle travels - from ocean to ocean, from Redwood to Boreal forest, from Bernal Heights Park in San Francisco to the Blackhills. She likes best to look out the car window, marveling at the world. She wades in rivers, streams, lakes; when geese fly overhead she stops to take it in. As a Corgi, Annabelle doesn't need human words to describe the pure joy of land and water. She breaths in thankfulness, she breathes out thankfulness. She also understands the human need for words. Which is why she loves Home Ground: Language for an American Landscape. Singing sand. Shrub carr. Riffle ("the little brother of a rapid"). Annabelle knows it's an intricate thing to get to know land and these words help, they point to the smallest relationships - sand sings when the geometry of individual grains, wind, humidity, a dune's crest, and a slough interact in a particular way, at a particular moment. Amazing: singing sand. This is the perfect book for those of us, like Annabelle, who can appreciate a stair-step canyon, but also want to know a little more about how it formed. The poetic descriptions let us know what brinks, trembling prairies, ganderbrush, and tree tip pits really are. Do what Annabelle does: take this book on your travels or stay home and read it on the couch - either way, let your appreciation of the world mingle with the new knowledge and definitions you find. It makes Annabelle breathe a little deeper (thankful again) and look forward to her next road trip.
Boozhoo (Boo)
Owner of HeidWell, naturally I thought the title of this book, Food Rules, was meant as a cheer: Food Rules! That is not the case, and if my people take this book to heart, there may be fewer cheezeo bits to snuffle off the floor, but still I love this book. This slender volume is created by two of my favorites: illustrator/author Mairia Kalman who paints dogs (remember Max Makes A Million?) and Michael Pollan, the brainy food activist/writer who brought us The Omnivore’s Dilemma. I thought the food thing, plus the dog-painter thing, PLUS Michael Pollan, cannot go wrong. Pollan collected his food rules by asking folks to send them to him, then he published an earlier book, then folks had more rules and Mairia Kalman had some paintings of cheezeo boxes and donuts—hence a new edition. The book is divided into three sections that are actually questions accompanied by answers: What should I eat? (Eat Food). You get the idea. Great gift. Funny, beautiful, profound, and useful. Food Rules!
Bailey
Owner of DianeI just finished reading Fablehaven by Brandon Mull.
I loved this book, didn’t even eat any of it. (If you read my other
reviews you may remember when I first started reading I would
occasionally eat the book as I read it!) Anyway, do you believe in a
magical world? Do you think things exist that you may not be able to
see? If so, this may be a book you’d like to devour.
Fablehaven
is a magical preserve. There are amazing animals and creatures who live
there. The story is an adventure like I have never read before. There
were some very scary parts for the humans, and also parts when I laughed
out loud.
I don’t want to give too much away (you need to read
it yourself!) but in this story the humans drink milk from a magical
cow… and the things they see! It’s amazing. I want some of that milk
because I would love to be able to chase after the fairies, they would
be more challenging than my usual tennis balls! You’ll have to read it
to find out more details. I can’t wait to start the second book (there
are five books in the series.)
Sylvie
Owner of PrudenceHow many lonely afternoons have I spent longing for a brother or sister!?! Oh, we'd romp and wrestle, run and tousle, sniff and snuggle--I'd be the perfect big sister, a veritable font of wisdom and guidance! I began leaving pictures of cute puppies and Humane Society brochures lying around. My human took the hint. "OK", she says, "it's an interesting idea but what if your new sibling wants to be the boss, doesn't want to do things your way?" Well, I hadn't even considered THAT possibility. So we read Kevin Kling's new book for children, about this very problem: Big Little Brother. The illustrations (by Chris Monroe) are wonderful, and I love to read it over and over again. (It's perfect for two- and four-leggeds with short attention spans.) I've begun pleading again with renewed vigor...and more realistic expectations. Keep your fingers crossed for me, ok?
Sharing the Skies: Navajo Astronomy
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Frank and Rocky
Owners of CarolynFrank and Rocky know that Winter means the lake freezes over and they get to run like mad dogs, bounding through snow, skidding over ice on unimpeded romps through a big frozen field. They also know that Winter means it gets dark very early and when Frank looks up over the lake, it reminds him of the month he spent in Diné Bikeyah (Navajo country) with Carolyn when he was just a youth. He once told his brother Rocky that the stars were so bright down there that he thought if he could leap up just right, he might be able to catch one in his mouth. At first Rocky thought Frank was an idiot until he realized what he meant on his last night walk on the lake. Frank's enthusiasm for stars might be contagious because Rocky was ecstatic when he ran across a book about the Diné night sky calledSharing the Skies: Navajo Astronomy. Since the Diné and many other tribes tell their star stories between October and February, it is the perfect Winter time book. It gives you an overview of each Navajo constellation and their Greek equivalents accompanied by breath taking photos taken by the Hubble Telescope and lovingly rendered depictions of constellations by Navajo artist, Melvin Bainbridge. A great accompaniment to this book is They Dance in the Sky: Native American Star Myths. This is a compilation of star stories from several tribal nations. Frank and Rocky, being the lovable but mischievous tricksters that they are, relate to stories about Coyote. They especially love the story where Coyote steals the star pouch from Black God and scatters them about the cosmos. This Winter will fly by for these brothers as they learn about Navajo astronomy, listen to Carolyn read star stories, and spend their nights gazing up at the bright stars over frozen water.
Brother Sun, Sister Moon: Saint Francis of Assisi's Canticle of the Creatures
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Jesse
Owner of GeorgiannaUsing the holidays as an excuse, my two-legged companion has been stocking up on children's books pretending they're hers (until they must be mailed to the lucky kids on her list). For their stunning illustrations and their message of celebrating the natural world her current favorites are: Swirl by Swirl, Spirals in Nature by Minnesota poet Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Beth Krommes which looks at the spiral shape as it re-occurs in all of nature. And Brother Sun, Sister Moon in which Katherine Patersonre-imagines the "Canticle of the Creatures" written by Francis of Assisi. This 800 year old hymn honors all aspects of life and our closeness to the the natural world. The gorgeous cut-out paper illustrations are by Pamela Dalton. As one of the aforementioned creatures, I do not have to be reminded to celebrate the natural world....it's beauty (along with the comforts afforded me by my humans) is what I live for.
Holly
Owner of AlliciaFinally, a book that created a character just like me. Sometimes I feel like I live in an unrecognizable North America. Usually it is my fault, tearing apart my doggie toys and dispersing them around the room. This is just like Katniss in The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. She has this amazing way with a bow and arrow but she has to search for them in the arena, just like I have to after my family picks up after all my hard work. Love for her family is what keeps her going each day, just like mine does for me. She fights to live, for her family and her district in an obstacle course called the Hunger Games. I thought it was appropriate that the book is called The Hunger Games as she is hungry throughout the games and I am ALWAYS hungry and can go for one of those delicious biscuits my Grandma gives me. I can’t wait to see what adventures Katniss goes onto in the next book… to be continued…
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