Madeline Finn and the Library Dog

In a Nutshell: A gorgeous picture book about a little girl who struggles with reading and finds some unexpected help. Amazing story, amazing illustrations, amazing motivational lesson, and one cute surprise at the end that made me go “Whoa!” Much recommended! Can’t wait to try the rest of the series.

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Plot Preview:

Madeline Finn is a little girl who doesn’t like to read, especially to read out loud. Her teacher and her mother both encourage her to keep trying, but Madeline is frustrated at her lack of progress. She yearns for a star sticker but how can she get it if she doesn’t want to read anymore?
One Saturday, her mother takes her to the library, where the librarian, who knows that Madeline hates

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reading, asks her, “Do you want to read to a dog?” Hesitantly, Madeline goes to beautiful white dog named Bonnie and tries to read to her. Do you think Bonnie will be able to help Madeline read better? Woof!
The story is written in Madeline’s first-person perspective.

Most bibliophiles loves two themes in fiction: books about books, and books about dogs. This picture book has both! A winner even before it begins!

Thankfully, the book is able to capitalise on both the above factors to the best extent. I simply love how realistically portrayed Madeline’s sadness at her struggle with words, and more importantly, how her progress wasn’t instantaneous but steady and driven by her persistence and diligence. It’s nice for children to learn that hard work can reap long-term rewards, especially in today’s world of instant gratification.

The story is excellently written. Though a picture book, it offers much depth to Madeline’s emotions, the support of the adults around her, and of course, the role Bonnie plays in her turnaround.

What I loved most is that there is no particular reason assigned for Madeline’s trouble with reading; it only states what happens when she reads. Does she just hate books? Is there a problem with her eyesight? Hearing impairment? Is she dyslexic? Is there a language barrier? As such, the story is generic enough to work for any child who struggles to read and needs the motivation to practise more. Plus, the book stresses not just on Madeline’s reluctance to read but also on her apprehension to read aloud in front of everyone. So it can also work for children who do know how to read but have a fear of doing it in front of the gawking eyes of their classmates.

The text is nicely spaced out, with only a few lines per page.. As the book is clearly targeted at reluctant readers, this approach makes tremendous sense as kids won't get bogged down by cluttered sentences. Some of the lines have words in CAPS for emphasis – a helpful way of making little readers know the importance of stressing some words. The language is quite accessible for the target audience of 4-8 years. Because of the writing style, the book would work excellently as a readaloud option.

The illustrations, sketched by the author herself, are outstanding. The cover art itself indicates how cosy the internal graphics are. Madeline’s expressions convey her inner conflicts beautifully. There’s a lot happening on every page even in the background, allowing little readers enough time to take in the story a page at a time and at their own pace after relishing the artwork.

On the whole, this was a delight in every way. Story, message, inspiration, illustration – all the key points of the book were bang on target. Bonnie the dog is the icing on the cake. (See the cover to gaze at Bonnie’s scruffy scrumptiousness!)

The audiobook, clocking at about seven minutes, is narrated by Jill Frutkin. She does a fabulous job, speaking clearly and slowly so as to enunciate every word well and with much emotion. Her voice reflects Madeline’s joys and worries convincingly. Despite the excellent audio production, my heart was won over more by the picture book. A picture book ought to be actually read as at least half its impact comes from the graphics.

This is the first book of the Madeline Finn series, and I can't wait to get my hands on the remaining three books!

Much, much recommended. This would be a great option for all little hesitant readers who want that little extra push to keep trying. It would work well at homes as well as in classrooms.

5 woofilicious stars!

This was a library read. (Kinda! My library only had the audio version. I guess the book doesn’t have a digital edition. So I cheated a bit and looked at a YouTube video to check out the actual page layout and graphics. I’ll have to do the same for the remaining books as well. show less

A young girl with difficulty reading, Madeline Finn longed for one of the stars her teacher would give out for in-class performance, rather than one of the 'keep-trying' hearts she always seemed to get instead. When her mother takes her to the library after a particularly trying week, Madeline Finn meets Bonnie, a very special canine who is part of their read-to-a-dog program. With this patient and understanding audience, Madeline Finn slowly builds her confidence, eventually managing to read an entire page in class, and earn that coveted star! When she returns to the library, she discovers that Bonnie too has a surprise...

Having only recently become aware of the Reading Therapy Dog programs that have sprung up in libraries and schools show more around the country - we recently hosted a picture-book event at work that involved reading dogs - I was delighted to come across Lisa Papp's Madeline Finn and the Library Dog. Featuring an engaging young heroine with believable grade-school problems and absolutely adorable artwork, it is sure to be a hit with children who are struggling with their own reading, or who just love dogs. Bonnie makes such an appealing audience for Madeline Finn in the story, that I found myself wishing that I had a dog to read to myself! show less

Picked up this book for the nieces but may have to put it aside for another year as I'm not sure either of them is old enough yet for this one to land. It's about a little girl having trouble learning to read who finds that hard work and finding an audience that doesn't mind if she makes a mistake lead to success. Lovely illustrations. Text a little ho hum. Nice message.

Madeline Finn struggles with the ability to read out loud. Self conscious, she states "I do NOT like to read!" She especially does not like to read out loud. While her teacher encourages her to continue to keep trying, Madeline, simply lacks the courage to read in front of others without making a mistake.

She had trouble figuring the words, and the sentences get stuck in her mouth. She continues to be self conscious, especially when others in the class make fun of her courage when she makes a mistake. Those in the class who can read out loud are given a sticker that looks like a star.

While she struggles in class, her librarian Mrs. Dimple makes Madeline happy and tries to provide courage to Madeline. Saturday becomes a special day when show more Mrs. Dimple tells her she has something special to see, Taking her to a special room where Bonnie the library dog listens to Madeline.

The librarian asks Madeline to read a book to Bonnie. Bonnie is a wonderful dog who listens and when Madeline makes a mistake, Bonnie is not like others in that she does not giggle and make fun of Madeline. Instead, Bonnies big, loving eyes look at Madeline and places her large paw in Madeline's lap.

Soon, Madeline and Bonnie read together every Saturday. Then when Monday occurs, while Madeline is nervous, she thinks of the courage Bonnie gives her, and she doesn't mess up one single word.

Finally, Madeline receives the long-awaited star. The next Saturday, Mrs. Dimple takes Madeline in a special room where Bonnie has a surprise of showing beautiful white puppies to Madeline who reads to them every Saturday, giving her the courage she previously lacked.

Bonnie is a wonderful listener, and now Madeline is a wonderful reader. show less

Madeline Finn does not like to read. She especially does not like reading out loud. She never gets a star from her teacher. After a week of miserable struggle, Madeline visits the public library where she's introduced to a special group of friends - reading dogs! Madeline meets Bonnie, "a big, snowy polar bear" and she tries again. It doesn't go well at first. Madeline still struggles painfully. But Bonnie's gentle acceptance and patient support help her keep going. Madeline learns to be patient and keep trying - and eventually she gets her star! When she takes it to the library to show Bonnie, Bonnie has a special surprise for her too...

The soft, gentle pictures show a sweet but stubborn little girl and the patient dog who wins her show more heart and helps her keep trying. Madeline's class is diverse and I appreciated that the reluctant reader was a girl, not a boy.

Libraries who have their own reading dog will note a few inconsistencies - there are a LOT of dogs pictured and I don't know any libraries who put that many in the same room. We also wouldn't normally invite a dog and her puppies to visit, however cute they are. However, the sweetness and delight of the book outweighs any minor details in my view.

When I first saw ads for this book I was ecstatic - because my library has our own Bonnie! Her name is Pearl and she's been visiting with us for over a year. We've tried reading dogs a few times before but Pearl is the one who's really clicked for us. While everyone runs their program differently, what's worked for us is very casual. We've tried scheduling time slots with a reading dog in the past and it really didn't work for our community. Pearl comes in, hangs out in the play area or Storyroom, and visits with kids. Like Bonnie she's a Great Pyrenees and they are very gentle and patient. She's been read to in English, Korean, and Spanish. She's been hugged by toddlers and viewed with awe by babies, cuddled by middle schoolers and oohed and aahed over by adults. I do strongly suggest having a certified therapy dog (which Pearl is) which will make things more relaxed and also gauging your community. I have a lot of kids with special needs and some of them are afraid of animals so I make sure Pearl's time at the library is very clearly stated. We don't have any severe dog allergies, but I've scheduled Pearl late Monday afternoon and if there is going to be a program after her visit I'll swing through with the vacuum cleaner just in case. It also really helps to have a trainer who's awesome! Pearl's mom is great with kids and knows just when to ask Pearl to back off from a nervous child (she is awfully big) and when to gently encourage parents to step back and let their child meet Pearl and read her some stories!

Verdict: Buy this book and get your library a reading dog! Talk to your community first and see what will fit best with their needs and interests and go from there.

ISBN: 9781561459100; Published 2016 by Peachtree; Purchased for the library show less

In this picture book, Madeline Finn is a young girl that is struggling to read. She gets nervous to read out loud in class because she doesn't think she is a good reader and her peers may laugh at her. Students that read in class earn stars. Madeline Finn wants to earn a star, but she is too scared to read in class. Then, her librarian pairs her up with a librarian dog that Madeline can read to. She realizes while reading to the dog that he won't laugh at her or judge her when she doesn't know how to read a word. This allows her to gain confidence in herself, and she is finally brave enough to read in class and earn a star. This is a very cute book for a struggling reader, because they would be able to relate to it. I think almost all show more students have felt this fear at times. This book may show them that it is okay to struggle, and you can face your fear and achieve your goal. show less

Madeline Finn doesn't like reading and she is sad because she never gets a star sticker from her teacher because "Stars are for good readers. Stars are for understanding words and saying them out loud." When Madeline goes to the library in the weekend, she discovers they have something special on - some dogs have come to the library and children are reading to them. Madeline meets Bonnie, a beautiful white dog "Like a big, snowy polar bear" and decides to have a go. Reading to Bonnie gives Madeline the confidence try reading at school again and at last, she manages to get a star. Then, when she visits the library next, she discovers Bonnie has a surprise for her.
This delightful book, written and illustrated by Lisa Papp, was published show more by Pets as Therapy who run the read2dogs programme in the UK and it is a great introduction to the value of reading to dogs for reluctant or struggling readers. The delightful illustrations have an old-fashioned feel but don't accurately reflect a reading to dogs session since the children are shown with a groups of dogs without any adults present. Despite this quibble, this book is an excellent resource to use with reluctant readers although it may have been even better with a male protagonist since reading problems are more common in boys. show less