Book review: Storee Wryter Gets a Dog
When author Barbara Simpson Carducci contacted me about her new book, Storee Wryter Gets a Dog, I was excited to see a book targeted to young readers that combined responsible pet ownership, writing, and therapy dogs – three things I’m passionate about!
The book opens with young Storee talking with her friend Kyria. Kyria’s family raises puppies to become service dogs, and she’s trying to convince Storee to adopt one of her new pups.
There is some great dialogue between Storee and her parents, and the family and Kyria’s father. They go over everything it takes to raise a puppy, including training classes and the costs involved. The book does an excellent job conveying the responsibility Storee will need to have in raising the pup.
Of course, they agree to getting the dog. Several short chapters are devoted to the adjustment, potty training, attending training classes, and helping their family cat get used to the dog.
Storee and her mother decide to train the pup to be a therapy dog, and the story culminates with their first visit to a school classroom.
My only complaint – and this is totally a personal preference thing – is the “cute” names for the characters. Storee Wryter and her cat Critique are sort of obvious. Books for young readers do this all the time, but I think young readers are capable of going beyond the obvious.
Overall, this is a great book for introducing young readers to the responsibilities of pet ownership and the joy of training a therapy dog. It’s a short, 60-page chapter book that would be appropriate for a range of readers because there isn’t a complicated plot or difficult language. The book includes several writing prompts related to the themes of the book, which would make this a fun classroom project.
I’m curious to see if Storee’s tales become a series of children’s books!
Note: I received this copy for free from the author. Even though I received the book for free doesn’t mean I’ll write a positive book review. My reviews always will be honest. For more information about reviews, please see my disclaimer page. As far as my free copy of this book goes, I’m donating it to the Animal Reading Friends (ARF) program that Emmett and I are involved with.
I certainly hope that this proves to be the first in a children’s book series. Ms. Carducci obviously loves telling stories and encouraging young people to find themselves through writing and service. If the young people now in middle school and late elementary school learn along with Storee our optimism about the future will be well justified.