Five True Dog Stories (Little Apple)

ISBN 0590424017 - A fan of James Herriot and Lassie (among others!), I was excited to read true dog stories for children. And the inclusion of a talented "bad" dog, in Grip the thief, was a pleasant surprise.

Five very short dog stories, each told in a few pages. Dox, a police dog in Italy, is bought by a policeman who just happened to pass a pet store. He’d had no thought of buying a dog at all – but he did it, and then he turned him into a superb detective. Grip, owned by a thief and a successful thief himself, leads a life of crime until his owner is caught and Grip gets a surprising new owner. Author Alfred Payson Terhune’s dog, Wolf, lives with many other dogs at Sunnybank Farm. He isn’t very sociable, but he does watch out show more for the other dogs, right up to the very end. Barry is one of the very special St Bernards living at a monastery in Switzerland. The dogs are trained to rescue people, and Barry is even a little more special than the others. Balto is a sled dog in Alaska when Nome calls out to the outside world for help. They need medicine and the only way in is by sled. The town is in terrible trouble, but Balto comes to their rescue.

The stories are all true, and the reader can follow up most of them by reading longer books and stories about these dogs. That’s a nice thing, a way to encourage reading, and answer some questions that the book leaves unanswered - like why there’s a statue of Balto in New York, when his heroic actions were in Alaska. Not superbly written, but the author is hampered by the attempt to keep the stories short. The back cover says RL2, ages 7-9, and that’s the only thing I have to disagree there. The stories seem to me to be better suited for younger children. (copyright, AnnaLovesBooks, 2008) show less

Five short stories about true dogs. Copyright 1977. The first one was about a dog I had not heard about, but could read supporting info about this famous detective dog in Italy online.

Dox, the Greatest dog detective in the world:
Best story. Policeman sees a German Shepherd dog in the window and buys him. Trains him to help in his police work including tracking down a jewel thief which involved remembering what the suspect smelled like 5 years later.

Grip, the dog who was a thief:
I have heard this one before. Person who trained a dog to steal. Happy ending for the dog, not so for the person who trained him.

Wolf, the dog who saved other dogs:
This is about one of Albert Payson Terhune's dog named Wolf. The dog helps pull puppies out of the show more way of auto's that come through the gate and toward the house. OK story, but pale to any of Terhune's real stories.

Barry, the dog who saved people:
OK story about the most famous St. Bernard. They included the sad end to his life while saving someone's life. I have read versions of Barry's story before.

Balto, the dog who saved Nome:
OK story, but no mention of Togo who deserves a lot of the credit for the run. There is so much more to the story that I am frustrated by the bit this book covers.

So a nice short story book for a youth to read, which will hopefully get them interested in reading larger books with more of the story. Too brief and lacking in any remarkable prose for me. show less

Five short stories about true dogs. Copyright 1977. The first one was about a dog I had not heard about, but could read supporting info about this famous detective dog in Italy online.

Dox, the Greatest dog detective in the world:
Best story. Policeman sees a German Shepherd dog in the window and buys him. Trains him to help in his police work including tracking down a jewel thief which involved remembering what the suspect smelled like 5 years later.

Grip, the dog who was a thief:
I have heard this one before. Person who trained a dog to steal. Happy ending for the dog, not so for the person who trained him.

Wolf, the dog who saved other dogs:
This is about one of Albert Payson Terhune's dog named Wolf. The dog helps pull puppies out of the show more way of auto's that come through the gate and toward the house. OK story, but pale to any of Terhune's real stories.

Barry, the dog who saved people:
OK story about the most famous St. Bernard. They included the sad end to his life while saving someone's life. I have read versions of Barry's story before.

Balto, the dog who saved Nome:
OK story, but no mention of Togo who deserves a lot of the credit for the run. There is so much more to the story that I am frustrated by the bit this book covers.

So a nice short story book for a youth to read, which will hopefully get them interested in reading larger books with more of the story. Too brief and lacking in any remarkable prose for me. show less

Five short stories about dogs who were special.

Teaching Ideas: "Text introduction might point out thaat the book is not about the five dogs on the cover but that it has five stories about each one of five different kinds of dogs. These short stories can be perfect to use as a vehicle for small group strategy instruction. As a read aloud, these stories can be used in a minilesson to teach children about the special demands of nonfiction reading." (A Field Guide to the Classroom Library - TCWP)

A collection of dog stories.