Peg Kehret (1936–2025)

Hmm ... How to deal with this book? I liked it - enjoyed it even. But it's kinda outside what I usually read. It's a kid's book, see? And If I were eleven or twelve I probably woulda loved it. My problem is I'm nearly 67 years old, so I felt a little strange reading it. A story about a "ghost dog," I mean. I kept thinking of my 3 year-old grandson who has a collection of trains by GeoTrax and has a video about the trains he watches, one of which is about a 'ghoooooost train,' which causes show more him to shiver deliciously everytime he says it. Little kids like ghosts, like to be frightened - at least a little, in a safe setting, anyway. So I suspect young kids would like GHOST DOG SECRETS in the same way, and in the same way teenagers and young adults like vampire and werewolf and slasher films. Me I don't like any of those kinds of films anymore. I prefer my books and films to be more adult in nature. But that doesn't mean I don't remember being of an age when I loved books that were about dogs and horses. All those Albert Payson Terhune collie books? Read 'em. The Jim Kjelgaard Irish Setter books? Read 'em. The Silver Chief Dog of the North Books? Them too. The Wild Dog of Edmonton? Valiant Dog of the Timberline? Lassie Come Home? Call of the Wild? White Fang? Juneau the Sleigh Dog? Kazan the Wolf Dog? Beautiful Joe? Read 'em all, and a lot of other dog books I can't even remember anymore. I gobbled 'em down like tater chips.

Peg Kehret knows how to spin a story about boys and dogs, and this one about Rusty and Ra is a good one. She also knows how to use rising and falling actions and how to leave you hanging at the end of a chapter so that you have no choice but to start the next one even if Mom is calling you for supper, or telling you to go outside and play, it's a beautiful day, getcher nose outa that book ferachange, fercripesake. Those cliffhanger endings were typical to all those Hardy Boys books my brothers and I devoured back in the fifties, and yeah, the same kinda hook worked for Nancy Drew and Cherry Ames. (Oops, I'm a guy, I'm not supposed to know that, am I? Too late.)

Besides being a pretty gripping story, there's lots of 'redeeming social value stuff' in here too, about how awful cruelty to animals can be, how to be a good son, having a social conscience and doing some community service, good vs evil. Hey, there're even some sure enought 'bad guys' in here running a meth lab and abusing their guard dogs. And this is real life kinda stuff too. I know, because there was a meth lab discovered just a couple blocks from my house a year or two ago and guess what? There was a huge bull mastiff chained to the garage outside, who looked awful darn skinny. The meth guys kept him lean and mean. This Peg Kehret knows what she's writing about. But you can tell too just how much she loves dogs - and understands pretty well that most kids do too. All these things together, well, they make for a pretty good book.

Enough said, I suppose. I liked this book. I'd give it five stars, but I'm too old. If you're under twelve and love dogs though, you'd better give it five stars. It deserves it. show less

This is the second Peg Kehret book I've read. The other was Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio, a book I read as research I was doing for a book of my own that dealt with polio. Because Peg's book was written in the first person, from her own experience, and absolutely from the heart, it turned out to be one of my most valuable resources. This book, Five Pages a Day, is the same kind of book. It is about as real as you can get in a book that is aimed at young people. The publisher's info says show more it's aimed at 4th through 8th graders, but hey, I'm a grandpa, and it worked for me. I would recommend it to any kid who thinks he/she would like to be a writer. Because Kehret is totally honest, about things like early failures and rejection letters, or "dejection" letters, as her small son called them back in her early, pre-success days. I'm a writer too, but not a rich, famous, or successful one like Kehret is. Well, maybe Peg would argue with the "rich" part. But the other two - hell, yes. Oops, I mean heck, yes. I read this book in just a couple of sittings today. It's almost worth the price just for the photo of Kehret at eight years old sitting primly on the couch in a pretty dress, knee stockings and patent leather pumps, legs crossed in a very adult fashion (feet dangling a good foot above the floor), engaged in her "favorite activity" - reading. If you've got a kid who loves to read and wants to write, buy this book. It's full of great advice, relevant stories and anecdotes, and is just plain fun to read. show less

If I had to choose to name one book as the most inspiring book I've ever read, it just might be this one. Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio by Peg Kehret is a true story of hope, healing, courage, resilience, and the determination to fight and win against a terrible disease despite overwhelming odds.

Each time I read Small Steps, I experience along with the author her joys and sorrows, her laughter and tears, her defeats and victories. The book vividly conveys each event - including the show more author's terrifying polio diagnosis, illness, and complete paralysis at the age of 12; facing great pain and the threat of death; her long and difficult recovery; each of the family members, roommates, and medical professionals who were with her each step of the way; and much more. I admire the author's courage, resilience, determination, joy, and will to survive and recover, and her immense spirit that couldn't be extinguished. I feel for her as I read about each event and struggle she went through. She's honest about her despair, terror, and each of her other feelings, but she never loses her hope and determination even when faced with the possibility of death or the probability of lifelong paralysis or disability.

And through it all, she also never lost her sense of humor, choosing to have joy and make jokes even through immense pain, hardship, and loneliness. This book makes me laugh often, at the events the author experienced or caused, the way she tells about them, her self-deprecating wit, or the jokes she made in moments of difficulty.

Small Steps doesn't just make me laugh - it also makes me cry many, many times throughout the book, in a good way. It's rare for a book to make me cry real tears even once, but this book made me cry often throughout on my most recent read - genuine tears and even sobs. I cried at the author's experiences and hardship, from reading about the thoughts or feelings that are similar to ones I've experienced, from the sadness that it brings me to be aware of the suffering of so many people who face serious illness, at the example of the wonderful doctors who cared for her and comforted the author, and with tears and sobs of joy at her healing and recovery.

The author's writing style is smooth, crisp, and vivid, and it draws me into the story, and her bright personality, wit, and sense of humor shine throughout the book. And even more than in fiction, there are wholesome themes and insights presented in this book - subtle and never blatant, such as the author increasing in kindness, generosity, and being aware of the hardship of others, while being honest about being resentful of them at first.

THE CHARACTERS

For me, the most wonderful part of Small Steps, aside from the author and her personal story, are the other people that populate the pages of this book. Each person she met along the way impacted her in some way, and she writes about them insightfully. So many people helped her in her journey of illness and healing, and she remembers them with fondness and gratefulness. In addition to feeling like I know the author herself through her honesty and vivid, personal voice, she brings colorfully to life each other person in her story, making me feel as if I know each of them as well.

The most prominent of all were her parents - a kind, caring, generous couple who loved their daughter more than anything and were willing to go to great lengths to provide her with the best medical care possible. Their actions on several occasions literally made the difference of life and death for the author, and they walked beside her faithfully during every step of the way, making it possible for her to survive and gain a full recovery. I also love watching her parents care for and show love to the author's young roommates, acting as surrogate parents to the rest of them as well. During the events of this book, the author learned how lucky she was to have such wonderful and loving parents, and it reminds me of my own parents, who are just as wonderful - and I appreciate my parents along with the author.

Just as instrumental were the doctors, nurses, and physical therapists who treated the author and fought with her for her life and health. Two of them in particular were especially important and inspiring to the author and to me as a reader. Her favorite doctor, a young intern named Dr. Bevis, cared for her during the most intense phase of her illness and early recovery, and he went above and beyond in his care. He helped sealed the author's determination to recover, and he inspired her resolve to get well and walk again. The other individual, a young physical therapist, Miss Ballard, was the one who helped her recover the rest of the way and do just that - walk again. Both of their compassionate, kind, and caring medical treatment - and personal care rather than just mechanical physical treatment - impacted the author hugely. Without them, she would not have recovered the way she did, and seeing it moved me to tears on more than one occasion. And these two individuals and several kind nurses contrast sharply with another nurse, doctor, and physical therapist who were insensitive or mean to the author.

The author was also impacted by the sweet roommates who cheered her on in her healing even while they recovered more slowly or not at all. Their bond was forged as they fought the same terrible disease, and they supported each other through hardship and rejoiced in each other's joys and victories. Though the author at first resented her first roommate, a young boy in an iron lung named Tommy, they quickly grew to be inseparable. And the same was true of the four girls who were her roommates at the second hospital where the author spent her recovery. I loved reading about their sweet times together and the author's sisterly bond with each of them. Their sweet spirits, courage, determination, and resilience matched that of the author herself, and they inspire me as well.

WHAT THIS BOOK MEANS TO ME

I first read Small Steps at the age of 10, and it was the first memoir I had read - but it was by no means the last. I've read this book many, many times since then, as a preteen,as a teenager, and now as an adult, and it's impacted and inspired me each time - and made me laugh and cry. It remains one of my top few all-time favorite books, and for good reason. Out of the many, many autobiographies I have read and loved since first reading this book, this one remains one of the very best.

Unlike when I read the book as a child, I now have a chronic illness of my own, and though it's nothing compared to polio, it's been a long and difficult journey of many years of illness and slow, difficult recovery. It's encouraging and healing for me to read about the author's journey and experiences, and I see my own mirrored in hers. A few of my experiences have been almost exactly the same as hers - her thoughts and feelings about her illness, a few of her physical symptoms (though much less severe), the losses and discouragement she went through, and the destruction of all her dreams and her future. I wept on many occasions throughout the book as I read of her struggles and hardship, and I sobbed tears of joy at her recovery - and it renewed my hope that someday, I will recover and get well, like her, even though it seems impossible - as it did for her. I also cried with mixed comfort and sadness at the reminder that there are many, many others like me - young people who suffer from a serious, long-term illness, during years when we should be especially healthy and strong. It's comforting to remember that I'm not alone, and it's heartbreaking to be aware - as I have been before - of the suffering of so many others who are much worse off than me.

In addition to identifying with the author's experiences of illness, I'm inspired by the doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals who helped the author on her journey. Though I didn't foresee it when I first read this book, I'm now heading towards nursing school, and I'm passionate about my future career as a nurse. I'm inspired by the example of the wonderful people who provided medical care to the author during the events of this book - especially one doctor and one physical therapist in particular, whom I mentioned above, but also including other wonderful nurses and hospital staff. I want to be like them, and it's moving for me to see the impact that a skilled and compassionate medical professional can have on one patient or many - it even made me cry on multiple occasions during the book. I also do not want to be like the handful of insensitive, unkind, or mean doctors, nurses, or therapists the author encountered as well, who hurt her in more ways than one and made her journey more painful and difficult. However, I'm grateful and inspired to see that overall, the author's experience at both hospitals she stayed at were incredibly happy and beneficial - so much so that she didn't want to leave each time she was transferred or discharged.

CONCLUSION

I think every individual would enjoy and benefit from this wonderful book. Though the writing style is mature and sophisticated, the length and reading level are targeted toward middle-grade readers (ages 8-13) of the age the author was at the time of her experiences. I find that very appropriate, and I can't imagine the book any other way. But Small Steps is no less enjoyable for teens and adults of any age, and my whole family has enjoyed this book immensely. It's especially eye-opening for those who don't know about polio or who have never been through hardship or illness, and it's a wonderful book for young readers or readers of all ages. It's also squeaky clean - though I won't give it to my little sister until she's old enough to read one extremely brief mention of a crush, or of another character calling a young man cute - and the medical details are never the kind that would be uncomfortable for a sensitive or squeamish reader. (There is one small mention of a spinal tap, but it's not in-depth, over in a brief sentence or two, and should not be bothersome.)

Overall, Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio is an amazing true story that I think everyone should read. With quality writing, engaging storytelling, humor, joy, raw honesty, and inspiring hope, Peg Kehret shares the amazing story of her determined fight to survive and recover from polio and paralysis. I've read this book many, many times and enjoyed it immensely each time, and this will by no means be the last. I can't recommend it highly enough. show less

When 13 year old Kyle is on vacation with his family on the Oregon Coast, disaster strikes. After reading about Tsunamis from a warning sign on a beach, Kyle must lead his little sister to safety once an earthquake causes their hotel to catch fire. The two siblings must make wise decisions as they navigate through the burning building, also saving the life of a classmate bully who was staying in the hotel as well. Once out of the fire, Kyle chooses to run with his little sister to higher show more ground while the bully makes fun of his fear of Tsunamis and heads towards the ocean. This decision ultimately saves both sibling's lives. (The bully manages to escape the wave but places himself in severe danger due to his decision). Kyle learns much about responsibility and how to stand up for himself in this coming of age, adventure-packed story.

I really enjoyed reading this book and believe it could be a great addition to any classroom unit on local disasters and proper disaster response. Upper Elementary students will enjoy reading this action-packed, quick-paced story about a character they can relate quickly to. Kyle's story not only will help students know what to do in case of a disaster, but also gives students insights into how to deal with bullies and being a responsible member of a family. This story is empowering to students as they read of Kyle's bravery in the face of disaster and his smart decision-making skills as he does all he can to protect his little sister. Although a hero, Kyle is relatable and deals with all the issues a typical older brother faces. This book also incorporates humor and develops all characters well through the use of narrative. A great read!

Awards: This book has not won any Awards.

APA Citation: Kehret, P. (2003). Escaping the giant wave. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. show less