| Another
Review at MyShelf.Com |
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One
Incredible Dog! Lady One incredible Dog! Lady is part of the Moo Press' new Early Reader series honoring real-life canine heroes. We all have heard of the rescue dogs that worked tirelessly alongside their human counterparts on September 11, 2001, pulling bodies and injured survivors from the wreckage at Ground Zero. While Lady’s job doesn’t make headlines, it’s apparent from Chris Williams’ loving prose and Judith Friedman’s vivid illustrations that Lady possesses the same courageous spirit. The book admirably and concisely explains what the qualifications are for a good therapy dog: No biters allowed! It also shows, rather than tells, what the “pluses” are in the job description. A few of these: lying quietly on chemo patients’ beds when kids like Rosie are too drained to play; exercising with elderly patients and having a “ball” at work every day (how many humans can say that?); doing tricks such as praying (perhaps to the Great Omnipotent Dog Spirit?) and rolling over; donning a red kerchief to make patients smile; and wagging her tail while snuggling with appreciative kids. Wouldn’t we all like to have those job skills, and isn’t it sad we can’t put them on our resumes instead of “Exceeded sales quotas this quarter”? How many of us can say we like and appreciate our co-workers as much as Kathy and Lady do? While it’s clear Lady has to follow strict guidelines from Kathy, the book stresses the importance of Lady’s role when she does what humans can't always accomplish, like helping a boy named Charlie accept his hospital stay. The book is a powerful example of humans and animals working side by side. The inviting cover, patterned after Lady’s kerchief, makes the book a winner. |
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