The Great Ghost Hoax

Ecton. Emily. The Great Ghost Hoax. Book 2 of the Great Pet Heist series. 2021. 272p. ISBN 9781534479913. 

The excitement of the heist has now worn off following The Great Pet Heist, and Butterbean is bored. There's only so much adventure she can muster in the apartment, and she is itching for another good mystery to solve. When Mrs. Third Floor knocks on Mrs. Food and Madison's door in a panic, Butterbean and the other animals perk up. Is another mystery afoot? Mrs. Third Floor tells Mrs. Food and Madison she's experienced paranormal activity in the other apartment she owns on the 5th floor, and she doesn't know what to do. Mrs. Food, accompanied by Madison and all of the animals, head up to the 5th floor to investigate.

The animals discover that their friend rat Wallace has moved into that apartment, but though he's responsible for some of the food being eaten, he did not eat all of the fish in the aquarium, nor has he inflicted some of the damage to the apartment. It turns out that Mr. Wiggles, a famous octopus who performs tricks, has tired of the zoo life, and has escaped to this apartment thanks to a helping tentacle from his friend Chad, another octopus who lives in the building. Mr. Wiggles is the one haunting the apartment, and Butterbean and her friends are not necessarily pleased to find out he's living there.

When Mrs. Third Floor involves a duo of television ghost hunters who seem eager to rip her off, the animals must step forward to prevent her from being fleeced. Can they figure out how to remove their unwelcome guest and prevent Mrs. Third Floor from losing her savings to a bunch of crooks?

The Great Pet Heist

Ecton. Emily. The Great Pet Heist. Book 1 of the Great Pet Heist series. 2020. 256p. ISBN 9781534455368.

The morning Butterbean throws up on the floor, she is blissfully unaware that her life and that of all of the other animals in elderly Mrs. Food's apartment is about to change. When Mrs. Food comes out of her bedroom, she slips on the vomit and falls, hurting her head. Thankfully. Mrs. Food had an alarm button, and is able to call for help. The ambulance arrives, and she is taken away to the hospital, leaving the animals behind.

Suddenly, Butterbean the wiener dog, Walt the cat, Oscar the bird, and Marco and Polo the rats find themselves alone. How will they feed themselves? Who will take care of them? How will they have enough money to pay for their expenses? On top of it all, they are visited twice a day by Madison, a girl who resides with her aunt in the building, and Madison seems to always come at the most importune times, when they are busy plotting how to survive.

Putting their resources together, they discover that Butterbean has acquired a gold coin from the Scary Man, a resident who gives her the creeps. If he has a gold coin, perhaps there are more! Walt and Oscar soon hatch a plan to discover the apartment in which the Scary Man lives, then break in and take the gold. Working together, the pets put their plans into motion, and successfully retrieve the gold. Scary Man is violent, however, and when he takes Madison hostage, thinking it was her who stole the gold based on a button left in the apartment (Polo, one of the rats, had taken the button and it was her most prized possession), the pets now must undo their heist, but figure a way to capture Scary Man ...

A humorous story told from the pets' perspective, the animals are relatable, their worries very human, and their ways of dealing with stress and anxiety all to realistic. Fans of mystery and high jinx tales will enjoy The Great Pet Heist.

The story continues in The Great Ghost Hoax.

Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses

O'Neal, Kristen. Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses. 2021. 382p. ISBN 9781683692348. Available as an audiobook from Overdrive. 

Priya had her whole life planned. She was going to complete her pre-med program at Stanford, before entering medical school. Then she was going to become a doctor who did serious research. When she falls sick, she blames it on a cold, then on the flu, but eventually must face the fact that she's not getting any better. A delayed diagnosis of Lyme disease identifies her disease, but does not restore her energy. Always fatigued, Priya returns home to her parents in New Jersey, and is forced to take incompletes for her classes.

In pain, with no energy, and seeing her dreams fly away before her eyes, Priya turns to her support group, a Discord channel dedicated to people with chronic illnesses. There she meets Brigid, who lives an hour away in Pennsylvania. The two of them hit it off, and they soon become fast friends. During a weekly meeting of the channel, however, Brigid does not show up, which is unlike her. Worried, Priya, despite the pain, borrows a car and drives to her friend's house, only to be attacked by a large dog inside Brigid's home. 

Calling animal control, Priya is soon joined by Spencer, a twenty-something animal control officer. Searching the home, they find a naked Brigid in the bathroom, and no trace of the dog. Only, Priya is pretty sure that Brigid was the dog. Her suspicions proved correct the next day when Brigid confirms that her chronic illness is that she turns into a werewolf every month. With Spencer's help, and Brigid's reluctant support, Priya sets out to find a cure for Brigid. In the process, she and her friends will discover truths about themselves and what it means to be "normal."

Fans of new adults stories will enjoy Priya's tale that mixes the very real chronic illnesses that are debilitating and prevent people from reaching their dreams, and the lycanthropy that afflicts Brigid. The story is humorous and entertaining, the characters are deeply flawed and realistic, but the plot holds well together. Readers who enjoy light paranormal with a hint of romance will appreciate this story.

Grand Theft Horse

Neri, G. Grand Theft Horse. 2018. 240p. ISBN 9781620148556. Available in the graphic novels section of the library.

Gail Ruffus was one of thirteen children. Her father was a military officer, and her mother managed the household. The family moved a lot due to her father's postings. As far back as she could remember, Gail loved horses, and when the family moved to Texas and purchased a ranch, her dream finally came true when her parents offered her Spice, a beautiful horse.

Unfortunately the stay was too short for Gail, and soon the family was uprooted to move to Spain, so that her father could manage a military base there. Gail was forced to sell Spice. While living in Europe, Gail took dressage lessons, and learned to manage and train horses. Returning to the United States, Gail eventually found herself training horses. When she met a horse called Urgent Envoy, she immediately knew he was a race winner. Soon, Gail and Clayton, her lawyer, become co-owners of Urgent Envoy, and Clayton agrees to let her train him until he is ready to race.

However, Clayton soon starts thinking that Gail is taking too long to get Urgent Envoy ready, and through legal maneuverings he takes the horse away from Gail, and bans her from the race track. Urgent Envoy is raced, and is injured. Despite the doctor requesting months of recuperation, Clayton plans on racing Urgent Envoy again, which could lead to an even more serious injury, and possibly even death. 

So, on Christmas eve, 2004, Gail broke into the race track, and she took Urgent Envoy. What followed became a legal and emotional rollercoaster, with Gail accused of stealing her own property, and brought in on charges of Grand Theft Horse, a statute that had not been prosecuted since the 1850s in California. Through heart-ache and dedication, Gail eventually triumphs over Clayton, but Urgent Envoy never races again.

A wonderful story, Grand Theft Horse tells the true story of Gail Rufus and Urgent Envoy, and explores the seedy side of horse racing. Beautifully illustrated and quick-paced, fans of graphic novels will appreciate this story of grit and resilience.

The Final Reckoning

Jarvis, Robin. The Final Reckoning. Book 3 of the Deptford Mice series. 2003. 304p. ISBN 9781587172441.

Having escaped from his oblivion in The Crystal Prison, Jupiter has returned to once again destroy the world. Now even more menacing than ever, the ghostly cat is slowly regaining his physical shape, and this time he means to destroy both the moon and the sun, plunging the world in eternal darkness. 

Audrey has barely enough time to return home and enjoy life that this new threat presents itself. First, the bats fly away, sensing Jupiter's return to London. The Starwife, leader of the squirrels, is then attacked by ghostly figures and barely survives, warning the mice of the danger that awaits them. Morgan the rat returns, this time in command of an army he voluntarily delivers to Jupiter so they can be turned into ghosts. And Picadilli continues to long for Audrey, despite all indications that she does not like him. An epic battle is brewing, one that will change the mice's lives forever!

The conclusion to the Deptford Mice trilogy, The Final Reckoning ties up some loose ends, and manages to drop hints about subsequent events. Favorite characters meet their death in this book, but it helps propel the story forward. Fans of fantasy will appreciate that the story does not end with "and they live happily ever after," but rather features a satisfying and realistic ending.

The Crystal Prison

Jarvis, Robin. The Crystal Prison. Book 2 of the Deptford Mice series. 2002. 256p. ISBN 9781587171611.

With the death of Jupiter in The Dark Portal, the rats have been thrown into disarray and no longer represent a threat to the Deptford mice. The community is recuperating from the ravages committed by the rats. Oswald is still very sick, however, and every day his health declines a little more. For his part, Twit is contemplating returning home to his fields. Audrey and Twit are summoned by the Starwife, the leader of the squirrels, and they are accompanied by Twit's friend, the old sailor mouse. There, they learn that Madame Akkikuyu has survived the collapse of the rat empire, but that her mind has gone. She doesn't remember her role in Jupiter's reign, and the squirrel queen wants her out of her territory. Audrey is therefore tasked with accompanying Akkikuyu to the countryside, and in exchange she will be provided with an healing potion that will save Oswald. Audrey reluctantly agrees, only to learn that she will need to live with Akkikuyu until the old rat dies.

Accompanied by a merchant, Audrey, her brother Arthur, and Twit head out on boats, and eventually arrive in Fennywolde. Audrey and Arthur are introduced to the local mice. Twit's best friend Jenkins is being beaten by his religious father, Isaac, who considers every action to be heretical against the Green Mouse. They also meet Mr. Woodruffe, the the King of the Field, and Alison Sedge, a local beauty who instantly takes a dislike to Audrey. 

When young field mice are attacked by an owl, Akkikuyu intervenes and saves their lives, and even brews a potion that heals them, earning the admiration of the village. Audrey is bitter at having to stick with the rat, and they drift apart. She consoles herself by building a doll from corn stalks. Akkikuyu begins to hear a voice, that of a spirit called Nicodemus. Nico is attempting to escape his prison, and he promises the rat much magical powers if she helps him. As a trap is set for Audrey, who will serve as the sacrificial mouse that will release Nico from his current existence, the unsuspecting mouse is unaware that an old enemy lurks nearby ...

The story concludes in The Final Reckoning.

The Dark Portal

Jarvis, Robin. The Dark Portal. Book 1 of the Deptford Mice series. 1989. 240p. ISBN 9781587171123.

In London dwells a section of town the local mice affectionally refer to as Deptford. There they live their lives in a tight-knit community that enjoy each other's company (mostly), and that is layered in culture and mythology. All of the mice fear the Grille, the entrance from their building down to the sewers, where the rats live. Jupiter, the lord of the rats, has whipped his supporters in a frenzy in the last few years, for a purpose unknown to all. 

Lured there by the magical power of the Grille, Albert Brown, an otherwise respectable mouse, met a city mouse named Piccadilly, but they soon were captured by the rats. Piccadilly managed to escape, but Albert was given to Jupiter. With her father missing in the sewers, his daughter Audrey decides she will go look for him, even though she was always told never to go there. Accompanied by Oswald the albino mouse and Twit, a field mouse visiting Deptford, the three of them enter the rats' domain, looking for Albert but discovering dark magic at work and an even darker plan set in motion by Jupiter and his lackeys. 

With the rats looking for Piccadilly and for Audrey, with a witch rat called Madame Akkikuyu, an evil rat lieutenant called Morgan and an even meaner rat named One-Eye Jack, the mice, along with some friends, bravely face the hardest challenge of them all, surviving the deadliest plot of all!

Fantasy told from the perspective of animals, The Dark Portal begins a trilogy with wonderful world building, an unforgettable cast of character, and actions galore. Fans of the genre will revel in the mice's grit and dedication.

The story continues in The Crystal Prison.

Top 50 Reasons to Care About Polar Bears

Hirsch, Rebecca E. Top 50 Reasons to Care About Polar Bears. Part of the Top 50 Reasons to Care series. 2010. 104p. ISBN 978-0-7660-3458-7. Available at 599.786 on the library shelves.

Polar bears are iconic animals. Ideally suited to live in the arctic, polar bears have struck the popular imagination, but they are at risk due to global warming and the melting of the sea ice in the Arctic. Evolved from brown bears, fossils from polar bears have found, indicating that the split happened at least 120,000 years ago. Polar bears have transparent fur that looks white due to the way it reflects the light. This allows them to camouflage on the snow as they hunt their prey. The largest land carnivore on Earth, polar bears are excellent swimmers. Though they don't hibernate, they do spend months without eating when food is scarce in the summer due to the absence of ice.

Female polar bears have a litter of two cubs every three years on average, and the youths stay with their mother for about two years before striking out on their own. They build a den and spend up to eight months nursing their young after birth. During this time, female bears do not eat, which means they must pack on the food before delivering their cubs.

Polar bears are entrenched in the Inuit culture, and are also popular in cultures that surround the Arctic. They are threatened not only by climate change, but also by human encroachment on their territories. Due to the lack of food in the spring and summer, many bears migrate to human settlements to scrounge through garbage. Toxins that accumulate in fish and other animals also ultimately end up in polar bears and can be passed to cubs through nursing. Ultimately, humans can prevent polar bear extinction, but it will take significant conservation efforts to do so.

Top 50 Reasons to Care About Giant Pandas

Firestone, Mary. Top 50 Reasons to Care About Giant Pandas. Part of the Animals in Peril series. 2010. 104p. ISBN 9780766034518. Available at 599.789 FIR on the library shelves.

Pandas are some of the cutest animals out there, but they are endangered. Their wild habitat has been steadily shrinking, and a combination of environmental factors and encroaching human activities threaten their survival. This book presents 50 different information about pandas, including their biology and their behavior, their habitat, the threats that they face, conservation efforts to save them, and the role that pandas play in Chinese culture and beyond. 

Top 50 Reasons to Care About Tigers

Firestone, Mary. Top 50 Reasons to Care About Tigers. Part of the Animals in Peril series. 2010. 104p. ISBN 978-0-7660-3452-5. Available at 599.756 on the library shelves. 

The tiger is the largest cat in the world, and it is endangered. Only a few tigers remain in the wild, and these are located mostly in Russia's far east, northeastern India, and part of Indonesia. There are now more tigers in captivity than in the wild. Wearing beautiful stripes that provide them with camouflage, tigers are amazing and efficient hunters. Solitary creatures, they roam and jealously protect their territory, and they will attack humans when facing aggression or starvation. 

This short book features fifty interesting pieces of information that fans of tigers will love! Each page is illustrated and includes pertinent information divided in chapters dealing with such topics as tiger behavior, habitat and hunting, and tiger biology.

Other titles in the series include Top 50 Reasons to Care about Giant Pandas and Top 50 Reasons to Care about Polar Bears. 

A Place for Birds

Stewart, Melissa. A Place for Birds. 2009. 30p. ISBN 9781561454747. Available at 598 STE on the library bookshelves.

Birds play an important role in our ecology and in our environment. They eat insects. They propagate seeds. They are themselves a source of food for other animals. In this brief but gorgeously illustrated book, the author presents information about bird and what humans can do to ensure that they can continue to not only survive but thrive on our planet.

Watership Down

Adams, Richard. Watership Down. 1974. 429p. ISBN 0-02-700030-3. Available both at FIC ADA and as an audiobook from Overdrive.

Rabbits have complex social lives. Each warren is led by a chief who commands lieutenants. Rabbits fear foxes, large birds, cats, and dogs, but their worst enemy is man. Life consists of eating, playing, sleeping, and telling stories in the comfort of the warren.

Hazel's friend Fiver has always had visions. Born the fifth of a litter, he is smaller than most, but his ability to uncannily predict dangers is appreciated by Hazel. When Fiver has a vision of a catastrophe about to strike the warren, he and Hazel try to warn the chief, but the chief doesn't believe in the solution they are proposing, which is to abandon the warren and immediately move somewhere. Dejected, Fiver announces he will be leaving regardless of the chief's decision. Hazel decides to join him, and together they recruit others and depart that very night.

Traveling through the countryside, Hazel leads the rabbits across a river and to a new land, where they are welcomed by other rabbits that appear well fed. Soon, however, they discover these rabbit harbor the dark secret that the man who feeds them well also often captures one or two of them, and they are never seen again. Hazel and the rabbits depart, not without learning of a good way to design a warren.

Having finally located the perfect spot, the rabbits soon realize they will need female rabbits if they want their new warren to survive. With the help of a seagull, they soon learn the existence of another warren a few miles away that might be willing to help them. However, this warren is led with military precision, and the rabbits are lucky to escape with their lives. Hazel and his friends design a plan to free and abscond with females, but end up being chased back to their own warren, where they are besieged. Fortunately, Hazel, Fiver and the others survive the assault and defeat the opposing forces.

First told as a story for the author's daughter, Watership Down develops the society and culture of the rabbits and shares some of their founding myths and folk history. They display courage and dedication in escaping their conditions and finding a new home. In the process they build a new society where they are more free, and yet at the same time more invested in the survival of their community. Fans of allegory will appreciate the details that make the rabbits seem bigger than life and will cheer as obstacles are overcome.

The Horse in War

Felber, Bill. The Horse In War. Part of the Horse Library series. 2002. 64p. ISBN 978-0-7910-6651-7. Available at 357 FEL on the library shelves.

Horses have been used in war for thousands of years, but it wasn't until the Egyptians that a force of horsemen was organized to assist the army. The cavalry filled a need for speed, but also shocked the opposing forces through well organized charges. Alexander the Great deployed his cavalry to great effectiveness in his conquests, but as riders' equipment and armor became heavier, new horses capable of carrying great loads in battle were bred. The Romans raised their own cavalry, but generally it was an afterthought to the organization of the legion.

The Middle Ages saw the rise of the knight, a fully armored individual riding into battle on a noble steed, but the appearance of cannons and rifles spelled the end of medieval warfare. Cavalry came into their own to range far and wide behind enemy lines and cause chaos. In the United States, the horse was instrumental in the spread of American military influence, and though cavalry rarely fought each other head on, it remained an essential unit within an army.

The machine guns and barbed wires of the First World War spelled the end of the cavalry. Unable to ride through and accomplish the promised smashing of the enemy line, horses were instead hitched to carriages to transport ammunitions and the wounded. The Second World War saw the last vestiges of horse warfare when the Polish cavalry charged the German tanks invading in September 1939. Horses continue to play a role in military units, but this has been greatly diminished, and the cavalry now rides tanks.

Fans of military history will appreciate this concise book and the information it provides about conflicts and the evolution of the horse's role in the military.

The Lovely and the Lost

Barnes, Jennifer Lynn. The Lovely and the Lost. 2019. 328p. 512 mins. ISBN 978-1-982596-26-2. Available as an audiobook from Overdrive.

As a young girl, Kira was found lost in the forest, where she had been fending for herself for days, if not weeks. Cady Bennett and her team of search-and-rescue dogs located her deep into the woods. Kira was never claimed, so Cady adopted her and raised her as her own daughter, forming a family of three with her own son, Jude. For Kira, it took years of therapy before she could trust other humans again, and even now she doesn't like to be cornered, has trouble interpreting subtle signals people send, and would much rather work with her dog than with others. Nevertheless, she managed to make friends with Free, a neighbor girl, who joined Kira and Jude as a now infamous trio, and all three of them have joined the search-and-rescue business, training dogs that are later purchased by various organizations. Kira's goal is to become a certified search-and-rescue dog trainer.

During a regular training session, Kira's dog finds a strange man on their property. He is Bales Bennett, Cady's father and someone Cady hasn't spoken to in years. Even Jude has never met him. He brings news that a young girl has walked away from her camp site in the Sierra Glades National Park, and has now been missing for two days. As this case is similar to Kira's own life, Cady accepts to participate in the search, and she brings Kira, Jude and Free along to gain valuable field experience. They meet Gabriel, a ward of Bales, with secrets of his own and, like Kira, hard to approach.

Able to draw from her own past, Kira and her dog quickly locate evidence that the child was still alive recently, but there's clear proof that she is with someone who is intimately familiar with the forest. The case transforms from a missing person's to a kidnapping. As the teens spend time in the forest and in the local villages, they realize many visitors have gone missing in the last year. In a race against time to find the missing child, secrets will be revealed, lives will change forever, and Kira will need to decide whether she can put her trust back in humanity.

Author of The Naturals and Every Other Day, Barnes successfully builds a psychological thriller with a unique premise of a human / animal partnership and an emotionally crippled main character. Fans will appreciate Kira's tenacity and dedication to make sure this girl does not become like her.

Wonderland

O’Connor, Barbara. Wonderland. 2018. 282p. ISBN 978-0-374-31060-8. Available at FIC OCO on the library shelves.

Mavis would love to have one best friend. She and her mother has been moving from place to place so often that they don’t even bother to unpack. Her mother is always looking for the next opportunity, and usually it never works out. When they move to Landry, Alabama, so that her mother can become a housekeeper to the Tullys and live in an apartment above their garage, Mavis is once again expecting another move in short order.

Rose Tully is the complete opposite of Mavis. Where Mavis is bold and decisive, Rose flies below the radar and avoids confrontations. She’s never had a best friend either, and she is keenly aware that the other girls in the neighborhood either ignore her or are downright mean. Her only real friend is Mr. Duffy, who mans the checkpoint to their gated community. But Mr. Duffy hasn’t been the same since his dog died, and even Rose can tell that he’s lost the will to live.

Henry is a race dog whose better days are behind him. Not wanting to be confined, Henry escapes from the race track and lives in the woods behind Rose and Mavis’ neighborhood. He’s attracted to kids, but he is worried they mean him harm.

Thrown together, Mavis and Rose suddenly discover that it is possible to become best friends with someone, especially when they share the mission to help Mr. Duffy regain a taste for life by finding him another dog. Challenges and misunderstandings abound, but friendship is stronger and can overcome loneliness.

The Boy Who Swallows Flies

Stewart, Michael F. The Boy Who Swallows Flies. 2018. 163p. ISBN 9780993757983. Available at FIC STE on the library shelves.

Known as Bug Boy, Jarrod has been fascinated by insects of all kind and owns a real menagerie, much to his parents’ dismay. Unfortunately, Jarrod also suffers from unexplained fainting spells. Hospital visits and numerous tests have been unable to provide a medical reason, so Jarrod has had to wear a helmet to protect his head from the numerous falls he suffers when he becomes unconscious.

Wearing a helmet all day makes one’s social life very complicated, especially when entering 8th grade. Thankfully Jarrod has a best friend, GG, who’s the smartest kid at the school. It’s a fortunate thing because Jarrod himself is not that smart. On the first day of school, Jarrod meets a new girl, who is covered in dog hair and smells like wet dog. He immediately refers to her as Dog Girl, but he doesn’t know how to approach her.

Riding his bicycle back home after hanging out with GG, Jarrod accidentally swallows a bug on his way back home, and he immediately has a fainting spell. Only this time he hears, sees, and feels what has happened in the neighborhood. The smells and the sights indicates there is a puppy mill nearby. When he comes to, Jarrod realizes his blackouts happen every time he swallows a bug. There’s no way the police will believe this evidence. Jarrod loves bugs, but is he willing to sacrifice them so he can find the location of this puppy mill? Can he use bugs to figure out how to talk with Dog Girl?

The Dream

McLay, R.K. The Dream. Book 1 of the Rahtrum Chronicles series. 2016. 328p. ISBN 978-1-927083-37-6. Available at FIC MCL on the library shelves.

For thousands of years, Nature has been in balance and Rahtrum, the Great Binder, has ensured that the world functions properly. But the rise of the Cargoth, two-legged animals who lack fur except on their heads and who have developed large objects and created gashes in the land has threatened this balance. The environment is deteriorating, and the speed of change is increasing.

Up past the Arctic Circle, caribou are spending the winter months in their grazing range south of the Beaufort Sea. Boo and his mother, Taiga, are part of a large herd. A yearling, Boo is spending his first winter away from the Sea, but he looks forward to returning to the calving grounds, a migration the herd makes every year. For a caribou, Boo is very inquisitive, and his mother knows that he is different from the other in the herd, and even from herself.

When Rahtrum appears to Boo and his mother, it is to entrust the young caribou with a mission. He must find a small flower that blooms but one day in a secret location unknown to all. By consuming this flower, Boo can become Rahtrum’s champion and rights the balance, making the Cargoth understand the value of the environment around them.

Unfortunately for Boo, however, a dark and violent enemy is also bent on acquiring the flower for his own purposes. Watched by spies but protected by an unlikely alliance of gnomes, fairies, eagles and wolves, Boo and his mother travel through the immense Yukon wilderness, seeking answers to Rahtrum’s quest. Upon his success depends the fate of all animals and of Nature itself.

Innocent Heroes: Stories of Animals in the First World War

Brouwer, Sigmund. Innocent Heroes: Stories of Animals in the First World War. 2017. 198p. ISBN 978-1-101-91846-3. Available at FIC BRO on the library shelves.

Jake York finds himself in the trenches of World War I, wondering how he got here. Wanting to leave his farm and see the world, he joined the Canadian army and left Winnipeg, but could not have imagined how his life would be forever changed by the war. He met Thomas, a First Nations Cree from Northern Saskatchewan, and Charlie, a rich kid from Toronto. Their friendship was forged in the fires and bombardments of the war. All three of them survived and returned home, but they owed their lives to the animals who helped them bring an end to what had been at the time the bloodiest conflict in human history.

From dogs who rescue wounded men in the no-man’s-land between both sides and warned against chemical attacks to cats that kill the large rats that festered in the trenches, to the horses which carried ammunitions and allowed reconnaissance work to the birds that delivered messages, animals played a vital role in keeping the conflict going.

This book adroitly combines Jake and his friends’ story with those of the animals that help them win World War I. It also incorporates nonfiction sections that describe the inspiration for each animal, as well as specific information relating to the Canadian army’s participation on the Allies side. Fans of War Horse will enjoy reading about other animals and their experience during the Great War.

Yellow Dog

Korner, Miriam. Yellow Dog. 2017. 288p. ISBN 978-0-8899-5546-2. Available at FIC KOR on the library shelves.

Winters in Northern Saskatchewan are cold, and there isn’t much to do. Jeremy spends a lot of time with Justin, playing hockey and video games, but Justin’s home life has been sliding lately, and he’s more into hurting animals. When Justin dares Jeremy to pull the tail on a yellow dog who lives at the end of the road, he does so but instantly regrets it the moment he sees the dog’s hurt eyes and fear.

Returning to the site of his mean prank, Jeremy feeds the dog and slowly builds a rapport with him. The old man who lives in the shack notices Jeremy playing with his dog, but he doesn’t say anything. One day he invites Jeremy inside. The old man’s shack is a single room, with no bathroom, running water, or electricity, but it is full of memories. The old man was a musher, and ran his own teams of dogs. Now all that remains of this is the yellow dog in the yard and a few dog houses by his broken-down barn.

As Jeremy learns more about the old man and the way of life before the snowmobile, he realizes that he would like to run dogs too. His mother warns him not to, however, because his father died of an accident in the bush. Jeremy is convinced this is what he needs to do, so he finds other dogs, and begins to train them to pull a sled. With the old man’s help, Jeremy manages to get his team of four dogs and even takes them out on the lake.

His relationship with Justin has suffered, however, since all he wants to do is torture the dogs. When dog culling day comes and Jeremy hears gunshots, he’s sad but not worried about his dogs, which are tied in the old man’s yard. However Justin gives him a note that makes him reconsider his earlier assessment, and he rushes out to discover that his dogs were untied and let loose in the town. Jeremy manages to track all of his dogs, but Lightning was hurt during the hunt. To atone, Justin joins Jeremy to help him with the dogs, and the two develop a truce. The two of them head out on the lake with three dogs, but a snowstorm soon strikes and they become lost. Will the two of them survive the night out with their dogs?

Fans of animal stories will like how Jeremy gets to know his dogs and how he trains them. For another take on dog racing and survival, take a look at Ice Dogs.

Dog Night at the Story Zoo

Bar-El, Dan. Dog Night at the Story Zoo. 2017. 99p. ISBN 978-1-10191838-8. Available in the Graphic Novel section of the library.

When night falls and humans return to their houses, the animals at the zoo get ready to host their own open mike night. Animals from all around the neighborhood, as well as zoo residents, attend and enjoy stories told by other animals. Tonight, at the Story Zoo, it is Dog Night and all of the presenters will be neighborhood dogs.

Throughout the night, a bloodhound tells the story of the day she lost her ability to track bandits and criminals and was helped by Surelick Holmes, a brilliant dog. A bulldog explains that he doesn’t want to be judged by the way he looks. After all, it’s not his fault. A poodle describes how much energy she has and how bothersome she was, until all the right conditions were met and she became the best companion ever. Finally, a stray dog presents how he became the best fetcher ever and saved a man’s emotional well-being, finding a home in the process.

Sometimes sad, sometimes sweet, always entertaining, the illustrated Story Zoo awaits your presence!