Pick Me...Please

Knowing real life does not always end happily ever after, makes looking for a silver lining all the more important.  It also makes those moments when everything seems perfectly in place all the sweeter.  A single decision can tip the scales.

So many depend, so much depends, on the myriad decisions each of us makes on a daily basis.  With the pet population in shelters ever growing, a choice to adopt may mean the difference between life or death for one of the temporary residents.  Using events from her own life, author Meg Kearney has created Trouper (Scholastic Press) with illustrations by Caldecott Honor Book winner, E. B. Lewis.  

Back in the before time, 

before I licked your nose

or sniffed your shoes,

before you bought my bed and bowl,

before the place you picked me out,

I ran with a mob of mutts.

Though free to roam, survival is hard for a group of dogs, living on the streets, scrounging for food in the garbage left by humans, and evading the rocks thrown by boys.  When offered the choice of eating steak, they readily enter the back of a stranger's truck.  Taken to a place with dogs, cages and dogs in cages, this canine company is separated.  Eight plus one now receiving food and water are no longer running at will.

Day after day people walk along the row of cages.  One by one the number nine drops until only one remains, Trouper.  No one wants a dog with three legs. 

Someone sees beyond the three legs.  Someone sees the kind soul shining through those big eyes.  Someone wants this last dog.  It's a boy.  A boy whose compassion far exceeds the meanness of those others.  

Now he has his own bowl.  Now he has his own bones.  Now he has his own bed.  Trouper can hardly believe his good fortune.  The best thing of all is a game he and his boy play.  It's a game called...

In 2005 Trooper (his given name) was moved from a shelter in Puerto Rico to live in New Hampshire with author, poet, Meg Kearney.  Written in verse, narrated by Trouper, she imagines how life might have been for this dog; waiting for the right person to notice him.  His voice describes each incident in accurate canine awareness.  Here is another example.

We got water and kibble

from the lady who cared for us.

We got walks,

but wished

we could race

the way we used to.

Everything about the front jacket and cover beckons the reader to open this book.  You don't know what the circumstances are yet, but it's easy to see the boy is with a forever friend.  Rendered in watercolor, the artwork of E.B. Lewis is nearly photographic in capturing the essence of the subjects; each is rich with emotion.  

Nearly all of the illustrations span two pages.  The smaller vignettes and single page pictures convey loss of freedom, sadness, hopelessness, individual dog personalities, and love.  Lewis' dogs are so lifelike you expect them to start barking any minute.  My favorite illustration is of Trouper enjoying his first meal in his new home, bowls on mats, with his boy kneeling, chin resting in his hands as he watches his new pal.  The play of sunlight streaming into the room, the angle used to portray the two friends, the placement of other items in the room, all combine to create a feeling of intimacy.

Trouper written by Meg Kearney with paintings by E.B. Lewis is a very special book; a labor of love about love.  The blend of narrative and illustrations compliment and enhance one another to tell a story of a bond formed by an act of kindness.  It's about the magic of second chances.  This title is meant to be shared often. 

To The Rescue

We all need to be rescued from time to time whether it's once in a blue moon or if life is topsy-turvy, daily.  It can be as simple as helping to banish a bad mood or as critical as performing the Heimlich maneuver on someone choking.  Frequently we are well aware when we provide assistance to a person in need but on occasion the smallest gesture in word or deed, can make a significant difference without our knowledge.

Members of the animal kingdom are no different than we when it comes to needing human intervention. Having no voice our vigilance is of the utmost importance.  In her first chapter book of 2013, White Fur Flying (Margaret K. McElderry Books), Patricia MacLachlan writes about the varied forms rescue can assume.


"Once upon a time there was a wicked queen," said my younger sister, Alice.

In the Cassidy family Alice is the talkative sister, an observer of life, a weaver of outlandish tales and a writer jotting her latest thoughts in a journal.  Daddy is a veterinarian with a huge heart.  Mama with an equally large heart, rescues Great Pyrenees.  Zoe, the narrator, while not as talkative as Alice misses little of the world around her; she sees and knows much.

Into the mix are Kodi and May, Pyrs.  May will soon leave for a new home.  A recent addition is Lena, an African grey parrot whose favorite phrase, repeated in a British accent is "You cahn't know!"  It seems Mama is not the only rescuer; Daddy seeing the need to save this feathered mimic.

As the story begins a new family has moved into the home across the street appearing to be pretty much the opposite of the Cassidy crew.  The suit-wearing Mr. Croft comes and goes silently in his big black car.  Prim, proper Mrs. Croft seems uncertain and slightly fearful.  A boy, Philip, Alice's age, does not talk.  Philip is staying with the Crofts until his parents can work out some problems they are having.

Within a couple of days, outgoing Alice, wise Zoe, warm Mrs. Cassidy and the two dogs have welcomed Philip into the supportive, loving fold of their lively summer.  Philip still does not speak (except to Kodi and Lena) but he is now smiling and laughing.  When Mrs. Croft accepts an invitation for a tea date at their home, a new understanding of their neighbors is revealed to the Cassidy family.

With May in her new home, Mama has rescued two more Great Pyreness, Callie an adult female and Jack, a young male.  Very soon though the rhythm of their days changes.  In the middle of a stormy night, two are missing, one canine and one unable to speak.

Three leave to search; Mama has Kodi but Zoe has only her knowledge of the truth to assist her.  By morning all that has been lost are thankfully recovered.  Understanding and compassion can and does heal, sometimes the rescued becomes the rescuer.


Consistently Patricia MacLachlan delivers stories reaching into your heart, shaping it and holding it warmly surrounded by love.  When you step into the world of the Cassidy family, narrated by the older Zoe with the added day-to-day dialogue between the characters, you can't help but want to be a part of that world too.  The importance of a dog's ability to heal and help, to sense and see, what some humans can't is at the essence of this tale.

Each of the short chapters carefully connects to the next with a single profound closing sentence or remark.  Through the technique of Alice's writing MacLachlan offers further insights into what she hopes readers will take away from this book.  Alice's poem, You Can't Know, and the final pages of the book taken from her journal are pure perfection.  One of my favorite passages is:

My voice sounded loud in the quiet kitchen.
No one said anything.
"He thinks many things. And those things are trapped inside of him.  Maybe something happened that made him afraid to talk," I said.
I looked out the window.
"Except to Kodi," I added softly.
"Kodi and Phillip are friends in some way we don't know about," said Daddy.  "And it doesn't have much to do with words."


Happily and with confidence give White Fur Flying written with impeccable, masterful skill by Patricia MacLachlan to fans of her work, to those people who love dog books, or to someone who might need rescuing.  This story shows family dynamics at their very finest; full of understanding for the personalities traits of one another.  Also, if we choose to view those around us with the same care as our canine companions, bridges can be built and crossed.