Robert McCarty's Blog, page 13

Entering the Dark Forest

 

 

 The forest  has played a major role in children's literature from the earliest time.

The forest was mysterious, a place of unknowns and often darkness and fear.

From legends to fairy tales, the forest was a place of wonder and often a place of danger...from Winnie the Poo to Little Red Riding Hood

The forests are central to the Planet Of The Dogs and Castle In The Mist.

For readers, the forests, like the books whose stories embrace them, open the doors to the imagination.

This blog is dedicated to children's literature that opens the doors to the imagination. And to the amazing role of dogs in enhancing our lives. - 

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 the NewYorker

SLEEPING BEAUTIES VS. GONZO GIRLS By Maria Tatar  
In this fascinating article that moves through children's literature and cultural myths ranging from Gretel and Red Riding Hood to Katniss Everdeen and Lady Gaga, Maria Tatar explores the evolution of the female archetype today. Here are excerpts.
"We’ve come a long way from what Simone de Beauvoir once found in Anglo-European entertainments: 'In song and story the young man is seen departing adventurously in search of a woman; he slays the dragons and giants; she is locked in a tower, a palace, a garden, a cave, she is chained to a rock, a captive, sound asleep: she waits.' Have we kissed Sleeping
Beauty goodbye at last, as feminists advised us to do not so long ago...
Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy and Suzanne Collins’s “Hunger Games” series have given us
female tricksters, women who are quick-witted, fleet-footed, and resolutely brave...  they are not just cleverly resourceful and determined to survive. They’re also committed to social causes and political change...


The female trickster has a long and distinguished lineage...Many of our female tricksters—often new inflections of the ones we know from legends and fairy tales—have complemented their
arsenals of verbal weapons with guns and steel.Little Red Riding Hood has been revisited again and again in recent years. The girl in red, often positioned as a seductive innocent who courts the predator as much as she fears him, is no longer a willing victim. When Buffy, from the popular nineties TV series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” dresses up as Little Red Riding Hood for Halloween...


These days, the trickiest of them all may be Lady Gaga... Lady Gaga draws us out of our
comfort zones, crosses boundaries, gets snared in her own devices. Shamelessly exploitative and exploratory, she reminds us that every culture requires a space for the disruptive energy of antisocial characters. She may have the creativity of a trickster, but she is also Sleeping Beauty and menacing monster, all rolled into one."

Maria Tatar chairs the program for folklore and mythology at Harvard University. She is the editor of the excellent Enchanted Hunters, the Power of Stories in Childhood.

The Illustration Of Red Riding Hood in bed with the wolf is by Dore...

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In recent times, many versions of the fairy tales of old have been made for film and TV. Producers of these retold versions of Little Red Riding Hood have been inspired by the early versions of the Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault with the ominous forest, the dangerous wolf, and the innocent young maiden. These retellings have often been heavily influenced by the quest for commercial success, and the results have been decidely mixed. Often banal or cliched, they are examples of how commerce as well cultural change affects the retelling of fairy tales.

Here is a link to the trailer of the  2011 Movie film, Red Riding Hood

And here is an excerpt and a link to Roger Ebert's laugh out loud review.

"Of the classics of world literature crying out to be filmed as a sexual fantasy for teenage
girls, surely "Red Riding Hood" is far down on the list. Here's a movie that cross-pollinates the "Twilight" formula with a werewolf and adds a girl who always wears a red hooded cape...

What this inspiration fails to account for is that while a young woman might toy with the notion of a vampire boyfriend, she might not want to mate with a wolf. Although she might think it was, like, cool to live in the woods in Oregon, she might not want to live in the Black Forest hundreds of years ago because, like, can you text from there?

"Red Riding Hood" has the added inconvenience of being dreadfully serious about a plot so preposterous, it demands to be filmed by Monty Python..."

Like Mr Ebert, most critics gave the film a negative review. According to Rotten Tomatoes, the audience rating was 39%.

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A sensual intepretation of Little Red Ridin Hood  from 1997 is found in this short film by David Kaplan adopted from Conte De LA Mere Grande...music by Debussy...the wolf moves like a seductive spirit of the forest...soft black and white images and a clever Red Riding Hood... 

Here is the Link: Red Riding Hood

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Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf

Roald Dahl wrote his own version of Little Red Riding Hood in the form of a
humorous,tongue in cheek poem. This is how it begins...

"As soon as Wolf began to feel
That he would like a decent meal,
He went and knocked on Grandma's door.
When Grandma opened it, she saw
The sharp white teeth, the horrid grin,
And Wolfie said, "May I come in?"
Poor Grandmamma was terrified,
"He's going to eat me up!" she cried.
And she was absolutely right.

He ate her up in one big bite.
But Grandmamma was small and tough,
And Wolfie wailed, "That's not enough!
I haven't yet begun to feel
That I have had a decent meal!"
He ran around the kitchen yelping,
"I've got to have a second helping!"...

The image above is from a fun film made of Dahl's Red Riding Hood poem using stop-motion puppets. The imaginative creators, Hannah Legere and Andrew Wilson, certainly caught the spirit of the Dahl poem. Link here to this delightful film version of Roald Dahl's  poem...

The dog lover in the photograph is Roald Dahl.

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Artists and Illustrators...

 14 different artist's versions of Red Riding Hood are posted on the  Art of Children's Books  blog site...here is an excerpt from their introduction...

"Folk tales and fairy tales are at the top of the list when it comes to vintage children's books. The Brothers Grimm* folk tale, Little Red Riding Hood, has been a beloved and enduring story. Originally titled Little Red Cap, the story has a strong lesson. Since its publication, Little Red Riding Hood has been illustrated by many artists over the years. Here is just a sampling of the different artistic interpretations of Little Red Riding Hood."

 Book cover by Andrea Wisnewski...*The original version was published by Charles Perault.

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The Forest and Imagination...
The influence of the forest on the imagination will always be with us, especially in legend, folk tales and children's stories.
Innumerable film and TV versions, including many animated cartoons, of Little Red Riding Hood will continue to be made. And wonderful writers like Roald Dahl in the past, and Philip Pullman in the present, will continue to find the forests of fairy tales a timeless setting for timeless stories. 

 The illustration is by Arthur Rackham...if you look closely, on the path beneath the huge tree, you will see red Riding Hood and the wolf.

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Reading for Pleasure...opening the imagination, opening the mind...

 

Reading for pleasure puts children ahead in the classroom, according to a UK study of the reading behavior of approximately 6000 young people. Here are excerpts from a report that reaffirms the value of early reading and bedtime stories.

"Children who read for pleasure are likely to do significantly better at school than their peers, according to new research from the Institute of Education (IOE).

The IOE study, which is believed to be the first to examine the effect of reading for pleasure on cognitive development over time, found that children who read for pleasure made more progress in maths, vocabulary and spelling between the ages of10 and 16 than those who rarely read...

...Children who were read to regularly by their parents at age 5 performed better in all three tests at age 16 than those who were not helped in this way." 

The research was conducted by Dr Alice Sullivan and Matt Brown; To read the article, visit Pleasure Reading

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The Doors that Rose opens... 

“I consider
myself a facilitator…if my dog could drive, she would not need me. Rose seems
to enjoy seeing people multiple times and developing a relationship with the
people… She is
a working dog by nature and she just loves these jobs.  I
am constantly amazed at the doors that Rose opens…she goes to places I could
never get without her…reaches beyond my reach, touches a person deeper than my
touch.  The restless or agitated patient who is calmed by Rose’s
touch...the child in the classroom who won’t settle down and get to work but
when Rose sits by them, they quiet right down and the hyperactivity seems to
dissipate.  The child getting excited about reading to Rose every week;
they wouldn’t do that for me, but they do it for Rose.  Lying with a dying
patient who will smile, close their eyes and stroke her with a peacefulness
that is so precious…I know I could not enter that person’s space without
Rose…it really is all about occupying part of someone else’s space for just a
short time be it in a school, home or hospital...” 

A former
teacher, Susan Purser, and her Australian Cattle Dog, Rose, have been very
active as a therapy dog team for several years in Sarasota, Florida. 

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Paws Giving Independence

 Paws Giving Independence is a recpient of a 2013 Planet Dog Foundation Grant.
Planet Dog has this year donated $71,500 in new grants to 16 non-profit dog organizations..."The PDF grants will help fund assistance dog, therapy dog and search and rescue programs across the country and support a wide variety of non-profit programs that are helping children and adults with physical and developmental disabilities; injured service members; natural disaster survivors and many more people in need..."

"Paws Giving Independence is an all-volunteer organization that saves dogs from area shelters, trains them to be service/companion dogs, and places the dogs, free of charge, with those in need.
Their Saving a Life to Change a Life project identifies suitable dogs in shelters and trains them to meet the specific needs of people with disabilities. They train dogs to open doors, pick up dropped objects, turn lights on and off, and other ways to assist in independence. In addition, they train dogs to alert for epileptic and diabetic seizures, and psychological assistance for military veterans with PTSD. PDF funds support veterinary care, special prosthetics and balance equipment and training."

 Paws Giving Independence was founded in 2008 by 3 Bradley University students who recognized the marvelous healing capabilities of dogs.

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for Dog Lovers and decent people...

Here's a Goodreads review that strikes home and makes sense for dog lovers and decent people...Passionate dog rescuer, animal rights advocate and author.C.A. Wulff wrote How to Change The World in 30 Seconds...

"At first i started reading this book as an animal rescuer myself. But as i started to go
through all of the information in the book i realized that this book is a GREAT informative guide for people who have just dipped their toes into the realm of rescue. It is laid out in a way that focuses on an audience that may, or may not have already heard of some of the ideas. This way a novice rescuer can understand it, but the veteran rescuer isnt just wading through either. I saw several options that were detailed out even for someone in rescue many years. So really what im saying is.. it doesnt matter if you are new or old to it, this can give you great ideas, starting points and explanations for why so many rescuers are able to save lives one click at a time."

 Here is a link to the full review by Sylence of How to Change the World in 30 Seconds, in Goodreads... 

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 Much has been written of the importance of childhood experiences with books...books that meant a lot to an individual as a child and where the memory of the book remains important in their adult life. Here, thanks to Monica Edinger's Educating Alice blog, are excerpts from a rather fascinating converstion by two of the most prominent, respected, and imaginative writers of children's and YA literature...

 

 

 

Guest Blog: Gaiman & Pullman Talk Children's Books in Literary Oxford
BY REBECCA REGO BARRY ON AUGUST 26, 2013 8:40 AM Guest Blog by Catherine Batac Walder 

 "Gaiman talked about reading the Mary Poppins books when he was six or seven and how they helped form whatever worldview he had as a kid. 'The idea that the world is incredibly unlikely and strange secret things are always happening, that adults don't really explain to you, or in fact, that adults may be oblivious to'...

''His (Gaiman's) wonder was infectious as he recalled discovering the library when he was very
young and having that incredible feeling of power; discovering the card catalogue in which you could actually look up subjects like witches or robots or ghosts; or you could just take down books and read the interesting ones. Both authors talked about discovering American comic books and marveled at the speed in the stories, the size of them, with Gaiman adding, "Everything was alien, everything was equally as strange and unlikely, so skyscrapers, and pizza and fire hydrants were just as alien to my world as people in capes flying around..."

 

 

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Monica Edinger, a fourth grade teacher, and a passionate advocate of the wonders and benefits of children's literature, has a very lively and informative blog:  Educating Alice . Her new book, Africa Is My Home, is receiving excellent reviews.

Here are excerpts from her blog ;

                                The Unjournal of Children's Literature 

The “un” movement is an intriguing one. Until recently I had only heard about it in terms of unconferences, participant-driven events such as this one. But now there is another sort of un-thing, an unjournal. Created by children’s literature graduate students at San Diego State University, the inaugural issue of The Unjournal of Children’s Literature is up and ready for viewing, reading, and responding. Gorgeous to look at, clearly designed in terms of navigation, fascinating in terms of content, this is one elegant web publication.

And from an article on kids, books and reading: "Reading to me is many things and so I think we teachers need to provide many different experiences with reading and books.  My fourth grade students read all sorts of material on their own, for themselves, for all sorts of reasons..."  

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What do Therapy Dogs Do All Day?

Here are videos from People Animals Love (PAL), based in Washington DC, that document the wonderful work that their volunteers and their dogs perform. Click this link: PAL

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Fairy Tales as the Last Echoes of Pagan Myths...

Seth Lerer, in writing about the orgins and history of fairy tales and folklore, points out that Wilhelm Grimm, at the time the Grimm brothers books were being published in 1812 and 1815, wrote that fairy tales were the "'last echoes of pagan myths'. He
(Grimm) went on:'A world of magic is opened up before us, one which still exists among us in secret forests, in underground caves, and in the deepest sea, and it is still visible to children.(Fairy tales) belong to our national poetic heritage..."

Lerner sees even more significance in Fairy tales. He goes on to point out that "what we find inside these secret forests, caves, and seas is not just a poetic heritage, but a personal one as well. For fairy tales are full of families, full of parents who bequeath a sense of self to children, full of ancestors and heirs whose lives play out, in little, the life of a nation from childhood to maturity..."

 Seth Lerer is Dean of Arts and Humanities and Distinguished Professor of Literature at the University of California at San Diego. The quotes and ideas above are from his informative and insightful book, Children's Literature, A Reader's History from Aesop to Harry Potter

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NYPL's Children's Literary Salon is pleased to announce our event on Saturday, October 12th at 2:00 p.m.

The ABC of It: Curator Leonard S. Marcus in Conversation
Join Bank Street’s Center for Children’s Literature, Interim Director Jenny Brown as she interviews historian and critic Leonard S. Marcus about his current NYPL exhibit and the importance of children’s literature as a whole.

This event will be held in the South Court Auditorium in the main branch of New York Public Library.
For any questions or concerns, please contact Betsy Bird at elizabethbird@bookops.org.

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Harry Potter's Textbook...

"J.K. Rowling will write her first movie script for Warner Bros., writing Fantastic Beasts and Where to

Find Them–a film based on Harry Potter’s textbook from his school for wizards.

The film is part of a planned series featuring the author of the magical book, Newt Scamander. Rowling published a book by the same name in 2001. She had this comment on her Facebook page:

"Although it will be set in the worldwide community of witches and wizards where I was so happy for seventeen years, ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ is neither a prequel nor a sequel to the Harry Potter series, but an extension of the wizarding world..." Here is the link: JKRowling

 

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Dogs in the Forest...

The forest plays a very important role in the Planet Of The Dogs Series. Here is an excerpt from Castle In The Mist...

"The dogs
continued to lead the soldiers deeper into the woods.  Soon, it began to snow, slowly at first, and
then, the wind increased and the snow was everywhere.  It became very difficult to see very far.  The leader of the soldiers told his men that
they were to follow him.  They were
returning to the castle. 

They started
walking through the snow when one of the men, who was an experienced forest
guide, said to the leader, “With respect sir, but I don’t think we are going in
the right direction.” The leader was about to answer him when howling
started.  It seemed to come from all
directions.  Then the leader spoke, “You
will follow me, I am certain that this is the way.”  They continued on through the swirling snow,
unable to see, and surrounded by howling dogs..."

Here is an excert from a review:"Do you
think it is possible for dogs to stop war? Author Robert J. McCarty has created
a charming fantasy-allegory that can be read and understood on at least two
different levels…a story about dogs who come from another planet to help people
on earth.  But under the surface are the
important messages of friendship, love, loyalty, and how to overcome evil with
good…Castle In The Mist will keep you turning the pages to find out what
happens next. 

Wayne Walker reviewing Castle in the Mist
for Stories for Children Magazine, the Home School Book Review and the Home
School Buzz wrote:

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CANADIAN SERVICE DOG FOUNDATION

           

The Canadian Service Dog Foundation trains and provides service dogs for a wide variety of human needs and services. They provide a wide range of vital services,,,ten major humanitarian objectives are listed on their website. Here are the first two:

"To improve quality of life for Canadians through the use of service dogs, assistance dogs, therapy dogs and emotional support animals. Provide opportunities, resources, and support through the use of trained service dogs for Canadians living with psychiatric disabilities so as to allow for greater functional independence, sufficient to make healthy choices and lead active lifestyles."


To support past or present military personnel, emergency service workers, and related professionals dealing with operational stress injuries through the use of specially trained service dogs.


Here is a link to learn more about their wide reaching canine services for people: CSDF Services 
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Read sample chapters of all the books in the Planet Of The Dogs series by

clicking here :Books

Our books are available through your favorite independent bookstore or via Barnes  Noble, Amazon, Powell's...

Librarians, teachers, bookstores...Order Planet Of The Dogs, Castle In The Mist, and Snow Valley Heroes, A Christmas Tale, through Ingram with a full professional discount.

Therapy reading dog owners, librarians and teachers with therapy reading dog programs -- you can write us at barkingplanet@aol.com and we will send you free reader copies from the Planet of the Dogs Series...Read Dog Books to Dogs....Ask any therapy reading dog: "Do you like it when the kids read dog books to you?"

And Now -- for the First Time -- E Books of the Planet Of The Dogs Series are coming on KDP Select...

Planet Of The Dogs will be available October 1...Castle In The Mist will be available on October 15 and Snow Valley Heroes, A Christmas Tale, on November 15...in time for the Holiday Gift Season... 

Any one of these books would make for a
delightful—and one would assume cherished—gift for any child.  All three would be an amazing reading
adventure. Darlene
Arden, educator, dog expert, and author of Small Dogs Big Hearts wrote:  

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Finding Fido

We are excited to announce that Barking Planet Productions is publishing a new book by C.A.Wulff.

"Finding Fido" will be available for purchase at amazon.com on September 30. "Finding Fido" is a handbook every pet owner will want to have in their library.

Between 3 and 4 million pets are put to death in shelters across the U.S. every year. Some of

them are owner surrenders, some are impounds, but the vast majority of them are missing or stolen pets.
 
C.A. Wulff and A.A.Weddle, the administrators of the service Lost & Found Ohio Pets , have compiled a guide to address this sad reality.  ‘Finding Fido’ offers tips for preventing the loss of a pet; advice for what to do with a stray pet you’ve found; and a step-by-step plan in case the unthinkable happens, and you lose a pet.  
 
This is an instructive and important tool every family with a dog or cat should have on hand… just in case.
 
100% of the proceeds from the sale of this book benefits The Beagle Freedom Project!

 

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A Dog Health Update: here are excerpts from an article on Giardiasis – Parasitic Diarrhea in Dogs, Cats and Humans...The microscopic parasites known as Giardiasis are the most common intestinal parasites to be found in humans, dogs and cats. A protozoan parasite infection, it is the cause of a very serious diarrheal illness in the intestinal areas, known to be highly contagious but not lethal. However,  it is a parasite that can be transferred across species — from person-to-person or animal-to-person... The most popular locations for this parasite are on surfaces or within soil and food.However, drinking water and recreational water that has been contaminated with feces (poop) from infected humans or animals are the most common methods of transmission. This includes untreated or improperly treated water from lakes, streams, or wells...

Here's the link to read this comprehensive, informative article: Way Cool Dogs

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       New England Conferences-Book Shows in October for          
       Independent Bookstores and Libraries

 As members of the Independent Publishers of New England (IPNE), we will be exhibiting Circling the Waggins and Snow Valley Heroes, A Christmas Tale at the New England Independent Booksellers Association (NEIBA),October 6-8, in Providence, RI and the New England Library Association(NELA), on October 20-27, in Portland, Maine.

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Green Eggs and E-Books? Thank You, Sam-I-Am By Julie Bosman

Here are excerpts from Julie Bosman's article...

"Dr. Seuss books, those whimsical, mischievous, irresistibly rhymey stories that have been passed down in print to generations of readers, are finally catching up with digital publishing...

The Dr. Seuss canon will be released in e-book format for the first time, beginning later this month, his publisher said on Wednesday, an announcement that could nudge more parents and educators to download picture books for children...picture books have lagged far behind(adult fiction) . Several publishers said e-books represent only 2 to 5 percent of their total picture book sales, a number that has scarcely moved in the last several years.

But the release of the Dr. Seuss books, still hugely popular after decades in print, could move that number higher. The e-books will be available on color tablets, including the iPad, Kindle Fire and Nook HD. The first titles to be released, on Sept. 24, include “The Cat in the Hat,” “Green Eggs and Ham,” “There’s a Wocket in My Pocket!” and “The Lorax” (featuring an environmentally conscious character who might be happy about the announcement)."

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''The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea 
In a beautiful pea-green boat, 
They took some honey, and plenty of money, 
Wrapped up in a five-pound note.''

Click here for information and videos of COROMANDEL , byTrevor Bachman's... Here is an excerpt from their site...A" vibrant musical odyssey for children and adults, Coromandel is a journey through the mind of poet Edward Lear"...playing in New York City in early October..." a fusion of rock, jazz, bluegrass, tango, musical theatre, and classical sounds makes for a diverse, delicious, and sonically satisfying evening. Told with a whimsical simplicity that appeals to children of all ages..."

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"We must fight against the spirit of unconscious cruelty with which we treat the animals. Animals suffer as much as we do. True humanity does not allow us to impose such sufferings on them. It is our duty to make the whole world recognize it. Until we extend our circle of compassion to all living things, humanity will not find peace." 

—Albert Schweitzer, "The Philosophy of Civilization" -

I found this quote on Sunbear Squad where guidlines, free wallet cards, and "how to" save a dog in distress information are available at no cost for all good people.

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“Dogs do speak, but only to those who know how to listen.” 
 Orhan Pamuk, My Name is Red

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Timeless Stories

 

              

There are well known classics in children's literature and film.

There are thousands of new books every year. Their qualities are mostly unknown. The question is...which stories and ideas should a parent, teacher, or librarian look for to enhance the lives of children.

This blog is dedicated to these issues and related matters. And to the amazing role of dogs in enhancing our lives.

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Wonderland Forever

“I'm not strange, weird, off, nor crazy, my reality is just different from yours.” 
―Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventure's In Wonderlad

 Charles Dodgson aka Lewis Carroll...was a precocious youth, a brilliant mathematician, an exceptional writer, an accomplished photographer and lifetime scholar at Christ Church College, Oxford. He was also the writer of timeless children's books, and an innovator who was primarily responsible for the establishment and acceptance of what has been labled "nonsense" writing.

 He lived in an culture of great writers, from Dickens and Ruskin to Darwin and Trollope. 

In Victorian England cathartic social and economic change were continuous, pushed forward by the industrial revolution and the expanded empire wher "the sun never set"'

In a world of tradition and conservative gentry, new wealth and  a burgeoning middle class existed side by side with industrial slums and horrific child labor.

In the midst of all this he found beauty, grace, and curiousity in three sisters, the
daughters of his friend, Henry Liddell, Dean of Christ Church College. They inspired him. The book he wrote, Alice's Adventure's In Wonderland, became a classic and marked a turning point in children's literature.

"Dodgson was the first author of children's books fiercely invested in developing stories that would induce children -- with all their desires for mobility and play -- to sit still and listen.Rather than writing what he thought appropriate for the child, he probed the child's mind as he "perfected" the stories. It was as a professor of the mind and childhood...that he made his discoveries about what girls want to read." Maria Tatar, Enchanted Hunters

Over the years Wonderland has fascinated children and adults in many forms and interpretations. Trans lated into 97 languages, Wonderland lives on today....

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 "The fairy tale is in a perpetual state of becoming and alteration. To keep one version or one translation alone is to put a robin redbreast in a cage...you (dear reader) have a positive duty to make the story your own. A fairy tale is not a text."...         Philip Pullman, Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm

Books, movies, TV, theater and music are all a reflection of the time and culture in which they were produced. Often, the governing force is a commercial one. Occassionally, there is a truly creative person or group of people responsible.

Movies of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland -- in a perpetual state of becoming and alteration --have been produced since the earliest day of theatrical films.  

Here are a few samples: 

Link to the first film of Alice's adventures made in 1903. This is a restored version of the only remaining copy.

Link to the 42 minute 1915 movie of Alice In Wonderland

Link to the 1985 musical version, a two part  TV production , of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.                     

  “Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle.” 

                                    Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

The black and white illustrations are by John Tenniel who illustrated the original           Alice's Adnenture's in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.

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Walt Disney, the titan of sweetened film versions of classic fairy tales, after a long period of preparation, produced his own version of Alice in Wonderland in 1951. The film received a highly critical reception both in the USA and England, especially from Lewis Carroll enthusiasts.

According to Wikipedia, "Disney was not surprised by the critical reception to Alice in Wonderland – his version of Alice was intended for large family audiences, not literary critics

– but despite all the long years of thought and effort, the film met with a lukewarm response at the box office and was a sharp disappointment in its initial release, earning an estimated $2.4 million at the US box..Walt Disney himself felt that the film failed because Alice the character had no "heart... in 1974, the Disney company gave Alice in Wonderland its first theatrical re-release ever, and the company even promoted it as a film in tune with the'psychedelic" times (mostly from the hit song 'White Rabbit' performed by Jefferson Airplane). This re-release was successful enough to warrant a subsequent re-release in 1981. Its first UK re-release was on July 26, 1979."

  “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"
"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to."
"I don't much care where –"
"Then it doesn't matter which way you go.” 

― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

                         

The newest (2010) Disney Studios version of Alice in Wonderland by Tim Burton was a $200 million, highly imaginative, 3D extravaganza. It grossed over 334 million and received decidedly mixed reviews. Here are excerpts from Peter Rainer's informed review in the Christian Science Monitor...

" The betting line on the new Disney 3D 'Alice in Wonderland' was that it would be marvelous because the imaginings of its director, Tim Burton, are pronouncedly in sync with Lewis Carrol's. But are they really? The movie is a decidedly mixed bag, in part, because of the equally pronounced disparities between Burton and Carroll – and between Burton and Disney, for that matter...I wouldn’t have minded if Burton used Carroll as the merest of jumping-off points for his own nightmarish visions. What we have instead is a hybrid: Carroll’s hallucinatory wit crossed with Burton’s rank unseemliness rolled into Disney “wholesomeness...” 

Click here to read all of this excellent and insightful review: Peter Rainer

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Door: “Why it's simply impassible!
Alice: Why, don't you mean impossible?
Door: No, I do mean impassible. (chuckles) Nothing's impossible!” 
Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland 

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In February 1967, Jefferson Airplane, a San Francisco rock band with folk roots, released their record, Surrealistic Pillow. It became an instant succes, selling over a
million copies in the first year. White Rabbit, a featured song with lyrics written by singer Grace Slick, was clearly inspired by Alice In Wonderland. Their fame spread to a crossover audience, appearing on the Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson, the Ed Sullivan Show, and the counter culture Smothers Brothers.

                                   Here are the opening lines of the White Rabbit lyrics:

"One pill makes you larger,                                                                                    
 And one pill makes you small.

And the ones your mother gives you,                                                                       Don't do anything at all.

Go ask Alice,                                                                                                     When she's ten feet tall..."

And here is a link to Grace Slick singing White Rabbit at Woodstock in 1969.

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 Adventures in Another Wonderland... Then She Fell is inspired by the writings of Lewis Carroll...

“This show occupies a dreamscape where the judgments and classifications of the waking mind are inoperative, and where the single self keeps splitting and blurring.” – Ben Brantley, The New York Times

The following description is excerpted from the Then She Fell Website

An immersive theater experience combining a hospital ward,
the writings of Lewis Carroll, and just 15 audience members per show.

Then She Fell is a fully immersive, multi-sensory experience in which only 15 audience members per performance explore a dreamscape where every alcove, corner, and corridor has been
transformed into lushly designed world. Inspired by the life and writings of Lewis Carroll, it offers an Alice-like experience for audience members as they explore the rooms, often by themselves, in order to discover hidden scenes; encounter performers one-on-one; unearth clues that illuminate a shrouded history; use skeleton keys to gain access to guarded secrets; and imbibe elixirs custom designed by one of NYC’s foremost mixologists.

Here is a YouTube video link to a 41/2 minute Then She Fell Preview

Two fascinating and enthusiastic Reviews/Articles about Then She Fell appeared in the New York Times regarding this production. To read about Siobahn Burke's  recent visit to the theater, click this  Link: Sinister Wonderland. To read Ben Brantley's review of Novenber 2012, click this link: Brantley...........

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“But I don’t want to go among mad people," Alice remarked.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "Or you wouldn’t have come here.”  

Wonderland Forever...

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People Animals Love (PAL)is a wonderful full service therapy dog oranization based in Washington DC...PAL brings healing help and hope to young and old. Visit their excellent PAL website and learn more...

 
Here is a link to PAL's new therapy dog video...a documentary with many dogs bringing good moments to many people..The human canine bond in action. 

 

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TIME IDEAS...

Why Third Grade Is So Important: The ‘Matthew Effect’...a fascinating article on  children reading by Annie Murphy Paul

Children who have made the leap to fluent reading will learn exponentially, while those who haven't will slump

Take a guess: What is the single most important year of an individual’s academic career?

The answer isn’t junior year of high school, or senior year of college. It’s third grade.

What makes success in third grade so significant? It’s the year that students move from learning to read — decoding words using their knowledge of the alphabet — to reading to
learn. The books children are expected to master are no longer simple primers but fact-filled texts on the solar system, Native Americans, the Civil War. Children who haven’t made the leap to fast, fluent reading begin at this moment to fall behind, and for most of them the gap will continue to grow. So third grade constitutes a critical transition — a “pivot point,” in the words of Donald J. Hernandez, a professor of sociology at CUNY–Hunter College. A study Hernandez conducted, released last year by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, found that third-graders who lack proficiency in reading are four times more likely to become high school dropouts.

Too often the story unfolds this way: struggles in third grade lead to the “fourth-grade slump,” as the reading-to-learn model comes to dominate instruction. While their more

skilled classmates are amassing knowledge and learning new words from context, poor readers may begin to avoid reading out of frustration. A vicious cycle sets in: school assignments increasingly require background knowledge and familiarity with “book words” (literary, abstract and technical terms)— competencies that are themselves acquired through reading. Meanwhile, classes in science, social studies, history and even math come to rely more and more on textual analysis, so that struggling readers begin to fall behind in these subjects as well"...To read all of this informative article and to learn the orgins of the term, "The Matthew Effect", click this link to TimeIdeas

Annie Murphy Paul is a book author, magazine journalist, consultant and speaker who helps people understand how we learn and how we can do it better. A contributing writer for Time magazine, she writes a weekly column and...

The photos are from teacher Julie Hauck's very successful Pages for Preston therapy dog reading program at the Longfellow School in Sheboygan, WI.

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"Can Do Canines is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for people with disabilities
by creating mutually beneficial partnerships with specially trained dogs".

There is no charge to the recipent...33% of the dogs are rescued from shelters."

 Based in Minnesota. their services extend to Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota, and with a few placements in Missouri and Illinois.

Can Do Canines has provided assistance dogs to more than 400 people with seizure disorders, mobility disorders, children with autism, people with diabetes complicated by hypoglycemia unawareness, and people who are deaf and hard-of-hearing ."

On their website, Can Do Canines provides information on the many disabilities where their service dogs make a life changing, 24 hours a day, difference. Here is an example dealing with childhood autism. 

Autism Assist Dogs

"Our Autism Assist Dogs are trained as assistance dogs with full public access rights. We train
the dogs to provide safety, a calming influence and peace of mind for these children and their families. When in public, children are tethered to their dog for safety. If the child bolts away suddenly, the dog will lay down and hold position, keeping the child secure and close by. We are currently accepting pre-applications from families who have a child with autism between two and seven years old and live in Minnesota. The expected wait for placement of a dog is more than two years."... There is a link on the Can Do Website that expands greatly on what an Autism Assist Dog does. They do the same for all the disorders serviced by their dogs.

VIDEO: You tube has many brief videos on the help these Can Do service dogs provide. Their 2011 documentary presentation is both informative and touching...the variety of life affirming and life saving roles these dogs perform is amazing. I recommend it for its heartfelt testimonials. 

Can Do Canines

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Video Fun for Dog Lovers...one dog, one ball, flowing water, and fun.

 

 

 

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                    “Well, I never heard it before, but it sounds uncommon nonsense.” 

―                                  Lewis Carroll Alice In Wonderland  

                                       The Jumblies by Edward Lear (1812-1888)

They went to sea in a Sieve, they did,
  In a Sieve they went to sea:
In spite of all their friends could say,
On a winter's morn, on a stormy day,
  In a Sieve they went to sea!
And when the Sieve turned round and round,
And every one cried, 'You'll all be drowned!'
They called aloud, 'Our Sieve ain't big,
But we don't care a button! we don't care a fig!
  In a Sieve we'll go to sea!'

 

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                    Friends of Atticus

                       The Lorax

                   

 Zach MacDonald wrote a fascinating personal review based on his lifetime
relationship with the Lorax book by Dr Seuss. It includes an analysis of how the movie, taken from the book, failed the original. 

This is an excellent example of how importantant children's literature can be, and how much it can continue to be an important part of adult life..."UNLES someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not."                  

  The excerpts that follows relate to the Lorax movie. A link to the rest of this very interesting personal memoir/article follows these excerpts.  

"I popped it into my laptop and watched. As would be expected the movie was a Hollywood-fried, song-filled, rumble and tumble adventure, with boatloads of stuff that
were never in the book.  But beyond all the, ahem, artistic liberties taken with the source
material, and I’m talking about an unending parade of them, the Lorax (voiced by Danny DeVito), the Truffula trees, the Once-ler and his Thneeds were all there, along with the story of environmental destruction run amok in the name of unchecked greed.

One major diversion from the original story is that at the end of the movie (spoiler alert) the Lorax comes back, along with the forest, the animals and clear blue skies, for a happy reunion with the Once-ler. In the book none of this happens and nothing in the future
is for certain: it all lies with the decision and resolve of the child, and by extension any child reading the story. The movie takes that responsibility out of the viewer’s hands, the happy ending provided for them already. I’m saddened to think that there are plenty of children out there who may never read the book, content with the movie alone, or of parents who will now never read it to them, satisfied instead to put the DVD in the player for the umpteenth time and leave their kids sitting in front of it." Here is the link; Lorax; Here is the link to his personal blog: MacDonald

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The Planet Of The Dogs book series is available through your favorite bookstore or via Barnes&Noble. Amazon, Powell's...

Librarians, teachers, bookstores...Order Planet OfThe Dogs, Castle in the Mist, and Snow Valley Heroes, A Christmas Tale, through Ingram with a full professional discount.

Therapy reading dog owners, librarians and teachers with therapy reading dog programs -- you can write us at barkingplanet@aol.com and we will send you free reader copies from the Planet of the Dogs Series.

Read Dog Books to Dogs....Ask any therapy reading dog: "Do you like it when the the kids read dog books to you?"

Read Sample Chapters:Planet Of The Dogs series

 

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The Children's Literary Salon...a message from Elizabeth Bird, Children's Librarian, NYPL 

"The summer is waning and that can only mean that our regular Children's Literary Salon series is gearing up once more!  Please join us for the following event:

Saturday, September 7th at 2:00 


Maud and Miska Petersham: Pioneers in a Golden Age
 In the course of their lives, Maud and Miska Petersham authored/illustrated over 100 books. Today they may be best known for winning the Caldecott in 1946 for The Rooster Crows. Now their story is told for the first time by Lawrence Webster, a librarian and non-

profit consultant, who knew the Petershams when she was a child growing up in Woodstock, NY.  Under the North Light  has received rave reviews and made  Books and Culture ’s Favorite Books of 2012 list. According to their review it is “loaded with ravishing illustrations, the book is a labor of love, recounting the life and work of Maud and Miska Petersham. If you love children’s books, and the art of illustration, order a copy without delay.”   
Join author Lawrence Webster as she discusses the book and the Petersham’s life and work in the South Court Auditorium.

This event is free and open to all. Reservations are not necessary.  For any questions and inquiries please contact Elizabeth Bird at elizabethbird@bookops.org.
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Nancy Houser's Way Cool Dogs continues as a great resource for dog lovers...

Sick Pets-Knowing When to Call the Veterinarian

When we are faced with recognizing and treating sick pets, knowing when to call the veterinarian can be vital. There are certain pet conditions we can care for at home, and there are

medical conditions that require veterinarian care.

Different pet illnesses and their treatments depend on the type of medical care required and how much the owner knows of basic vet care. Diseases in sick pets can spread quickly within their bodies, requiring a more qualified vet diagnosis to discern what type of disease is involved and what is involved in the treatment.

Many times, pet owners attempt to treat the disease of their sick pets single-handedly at home …to read all click WCD

The dogs in the illustration are healthy...they are from Castle In The Mist.
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Animal Wise is a Magical Journey into Animal Behavior

'Animal Wise: The Thoughts and Emotions of Our Fellow Creatures' by Virginia Morell

These excerpts are from a compelling review in the Examiner by C.A.Wulff: 

"There aren’t enough words in the English language to do justice to ‘Animal Wise: the Thoughts and
Emotions of Our Fellow Creatures’. This remarkable book by Virginia Morell is transcendent. Morell takes on the question of whether or not animals think and feel by visiting with various scientists around the world who have devoted their studies to a widely disparate sampling of nature’s creatures from ants to elephants.

If you have ever wondered if animals think and feel, wonder no more. If you have ever questioned whether animals have social relationships, question no more. ‘Animal Wise’ provides those answers and deep fascinating insights in its examination of what makes different species tick..."

 Examininer 

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Lewis Carroll, the Use of Language...Sense and Nonsense

Seth Lerer, in Children's Literature, A Reader's History from Aesop to
Harry Potter, while discussing Lewis Carrolll's use of language has a wonderful quote by Carroll:"No word has a meaning attached to it; a word means what the speaker intends by it, and what the hearer understands by it, and that is all."

Earlier, Lerer writes of Nonsense writing,,,"Nonsense, then, offers more than play or foolishness. It bridges the discourses of adult and children's literature, and it crystallizes our social and aesthetic attitudes towards words and their relationship to worldly things, human intention, and the pictorial imagination."

Seth Lerer is Dean of Arts and Humanities and Distinguished Professor of Literature at the University of California at San Diego.  

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Here are excerpts from Ann Staub's review on Pawsitively Pets of How to Change the World in 30 Seconds: A Web Warrior's Guide to Animal Advocacy Online by C.A. Wulff...

"This book is a terrific guide that can help those wanting to help animals in need from their

computer. It's geared towards dogs, but I think it can be valuable no matter what type of pet you're advocating. While I was already aware of some of the things the book talks about, I really did learn a lot from it and it gave me a lot of new ideas... 

If you've ever shared a picture of a homeless pet, I'm sure you may have wondered if it even does any good? How can sharing a photo really change the world? Wulff explains this perfectly in  How to Change the World in 30 Seconds . Helping find homes for pets definitely helps the pet, and maybe even the family that adopts them...
 
The book is categorized into chapters that contain very helpful advice on social media, petitions, letters to legislators, using online tools for fundraising, reporting animal abuse and so much more. There are even sample letters and flyers in the back of the book that you can use..." 
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 We salute the Planet Dog  Foundation

The Planet Dog Store sells top quaility dog products. They give 2% of every sale to the Planet Dog Foundation (PDF). They, in turn, award support money to non-profit service and therapy dog organizations as well as search and rescue organizations. Can Do Canines, posted above, was on of this year's recipients.

This year PDF gave $71,500 dollars to 16 organizations across the USA. I know of nothing comparable. Suppose Purina or Petco did something comparable...

What follows here was copied directly from their PDF website...Home for Life is one of their 16 award winners this year.

Home for Life 
Stillwater, MN

Home for Life Renaissance Program pairs teenage boys who have been adjudicated to residential juvenile detention homes for felony level offenses with dogs from the Home for Life Animal Sanctuary. They choose younger dogs with disabilities or behavior issues who have been rejected from shelters and rescue programs. The boys participate in a 10 week program to train the dogs so they become certified therapy dogs. It is a win-win-win program - at risk dogs trained by at risk kids to help at risk people of all ages. PDF funds support overall program operations.

 

 

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What should you do,  what can you do, if you see an injured dog or one in distress?

For answers, examples, true stories and more, visit Sunbear Squad...Let the experience of compassionate dog lovers guide you...free Wallet Cards & Pocket  Posters,  Informative and practical guidance...Visit SunBear Squad

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“A dog reflects the family life. Whoever saw a frisky dog in a gloomy family, or a sad dog in a happy one? Snarling people have snarling dogs, dangerous people have dangerous ones.” 
― Arthur Conan Doyle, The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes

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Always Hope

 

 

                    

 Therapy reading dogs are helping millions of kids to loose their fear of reading and opening the door to a world of imagination and learning

We believe that dogs can also teach kids about unconditional love...

Kids can learn about courage and loyalty from dogs. 

Dogs have healing qualities that reach people of all ages.

These incredible abilities of dogs are the foundation for the Planet Of The Dogs books. 

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The master story teller, Hayo Miyzaki writes, draws, and directs wonderful movies. They have all been produced by Ghibli Studios which he co-founded 25 years ago.

                             

Fairy tales, folklore,and myths evolve with time and embrace everything from the cruelty of the Brothers Grimm to the happy endings of Disney. In Miyazaki's work, there are central themes and fantastic images that are woven into his wonderful films.

There is always hope...even when facing the unknown in a changed world.

 Central characters may be flawed, but the good side is stronger in the end.

 The world of the fantastic is always nearby.

                    
Miyazaki's work transcends cultures. His audiences, young and old, are enthusiastic and often deeply involved in their journey to Miyazaki's world. Here, for example, is an excerpt from a review by A.O. Scott, highly regarded movie critic of the New York Times...

 ..."Admirers of his work, which is wildly imaginative, emotionally intense and surpassingly gentle, will find much to appreciate in this film because it demonstrates, once again, his visual ingenuity and his sensitivity as a storyteller. For newcomers to his world, "Howl's Moving Castle" is a fitting introduction to one of modern cinema's great enchanters..." Link AO Scott-

Miyazaki writes the stories and scripts for his films. Howl's Moving Castle, however, was
inspired by and adapted from the well regarded book by the late British author, Diana Wynne Jones. Ms Jones did not have input or involvement in the creation of the movie. However, after Miyazki visited her in England for a private viewing of the finished film, she made the following comments: "It's fantastic. No, I have no input. I write books, not films...a fantastic film." Diana Wynne Jones was delighted with the film.

At the time that the film was in production, the USA had started the Iraq war. Much of Howl's Moving Castle takes place during a war, and was intended by Miyazake, a pacifist, as a form of protest against war.

Howl's Moving Castle is an exceptional adventure on any level and like Spirited Away, another favorite of mine, must be seen for one to fully understand the extraordinary experiences that his films provide. The two films are very different. Spirited Away is a fantastic adventure of survival for a young girl trapped in an elaborate vacation land for spirits after her parents have been turned into pigs.The girl on the dragon (below) is from this film.

We salute the amazing Hiyao Miyazaki and his extraordinary 25 years of creativity at Studio Ghibli. 

                               

VIDEOS:

Here is a wonderful  brief trailer/preview that will transport you to another land, to the land of  Howl's Moving Castle,

Interview at UC Berkeley "The Berkeley Japan Prize is a lifetime achievement award from the Center for Japanese Studies to an individual who has made significant contributions in furthering the understanding of Japan on the global stage." In this interview, Miyazake is modest, humorous, and gives thoughtful answers to questions.  

 Here is the link to see a brief video on the making of Spirited Away

YouTube has a multitude of examples of  Miyazake's work.

His newest film, The Wind Is Rising will open in Japan this July.

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Miyazaki's Influence...world literature

" In the last decades of the twentieth century, Japanese anime and manga so recast the pictorial imagination of the child that it is almost impossible to think of children's books, fims , cartoons and graphic narratives without seeing images from Pokemon or the work of Hayao Miyazaki. Children's literature, in short, is world literature..."

-- Seth Lerer, Children's Literature, A Reader's History from Aesop to Harry Potter...Lerner's latest book is a memoir: Prospero's Son: Life, Love, Books and Theater. 

 

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Dr Seuss...Timeless Wisdom

"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...”  

Dr. Seuss - Oh, the Places You'll Go
 

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 The Warrior Canine Connection...Healing Veterans through the human canine bond...a therapy for the 21st century...

 

 

Combat veterans with severe emotional damage -- PTSD -- are healed, where drugs and other treatments fail, through the human canine connection...here is an excerpt from the Warrior Canine Connection website:

"Warrior Canine Connection TM meets the needs of service members with both physical and psychological injuries. Our trainers who work with the dogs are combat veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and our clients who receive the dogs are veterans who have sustained mobility-limiting injuries and who need assistance to tackle everyday activities.

Our trainers work one-on-one with our specially bred Golden and Labrador Retrievers. They
are guided by certified service dog instructors through an intensive training regimen specifically designed to be an effective rehabilitation therapy for Post Traumatic Stress and other psychological wounds. Working as a trainer gives these vets an opportunity to serve their fellow “Wounded Warriors” and to regain a tangible sense of purpose."

The WCC program also offers a career path for Veterans who wish to become certified service dog trainers."

 To visit their website and see their video is a rewarding and enlightening experience: 

 Link: WarriorCanineConnection

VideoLink:WCCVideo

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Pure Joy...

See this video for an upbeat experience

Dogs Welcoming Soldiers Home (2:33): JOY

 

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                                 A Life Full Of Possibilities....

        

On 9/11, a  23 year old woman, Brooke Jackman, died in the terrorist attack -- an attack by men who believe in murdering those who disagree with their desire for power. Men who believed that women should be controlled, subservient and illiterate.

In response, Brooke Jackman's family have created a dedicated non-profit organization, the Brooke Jackman Foundation, which brings free books --  over 200,000 thus far --  and reading programs to disadvantaged children in the New York area.

This is from their vision statement:  ..."every single child is entitled to a life full of possibilities...We know that children are our future, and unless they are taken care of in their early years, the possibility of their contribution to society is less viable. We hope to lessen the achievement gap, helping each child to reach his or her potential."

This is their mission statement: "Our mission is to create and support programs enhancing the literacy and self-esteem of disadvantaged children and their families in and around the New York area..."

To learn more about their outstanding work,  click this link: BJF

This link will take you to a video of their 2012  Read-A-Thon: Brooke Jackman

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                  Friends of Atticus 

              

Go Dog Go....Christopher Lowe wrote a fascinating article about his deep childhood connection to Go Dog Go, P.D. Eastman's book of the world of dogs doing everything. It speaks to the power of books in a child's life. Here is an excerpt...

"...I think there’s probably something else in the mix, though.  It’s true that we approach entertainment for some level of escapism, but the way that we dig into certain works veers away from escapism and into a sort of personal engagement, a connection between our inner lives and the words

on the page.  I can’t be sure, but I think I may remember Go Dog, Go! because it wasn’t escapism for me.  Twenty-some-odd years later I read Cormac McCarthy’s great novel The Road.  I read it while my wife was pregnant with our daughter, and it affected me deeply.  That book, like Go Dog, Go! allowed me to engage something that was happening with me on an internal level.  In the case of these two books, what it engaged was a deep fear – of dogs in the one, of the perils of protecting a child from the hardness of the world in the other...

Sometimes, even when reading feels like escapism, it’s really connection...

My fear of dogs didn’t last.  I came around with the help of my aunt, uncle, and their two dogs – Sunshine and Champ – when I was eight or nine. When I visited them, when I quite literally confronted my fears, I broke loose of that early part of my life..." Here is the link to read it all: Friends Of Atticus; Here is the link to Christopher's site: Christopher

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People Animals Love (PAL)

 PAL, based in Washimngton ,DC, is decidely multifaced with therapy dog programs for old and young alike...

Two programs , PAL Club and Pal Camp reach out to the Inner City, ..."For low-income

children struggling with gaps in their academic, social and emotional skills, the animal-centric PAL Club and Camp builds on the children's natural affinity for animals to stimulate scientific inquiry, improve reading and math and reward good behavior...Kids are naturally curious about animals and at PAL Club, we give kids the chance to explore and learn. They meet and care for dogs, rabbits and reptiles. Children read books about squirrels, habitats and the environment. They go bird-watching and..." To read more,  Here is the link to their website: PAL

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Pawsitively Pets is the website of Ann Staub, a stay-at-home Mom with two daughters, and a lifelong animal lover with a dog named Shiner. A lifelongTexan, Ann trained and worked professionally for 5 years as Veterinarian Technician. Her website is inclusive and offers articles and reviews for "all things animal."

 She recently reviewed Castle In the Mist. Her 8 year old daughter, Lilly, is currently reading the book, and, so far, likes it. Lilly and Shiner can be seen in the photo on the left. Here are excerpts from Ann's review...

...".I read the book and really enjoyed it! It's the sequel to another book called "Planet of the Dogs" and even though I hadn't read the first volume it was still easy to follow. It's a fun fantasy chapter
book with a lot of great lessons to be learned. Most of these lessons come from dogs, of course...My favorite parts of the book had to do with how the dogs help the people of Earth. They helped farmers, lonely people, sad people, brought happiness to children, and more. They even helped save some kidnapped children from an evil Prince.

The dogs lead the evil Prince on a hunt to capture them in an effort to save the kidnapped children. This part of the story is very exciting and has great suspense. It's fun to read about the dog's strategies in outsmarting the Prince's soldiers. As I'm sure you're all aware, dogs are very clever creatures and this book showcases their intelligence perfectly!

I'd recommend Castle In The Mist for children as well as adults."...

Here is the link to Pawsitively Pets

Here is the link to read SampleChapters of Castle In The Mist.

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Lit World in the Philippines

More good news from Lit World

"A new Girls LitClub has launched at the LitWorld Innovation Hub in Bulacan, the Philippines! We are thrilled that a new group of girls has a safe community to learn to read and write through the sharing of stories and a LitClub leader who cares about them, listens to them and will accompany them on their journey through childhood. Boys LitClubs will be launching next, stay tuned! - See more at: http://litworld.org

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Time Ideas

Reading Literature Makes Us Smarter and Nicer

"Deep reading" is vigorous exercise from the brain and increases our real-life capacity for empathy

by Annie Murphy Paul
Excerpt

..."Recent research in cognitive science, psychology and neuroscience has demonstrated that deep reading — slow, immersive, rich in sensory detail and emotional and moral complexity — is a distinctive
experience, different in kind from the mere decoding of words. Although deep reading does not, strictly speaking, require a conventional book, the built-in limits of the printed page are uniquely conducive to the deep reading experience. A book’s lack of hyperlinks, for example, frees the reader from making decisions — Should I click on this link or not? — allowing her to remain fully immersed in the narrative.

That immersion is supported by the way the brain handles language rich in detail, allusion and metaphor: by creating a mental representation that draws on the same brain regions that would be active if the scene were unfolding in real life. The emotional situations and moral dilemmas that are the stuff of literature are also vigorous exercise for the brain, propelling us inside the heads of fictional characters and even, studies suggest, increasing our real-life capacity for empathy..."

Annie Murphy Paul is the author of Origins and the forthcoming book Brilliant: The New Science of Smart. I learned about this article through Monica Edinger's Educating Alice. 

The girl in the photo is a student participating in Longfellow School's Pages for Preston therapy reading dog program. Located in Sheboygan, WI, this wonderful program was created and implemented by teacher Julie Hauck.

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Finding Fido  

C.A. Wulff , collaborating with Annie Aaron Weddle, has created a new book for dog lovers. Having suffered, in the past, the agonizing experience of two lost dogs, and finding the world of lost pets confusing and dangerous, Wulff and Weddle have produced Finding Fido, a guidebook for preventing loss as well as finding lost pets --  including cats and birds as well as dogs.

Now in the final editing stage, the book will be published by Barking Planet Productions. All the proceeds will benefit The Beagle Freedom Project,   https://www.facebook.com/BeagleFreedomProject , a group that rescues beagles from laboratory research.

Wulff told us: "I've decided to benefit a beagle group because so many of the lost and found dogs we see are beagles. They are runners."  The Beagle Freedom Project has an official website:  http://www.beaglefreedomproject.org/about )

And here is a YouTube video of beagles experiencing a new world,  rescued from laboratories, and seeing grass for the first time : http://youtu.be/IFtJeKojFfI  

Facts from Finding Fido; 
1
in 3 pets will be lost at some time during their life.
Only
22% of lost pets will be reunited with their owners
52%
of microchipped pets are reunited with their owners.


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"The Barking Planet series of illustrated kids' books, full of mythic fairy tale dog heroes, is unabashedly humane, uplifting, and morally improving, which may not be everybody's cup of tea (or bowl of kibble), but it does make for interesting relief in a kid lit world increasingly obsessed with violence, family dysfunction and personal trauma. "-- Barbara Julian, VIctoria, BC, Canada is a writer, reviewer, retired librarian and editor of the Animal Science and Literature Blog

The Barking Planet books are available through your favorite bookstore or via Barnes&Noble. Amazon, Powell's...

Librarians, teachers, bookstores...Order Planet OfThe Dogs, Castle in the Mist, and Snow Valley Heroes, A Christmas Tale, through Ingram with a full professional discount.

Therapy reading dog owners, librarians and teachers with therapy reading dog programs -- you can write us at barkingplanet@aol.com and we will send you free reader copies from the Planet of the Dogs Series.

Read Dog Books to Dogs....Ask any therapy reading dog: "Do you like it when the the kids read dog books to you?"

Read Sample Chapters: Planet Of The Dogs Series

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DNA Backs Lore on Pre-Columbian Dogs

Jack Hitt in the New York Yimes wrote a fascinating article about the ancient orgins of Carolina dogs. Here are excerpts:

BISHOPVILLE, S.C. — Inside a fenced acre on the swampy Lynches River flood plain in central South

Carolina, seven of Don Anderson’s primitive dogs spring into high alert at approaching strangers. Medium-sized, they fan out amid his junkyard of improvised habitat: a few large barrels to dig under, an abandoned camper shell from a pickup, segments of black plastic water pipe and backhoed dirt mounds overgrown with waist-high ragweed.

These are Carolina dogs and though they are friendly, one can instantly sense they are different from other dogs. Several rush to the gate, their whole bodies wagging eagerly. Others sprint off and take position — their jackal ears fully erect, their fishhook tails twitching like flags in a stiff wind. A black pup scrabbles away in crablike submission that eventually takes her into an underground den, dug deep enough that she is not seen again." ...Here is the link to read it all: Carolina Dogs    

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The Hunger Games: Catching Fire opens in November in the USA.

Jennifer Lawrence again plays Katniss Everdeen.

After viewing the trailer, it appears that Pamela Paul's comments in the New York Time regarding the original Hunger Games will again ring true: "The ensuing action is
similarly relentless — brutal, bloody and heartbreaking."

Here is the trialer: Catching Fire

 

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 The Power of Stories 

"Reading is often said to open up alternate worlds superior to the one inhabited by the reader, producing an improbable rush of life." Maria Tatar-Enchanted Hunters, the Power of Stories in Childhood

" The adventures related in the 'Wild West' were remote from my nature, but at least, they opened doors of escape. I liked better some American detective stories which were traversed from time to time by unkempt, fierce and beautiful girls. Though there was nothing wrong in these stories and though their intention was sometimes literary, they were circulated secretly at school."                                                                                                          James Joyce  -- Dubliners (1914)

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BREEZES FROM WONDERLAND

First, I read this in Maria Tatar's Breezes from Wonderland...

Are audio books making a comeback?
" I just finished listening to Claire Messud’s The Woman Upstairs in my car, and I am now a true believer in audiobooks. (The book is great, by the way, and Wonderland figures prominently in it, as a kind of thematic tilt-a-whirl).  When you listen to a good book on the road, suddenly: Traffic?  No problem.  Long red light that you sit through for two rounds?  Who cares? Long stretch of highway?  Great!  It’s fascinating to me that audiobooks are making a comeback"...

And then, I read this, by Leslie Kaufman, in the New York Times 

Actors Today Don’t Just Read for the Part. Reading IS the Part. 

"Once a small backwater of the publishing industry, in part because of the cumbersome nature of tapes, audiobooks are now flourishing. Sales have been rising by double digits annually in recent years. A recent survey by industry groups showed that audiobook revenue climbed 22 percent in 2012 compared with 2011.

Much of the growth can be attributed to the business’s digital transformation — from how books are recorded (increasingly at studios in the actors’ homes) to how they are sold (through subscription or individually on the Internet) and consumed (downloaded to mobile devices).

That development is good for publishers and authors, of course. But it has also created a burgeoning employment opportunity for actors pursuing stardom on the stage and screen, allowing them to pay their bills doing something other than waiting on tables..."

Here is the link to read it all: Audio Books

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 Congratulations to the Planet Dog Foundation (PDF)  --

The Planet Dog Foundation announced that they have given, to canine service organization, over a
million dollars in cash grants and product donations. They have done this over a seven year time span, by donating 2% of  Planet Dog sales to organizations across the country that are helping dogs to help people. 

Here's a link to their website:PDF

Here's an excerpt from their announcement:

"A million dollars given to help dog service and therapy dog organizations..PDF has awarded 101 cash grants to 65 non-profit organizations in 27 states ranging from $500 to $10,000.  The grants have been used to help Assistance and Service Dog organizations (44 grants), Therapy Dogs and Animal Assisted Therapy Dog Programs (36 grants) and K9 Search and Rescue, Police, Fire and Military Dog programs (21 grants). " 

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Small Dogs, Big Dogs, Behavior and Human Perceptions....

One of the many relevant and readable recent posts on Nancy Houser's Way Cool Dogs dealt with Behaivior Problems You Do Not Notice in Small Dogs. Here is an excerpt... 

"We know the difference between large and small dogs but dogs don’t. Their motivations, desires and behavior are identical no matter what size they are. A dog is a dog whether it’s a Chihuahua or an Irish wolfhound. However we treat small dogs differently. We see bad behavior problems, such as jumping onto a person, which would be stopped if it was done by a large dog, tolerated in a small dog. It’s our fault. We think they are cute, cuddly and friendly.

And they are, but bad behavior is bad behavior no matter how much the dog weighs. Small dogs generally have a reputation of being noisy, snappy, aggressive, difficult to control and not safe around small children. There’s a large measure of truth in that. We do not treat the behavior of small dogs in the same serious way we do large dogs... Here is the link to read it all: Small Dogs  The illustration of the large dog is from Snow Valley Heroes, A Christmas Tale, Planetof the Dogs, Volume 3 

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And they lived happily ever after...or not

In 2012, Phillip Pullman translated and rewrote 50 of the Brother's Grimm Fairy Tales.

His version flows with the ease of a master storyteller. Jack Zipes, a major figure in the field of children's literature and Professor Emeritus, University of Minnesota, commented that, "There is no doubt in my mind that the Grimms would have been delighted with what he has accomplished." This is high praise for a wonderful book.

Pullman, in his introduction says, "The fairy tale is in a perpetual state of becoming and alteration. To keep one translation or one version alone is to put a robin redbreast in a cage."

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 A dog is lying by the side of the road...What do I do? What are my options? I want to be helpful, but this is all new to me... For answers, examples, true stories and more, visit Sunbear Squad...Let the experience of compassionate dog lovers guide you.

Here' is an excerpt from a Collie rescue story on the Sunbear Site:

" On July 3rd at 10:15 p.m. a woman knocked on the door of our Plymouth MA home and said a dog had been struck by a car and was lying on the side of road in front of our house. We wrapped the dog in blankets to keep it from going into shock and called the local police. The dog appeared to be a collie weighing about 90 lbs. and had lost a lot of blood from apparently being struck in the head. Two women pulled over and together with my fiance, Anthony, helped. I was extremely upset and standing by with my emergency vet book ready to do what I could.

When the policeman arrived he said that unfortunately he could not transport the dog to the emergency vet in Bourne, MA because it was against policy. The only thing he could do was drag him off the road and leave him in the woods to die. This was impossible for me to comprehend! Through my tears, my fiance and I decided to drive the wounded animal to the vet for care so the policeman and Anthony lifted the dog into the car. Another woman who was present kindly offered to drive us to the vet since I was a mess. We stayed with the dog for a few hours until the vet tech said ..."Read it all at :Collie on Sunbear

SunbearSquad 

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"If you can look at a dog and not feel vicarious excitement and affection, you must be a cat." - Author Unknown

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Finding Balance, Kids, Books, and Dogs

               
 

They love books and they have started to read.

As they keep growing, finding them books with balance is based in part on memories...

And in part on new discoveries.

The boundaries shift and change as the children grow, as time passes.

The quest remains the same... 

To read books that open doors to both the real world and to the world of fantasy and imagination.

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                                             LitWorld

                                

 "The children in the photo are beneficiaries of LitWorld, a non-profit literacy organization fostering resilience, hope, and joy through the power of story. Worldwide,at least 793 million remain illiterate. By 2014 LitWorld will help one million children to read. - See more at: LitWorld

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 Children as Heroes in the Brother's Grimm

Seth Lerer, reading and reviewing Phillip Pullman's book retelling the stories of the Brother's Grimm, finds heroes for young readers that relate to real life.

"Reading through this selection, we come to realize just how many of the Grimms'
"Tales" were about the family. These are stories of parents challenged by rural poverty, of husbands and wives fighting over who's in charge, of craftsmen who, for all their skill, cannot reshape their worlds. The "once upon a time" here is a time of fishermen who get no fish, of shoemakers too poor to purchase leather, of unsuccessful millers and subsistence woodsmen. Many of these stories are tales of failed fathers who must make devilish deals to keep their children or, at worst, send them away.

And in those children, we may find true heroes...."

Here is the link to read more: Lerer

 is dean of arts and humanities at UC San Diego. He won the 2009 National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism for  Children's Literature: A Readers' History From Aesop to  Harry Potter.      I have just begun reading this book.

Lerner's latest book is a memoir: Prospero's Son: Life, Love, Books and Theater.

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  Quotes from E.B. White 

“Why did you do all this for me?' he asked. 'I don't deserve it. I've never done anything for you.' 'You have been my friend,' replied Charlotte. 'That in itself is a tremendous thing.” 

  "Don't write about Man; write about a man."

"Never hurry and never worry."

― E.B. White, Charlotte's Web

 

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           Why Kids Should Read About War

By Claire Kirch

Suzanne Collins, author of the powerful and extremely successful Hunger Games Trilogy (including Catching Fire and Mockingjay) participated in a panel discussion about war at Book Expo A 2013. Her comments about her childhood memories when her father was in Vietnam provide insights into her latest book as well as the Hunger Games Triilogy. Here is an excerpt (and link from the report by Claire Kirch...

"Collins, whose picture book, Year of the Jungle: Memories from the Home Front, is based
upon

her sixth year (1968), when her father went to Vietnam, talked about its impact upon her young self. For instance, her initial perceptions of the jungle being filled with friendly animals changed into fear for her father as time passed. James Proimos, who illustrated Year of the Jungle, used for inspiration objects Collins saved from that year, including postcards and letters, such as a card from her father that ended with the chilling words, "Pray for me." Collins also interviewed her siblings in writing the book, including her older sister, who was 12 at the time. It was a book that she has long wanted to write, but did not know how to conceptualize until she discussed with Proimos collaborating on the project...

'A realistic sense of what war is about is essential on so many levels,' she said. 'If kids don't understand conflict, how can we expect them to know how to resolve conflicts?" She credits her father with "integrating" an understanding of war into her and her siblings' lives after he returned from Viet Nam...' "

Here is the link to read it all: War

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Dogs On Call... In the great Northwest, a land where

water,mountains,and forest create a world of awsome natural beauty, people of all ages benefit from the work of therapy dogs. In the great Northwest, Dogs On Call  trains, certifies and coordinates the efforts of 16 teams (with 2 volunteers who don't own dogs) sending dogs into a wide variety of situations where they can help to heal, support and motivate.

Deborah Hall, a co-founder (2006) with Sarah Broderick, informed me recently of their expanded services. Once again, I find myself awed and grateful for the wonderful work performed by therapy dog organizations like Dogs On Call. Here is an excerpt from her comments:

  "Our work
with children now includes programs in special needs classrooms at the
elementary, middle, and high school levels concentrating on specific activities
customized for each child's challenges (as directed by therapists and
staff), as well as continuing and expanding our work with individual
therapists and their patients in Skagit Valley Hospital Children’s Therapy
Department, Valley Kids Pediatric Therapy

practice, and SPARC (www.sparckids.org/).  

We also have just
completed our first year in partnership with Early Learning centers (preschools,
day care centers, Head Start programs, etc.) in a program based on 'journaling'
designed to help improve literacy/reading by starting at an earlier age
than normal.  And of course we are still in local libraries, Boys and
Girls Clubs, and a summer program for low-income students with Tales for
Tails programs...

 And, of course, we
continue to provide visitation to nursing homes, adult daycare, long-term
care, and other elder care facilities." Website: www.DogsOnCall.wix.com/DogsOnCall... the top photo is of Geoffrey and Sophie; the bottom photo is of Lukas visiting Fidalgo Elementary School, Anacortes, WA

Deborah and Donna Vaquer have written and published The Rainbow Series, true stories and photos for kids about the adventures and very special world of therapy dogs. There are 11 books in the series. Here is the link: Rainbow

 

  


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Breezes From Wonderland
MARIA TATAR'S FORUM FOR STORYTELLING, FOLKLORE, AND CHILDREN'S LITERATURE

Disney Princesses Ranked

 Here’s a quick summary of the virtues and flaws of Disney Princesses.  It shows real progress in moving from sweet docility to adventurous feistiness.  Is it time to make a new version of Snow White, now that we are approaching her 100th anniversary?  Well, still a few years to go, but she is already in her 70s.
 http://news.moviefone.com/2013/05/28/dis…

The Link will take you to MOVIEPHONE where all the Disney princesses are ranked with photos of each one... 

 

                         

Disney Princesses: Ranking Merida, Snow White & More as Role Models



Posted May 28th, 2013 10:25AM
by Sandie Chen

"Every year it seems there's a new controversy about the Disney Princesses -- whether it's Peggy Orenstein's scathing indictment of pink-princess mania in the book "Cinderella Ate My Daughter" or the newest kerfuffle over "Brave's" Princess Merida and her makeover from scrappy, wild-haired archer into a sexified Scottish babe. 

Disney unveiled the curvier, older-looking rendition of Merida in time for the Pixar character's official "coronation" as a Disney Princess on May 11 -- angering not only many fans but the movie's writer and co-director, Brenda Chapman.


The Academy Award-winning animator, who based Merida's look on her own daughter, Emma, told the Marin Independent Journal that Disney's "makeover" was "a blatantly sexist marketing move based on money." The Merida makeover sparked such a backlash that Disney has since stated the stylized version was a one-off to celebrate the coronation (as well as a limited-edition set of merchandise), and that the official website and future depictions will continue to show the younger Merida"....Here, again, is the link for the rest of the article and the Princess Rankings 

After backlash to the new Miranda, Disney has now removed the curvier, older looking Princess from it's website. Here's the link: Controversy

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Veterans with PTSD Train Service Dogs for Injured Veterans

Man's best friend heals emotional and psychological wounds. 

"Paws for Purple Hearts builds on the time-honored tradition of Veterans
assisting other Veterans. It helps heal our returning combat Veterans by teaching those with psychological scars, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), to train service dogs for their comrades with combat-related injuries."

"Under the guidance of PPH instructors, service members engage with specially-bred Golden and Labrador Retriever puppies. Together they undergo an intensive 18-to-24-month service dog training regimen—learning more
than 90 commands–while the veterans reintegrate into civilian life. Once training is complete, the service dogs are given to veterans who have sustained mobility-limiting injuries. These service dogs reside for the rest of their lives with their new owners.

Since PPH’s inception, service dog training and connections have directly impacted hundreds of veterans’ lives."

Here is an excellent video about their wonderful work --  Link: PawsforPurpleHearts; also, an ABC documentary report,  Back from the Brink, profiled the story of Steve More...“I was helpless,

emotionally set down and I had no idea where life was taking me,” said Steve Moore. Moore, 32, served two tours in Iraq and spent four and half years in the Army. He was discharged in 2006 and had a wife, two sons, and a decent job, he said. But he was seriously troubled and into trouble. The marriage fell apart and he lost custody of his boys. He ended up in court"...

Here is the link to see Steve and learn about his recovery: Steve  All of the photos are from Paws Foe Purple Hearts website.

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Far from Disney...Snow White and the Huntsman

Fairy Tales and Mythology change and evolve with time and Disney put his own
versions out... softened and sweetened from the original fairy tales of the Grimm brothers and others.... in order to find the broadest acceptance of his films in the marketplace for kids. 

Now we have films released -- especially in this current era of rapid change and

exceptional earnings at the box office -- that put their own caste on traditional Fairy Tales. And the balance tips the other way, to fear and the darkside.

If the young audiences that loved the original Disney film sees this version of Snow White, they will encounter darkness, evil, frightening fantasy, and awesome computer-based effects of magical events. 

If you haven't seen this current version of Snow White, here is a link to an exciting and relentless trailer/preview: Snow White and the Huntsman

The film opened a year ago...the box office was huge, and reviews were somewhat mixed...Here is the opening of Betsy Sharkey's excellent review in the Los Angeles Times...

Forget fair, 'Snow White and the Huntsman' is fierce..."Snow White and the Huntsman,"starring a fierce Kristen Stewart and an even fiercer Charlize Theron as warring sides of good and evil, is a baroque enchantment filled with dazzling darkness, desultory dwarfs, demonic trolls and beastly fairies. It is an absolute wonder to watch and creates a warrior princess for the ages. But what this revisionist fairy tale does not give us is a passionate love — its kisses are as chaste as the snow is white.

Here is a link to read the entire review:Betsy Sharkey

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And Speaking of Balance!!!

Here are more Breezes from Wonderland...

wherein Maria Tatar visits White Snow, an installation derived from Snow White and totally lacking balance...

Paul McCarthy’s White Snow at the Park Avenue Armory in NYC

 " I went to Paul McCarthy’s White Snow installation prepared to like it. Disney’s
Snow White is now over 75, and who can blame the art world for wanting to engage in a take-down of what has to be the iconic fairy-tale figure, the girl who represents everything wrong with once upon a time?  Cheerful, cute, and infatuated with good housekeeping, Snow White also becomes an exhibitionist, her beauty on display as she awaits the kiss from Prince Charming...

I’m the first to admit that there is a Gothic dark side to fairy tales.  White Snow distorts and deforms the confections of mass culture to represent, in graphic terms, the violence and dysfunctionality lurking beneath the surface of the nuclear family and its domestic shrines.

I’m sure Paul McCarthy will be pleased with my sense of repulsion as I viewed the mess he had made..."  

Read it all: White Snow

Maria Tatar teaches Children's Literature at Harvard; among her many books is the excellent Enchanted Heroes, the Power of Stories in Childhood. I am currently reading this book.

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The Planet of the Dogs Series for Kids and Dog Lovers

Long, long, ago, there were no dogs on Planet Earth. 

There was plenty of space in those days.There were rolling hills and open plains with plants growing everywhere. There were clear lakes and cool streams with lots of fish.
There were fields and woods with game to hunt. Many people settled in these places of abundance and prospered. 

And then there came a time when the abundance and happiness found on Planet Earth was threatened by people like the warrior tribes. Their numbers began to grow and soon they were taking the homes, land, and farms where peaceful people lived. They had forgotten how to love. 

Where once there had been harmony and friendship, there was now fear, anger, and unhappiness. Something had to be done -- but what could anybody do? No one knew it at that time, but help would come from far, far away, from the Planet of the Dogs...

The illustration is from Snow Valley Heroes, A Christmas Tale, Volume 3 in the Planet Of The Dogs Series.

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Deanna Leah of HBG Productions will represent Barking Planet Productions at the huge Frankfurt Book Fair in October.

Because she has developed long-standing relationships with international publishers over the years, and because we are very pleased with the work she has done for us, we are delighted that the Planet Of The Dogs series will be among the "life affirming and empowering books" that she will represent.

Deanna believes in her clients, works one on one with publishers, and has a dog named Izzy. She also speaks German. Need I say more?.

The illustration if from the Chinese version of the Planet Of The Dogs, scheduled for publication this summer by Bejing Chongxianguan Book Company.

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     Preventing Lost and Stolen Dogs                         Here's another timely article for dog lovers from Nancy at Way Cool Dogs

A growing issue among dog owners is lost and stolen dogs. Each year, the number of these dogs increase, and that does not account for disaster situations. This is possibly due to the fact that many dogs have a financial value that money-minded thieves use to their benefit. Unfortunately, this money value never makes up for the value of lost companionship.

It is every dog owner’s responsibility to ensure their dog’s safety. To do this, it’s important to understand what precautions are necessary and steps to take when your companion is stolen or lost....Read it all at Way Cool Dogs

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Legend Retold

‘The Fall of Arthur,’ by J. R. R. Tolkien

For those interestewd in Tolkien, Andrew O'hehir has written an excellent and most insightful article about a previously unpublished work of the man who gave us Lord  of the Rings. Here are two excerpts...

"Even in its fragmentary and unfinished form — about 40 pages of text, a bit more than

four cantos of what was evidently intended to be a much longer narrative poem — “The Fall of Arthur” is recognizably the work of J. R. R. Tolkien, veteran of the Great War and future author of “The Lord of the Rings.” 

Later in the article, after quoting a section of the poem describing the dark forms of grim riders in the sky, O'hehir writes...

"That sounds less like a foe to be found among the Germanic tribes of early medieval Europe than like the fell hosts of Sauron, riding forth from Mordor with the dreaded Nazgûl leading the way on their winged steeds. Arthur wins great victories, but his campaign of eastern conquest, and indeed the whole poem, is shot through with a characteristic Tolkienian sadness, that sense of a golden age of magic and wonder that is sliding into the sunset. This is found throughout his works — “The Lord of the Rings” is specifically such a story — and may be derived, as many have supposed, from Tolkien’s experiences seeing so many of his generation die in the trenches of Belgium..." 

Here is the link to read it all: O'Hehir'

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                            educating alice

...In the Classroom, Reading Together and Alone

Monica Edinger, an informed and caring teacher (4th grade), spoke from the heart when she wrote about kids reading in the classroom. Here is an excerpt from her blog...

 ...''And so I feel strongly that we teachers should do the occasional novel unit — one where the class becomes a community, helping each other in an exploration of a particular work of literature.  

Turn the class into a book club like the ones we participate in as adults. The kids can then experience the book together, responding to it in real time, exclaiming, becoming choked up, being surprised when someone he/she doesn’t know has the same response to a particular moment, gaining insight from another peer, and so forth. Reading the same book for school is, to my mind, a social experience not one done in solitude. I do this with the books I read aloud, but I also do it with books the kids read. This year we started the year reading Charlotte’s Web together and ended in literature circles with The One and Only Ivan. Loving each book by itself, finding wonderful images and pieces of writing, seeing connections between the two — all of this and more made both experiences exhilarating ones. .." 

Here is the link to read it all:  Reading Together and Alone

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"The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or touched, they are felt with the heart.” 

“Well, I must endure the presence of a few caterpillars if I wish to become acquainted with the butterflies.” 

"All grown-ups were once children... but only few of them remember it.” 

“The proof that the little prince existed is that he was charming, that he laughed, and that he was looking for a sheep. If anybody wants a sheep, that is a proof that he exists.” 

      ― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

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The Planet Of The Dogs Series

The importance of children's books in opening the mind to the door of life and the world of imagination is beyond measure. The importance of a dog in the life of a child is also beyond measure. It was from thoughts like these that the Planet Of The Dogs Series evolved.

Read sample chapters of all the books in the Planet Of The Dogs series by clicking here:Sample Chapters

Our books are available through your favorite independent bookstore or via Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Powell's...

Librarians, teachers, bookstores...Order Planet Of The Dogs, Castle In The Mist, and Snow Valley Heroes, A Christmas Tale, through Ingram with a full professional discount.

Therapy reading dog owners, librarians and teachers with therapy reading dog programs -- you can write us at barkingplanet@aol.com and we will send you free reader copies from the Planet of the Dogs Series.

Read Dog Books to Dogs....Ask any therapy reading dog: "Do you like it when the the kids read dog books to you?"

The map is from Castle In The Mist, Volume 2 in the Planet Of The Dogs series

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Barking Planet Productions also publishes  wonderful and unique dog books
for adult dog lovers. These books are written by dog advocate C.A. Wulff.
Her memoir, Circling the Waggins, is a saga of life in a cabin in the woods where woman's best friend brings light and positive life-change to the author..."Living in a rugged log ccabin in a National Park can be challenging for two women, especially when one has physical limitations and the other's  mental illness is a wilderness of it's own...but even asthe two women care for, and say goodbye to, longtime comapnion animals, a pack of misfit dogs enter their lives to keep them grounded. The couple find a new awareness and understanding of the experience of living." This link is to more books by Wulff.

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EXHIBITION REVIEW by Edward Rothstein

Bedtime With Puritans and Wild Things
Public Library’s ‘ABC of It’ Looks at Children’s Books

After reading Edward Rothstein's reviw, I would very much like to see this new, multifaceted exhibit that apparently takes you into the world of chiltren's literature. Here is an excerpt:

"The show’s nearly 250 books and artifacts are so intelligently woven together by the curator, Leonard S. Marcus, that you make your way through them with a mixture of eager pleasure and focused attentiveness. Even unaccompanied by a child, you can pluck books from the shelves to read in certain galleries. And when you use a mounted iPad to create a fairy tale or to sample Hans Christian Andersen, you realize that you are using a technology that may already be displacing these hallowed artifacts..."

Here is the link to read it all: EXHIBIT

“The ABC of It: Why Children’s Books Matter” runs through March 23 at the New York Public Library, nypl.org. 

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From the NEW YORKER

 KAFKA FOR KIDS

 The title of this review certainly got my attention... Kafka fan Kelsey Osgood gives a positive review to this "terrifying" new book and discusses the ability of kids to handle it. I have some questions about her conclusions. Here is an excerpt ....                  

 POSTED BY ...

..."When I first heard the concept of 'My First Kafka'. I thought it was a wonderful idea, but I assumed it would be one of thos books masquerading as being for children when it was really for adults, a cross over between 'Shrek' and the best selling "Go the F**k to Sleep'. The thrust of it would fly right over kids heads, but their parents would be delighted for a breack from 'Clifford the Big Red Dog'. But it turns out this book is really meant for kids, even though it is also terrifying. Kafka's oeuvre is, on the surface, no more frightening than Lewis Carroll's, Roald Dahl's, or Neil Gaiman's; what happens in his universe is notall that different from what occurs in traditional fairy tails. (Kafka himself was a great fan of fairy tales; his lover and onetime fianceeDora Diamant said he used to read the Grimm brothers and Hans Christian Andersen to her)..."
 Here is the link to read it all: Kafka

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 From A Review by author and dog lover C.A. Wulff

-- A book that is not in Balance for kids

..."‘Flawed Dogs’ is probably not any more horrifying than many of Grimm’s Fairy Tales, which children throughout the ages have seemed to navigate without developing any long-term neurosis...but…, the story is just horrible. "  Link: FlawedDogs

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What should you do,  what can you do, if you see an injured dog or one in distress?

For answers, examples, true stories and more, visit Sunbear Squad...Let the experience of compassionate dog lovers guide you...free Wallet Cards & Pocket  Posters,  Informative and practical guidance...Visit SunBear Squad

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"Dogs laugh, but they laugh with their tails."

-- Max Eastman 

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Now, Then, and Tomorrow... Kids, Books, and Man's Best Friend

 

              

The limits of now, of everyday life, open up to the unlimited possibilites of tomorrow for children who like to read...unlimited, at least in the mind and imagination. 

Folklore, fairy tales and mythology change and evolve with time. Books provide children with doors to the past and the future. 

Beginning with books, and now with the newer media -- film, TV, audio recordings, CDs, and the internet -- an endless variety of stories are available to children.

Yet the classics, or variations therof, remain at the core and continue to exert their powerful spell on young readers.

Classic fairy tales often have several versions. There are over over 24 versions of Cinderella, ranging from Charles Perrault in the 17th century to Phillip Pullman's  version published in his wonderful book, Fairy Tales from the Brother's Grimm (2012).

Teachers and librarians bring the world of reading to the young.Organizations like Lit World and First Book reach out to the inner cities, the disenfranchised and the third world. And for the reluctant reader and children in hospitals, there is the very special work performed by therapy reading dogs.

We salute them all.

The p hoto is by Kate Soroka, Easthampton, NY. The boy in the photo loves books.

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       There Will Be Some Changes Made...

From the Odyssey to Snow White, from the Brothers Grimm to Walt Disney, the revision of folklore, fairy tales and mythology has always been evolving and changing...

Remember the game where a group of kids (or adults), gathered in a circle, whispered an anecdote to the person sitting next to them, who then repeats it to the person sitting next to them, until the telling has gone full circle?

The final version is inevitably far removed from the original version. It's a matter of happenstance, where the changes vary depending largely on the differences in the players.

And children's literature, it has often been the case that an author has deliberately changed a story.

This notion of eternal revisions, the author's motives, and the importance of age appropriate books is a major focus of this months's blog...along with the extradinary work of therapy dogs -- man's best friend.

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 The Big Bad Wolf has gone beyond Disney...

When Jack Zipes wrote The Trials and Tribulation of Little Red Riding Hood,.he included what he found to be the best written 35 versions.

These ranged from the first tellings as a  folktale, to later versions written by authors such as the Brothers Grimm, Charles Perrault, Walter De La Mare, James Thurber, Alphonse Daudet, Anne Sexton and Charles Marelee.

Zipes is an authority in recognizing and articulating the siginfigance and underlying meanings of fairy tales and folklore. In this case, he   uses the tales to provide a detailed social history of Red Riding Hood and to explore questions regarding Western culture, sexism, and politics. 

Pamela Paul, author and editor of the New York Times Book Review (and former editor of the Children's Book Review) has reviewed four new variations on the earlier versions.

It seems the wolf now befriends bunnies and pigs. Well why not? In earlier versions, the wide variey of endings ranged from the wolf eating Red Riding Hood to her threatening to pee on the bed, therby driving the wolf out to the forest where he was shot by a hunter.

(Jack Zipes, is the author of over a dozen books on fairy tales, folklore, and children's literatue, and editor of even more; he is Professor Emeritus of the Department of German, Scandinavian and Dutch at the University of Minnesota. Among his many publications is his complete translation of the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm....)

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 Whatever Happened to the Big Bad Wolf...Pamela Paul, NYT

"Once upon a time, the Big Bad Wolf was a mighty fearsome fellow. In the folkloric tales of Aesop and the Grimms, he terrorized small children and other helpless critters. He blew down houses in Disney’s “Three Little Pigs,” and in “The Three Little Wolves,” a somewhat sinister Silly Symphony cartoon from 1936, after the Nazi ascent to power, he is saddled with a German accent.

Perhaps he was due for a makeover. Four new picture books this year brush aside his surly past and sweeten him up for warmer and fuzzier tales, while still retaining a bit of bite"...

The review continues and covers four books: The Three Little Pigs and the Somewhat Bad Wolf; Rabbit and the Not-So-Big-Bad Wolf; Red Riding Hood and the Sweet Little Wolf; The Big Bad Wolf Goes On Vacation.

I wonder what Jack Zipes thinks about the new, friendly, wolf..? 

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More Good News for Children

Once again, dedicated volunteers that recognize the benefits that therapy reading dogs

bring to children and to a community have organized.... See Spot Read serves the schools and libraries in Wake County, NC(Raleigh is the hub) and typifies the dedication found in therapy reading dog owners. 

Here's a description of their working philosophy as posted on their website:

"Literacy specialists acknowledge that children who are below their peers in reading skills are often intimidated by reading aloud in a group, have lower self-esteem, and view reading as a chore. Dog
reading programs are based on the premise that children will find reading to an animal less intimidating than reading to their peers, parents or teachers.

Research with therapy animals indicates that children with low self-esteem are often more willing to interact with an animal than with another person. Being with the dog is relaxing and fun, and builds a positive association with reading activities. Instead of reading being a chore, it becomes something to look forward to when a dog is involved...We're also fostering positive interactions between children and dogs and have seen many kids overcome their shyness or fear of dogs. "

There is an an excellent interview with See Spot Read organizer, Beth Cooke Weaver. Jessica Lyons conducted the interview and wrote an article for Edcation Portal.com. Here is a link to the Interview 

 Here is a link to the website for See Spot Read (My first dog was named Spot)  

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The Kalevala...the Finnish national epic                 

Finland, a northern country of great forests and lakes, was relatively isolated from the ebb and flow of conflicts over power, religion and territory that swept over Europe for many centuries. Finland was under Swedish domination from the 13th century with periodic invasions by the Russians. In the early 19th century Russia again overcame the Swedes. and under the benign rule of Alexander the First, Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy.

Except for settlements along the coast, the people of the interior had developed a culture that was largely divorced from outside influences. It was there that the oral tradition of the rune singers had been developed and the ancient mythology of Finland -- known as the Kalevala -- preserved.

Recording for posterity...

By the nineteent century, the tradition of the rune singers was dying out. A traveling physician, Elias
Lonnrot, greatly moved by these epic poems, spent 20 years, primarily in the eastern area known as
Karelia, finding the remaining great singers, and recording for posterity their traditional songs. In 1835
he published the first edition of this rapidly vanishing mythology, the so called, Old Kalevala. A greatly expanded version was published in 1845

Songs of the Beginnings and beyond...

As is the case with all folk tales, fairy tales, and mytholog, there were many variations within the Kalevala, deprnding on the region, the time and the singer. The poem about the creation of the world occurs immediately after an introduction by a rune singer to his friend to join with him. The tales that follow deal with the vissicitudes of life, death, power, desire, dreams and beyond. They have a timeless quality and  transcend national and cultural boudaries.

The Kalevala played a very significant role in raising Finnish awareness and influencing a Finnish rennaisance in the arts that began in the 19th century. 

Tolkien...

Tolkien learned Finnish as a student and read the Kalevala. The following quote is from the Tolkien Gateway (all things Tolkien) website::

"The Finnish mythology, as presented in the Kalavela, had a profound impact on the young J.R.R. Tolkien, and became an inspiration for the creation of his legendarium... In 1955, writing to his friend W.H. Auden, he says that "the beginning of the legendarium [...] was in an attempt to reorganize some of the Kalevala, especially the tale of Kullervo the hapless, into a form of my own".[2]

The illustration, by Alexi Gallen Kallela, is of the tragic figure, Kullervo

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 A Fairy Tale Is Not A Text 

Seth Lerer, in the San Francisco Gate, gave a glowing, insightful and informative analysis and review of Phillip Pullman's book Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm wherein Pullman retold -- rewrote -- the the original talesin his own voice.

"Pullman himself is one of our most erudite imaginers of other worlds, and his "New English Version" is learned and eloquent. Collecting 50 of the "Tales," he offers lucid stories in an English shorn of archaism or affectation. Each tale concludes with a brief commentary and a guide to further study, informed by contemporary scholarship.

But, as he recognizes in his introduction, "a fairy tale is not a text." It is a mobile story, changing with each telling and adapted to the audience and aura of its moment. Pullman's versions do not so much fix each tale as offer a script for their performance. This is a book not to be read alone in silence, but to be read aloud to others..." 

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Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/books/article/Fairy-Tales-From-the-Brothers-Grimm-4100774.php#ixzz2UQtWnmCj

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This video by Patriot Paws will touch your heart.

It's the story of service dogs that change the lives of wounded veterans, helping them with
physical and emotional needs..dogs that heal and help.

The non-profit Patriot Paws program also helps to heal the lives of women in a Texas prison who train the dogs.

Final, cutomized training for individual verterans takes place at Patriot Paws own facility in Rockwall, Texas. There is no cost for the veteran.

There is a long waiting list.

Watch the video and see the amazing abilities of man's best friend as they help the wounded veterans and women in prison to have a better life.

                            

                            Here is a link to the Patriot Paws website.

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Do you think that it is possible for dogs to stop a war?

This was the lead-off sentance in Wayne Walker's review of Castle In The Mist. I was delighted to read it, for not only was it provacative, it went to the core of the story... Here is more of what he wrote...

"The dogs from The Planet of the Dogs are back! Now that a year of peace has existed between the people of Stone City and the people of Green Valley, a new threat has arisen. Prince Ukko of the Black Hawk tribes... Will the dogs who have come to earth to bring happiness and harmony to mankind be able to do anything to rescue the children and avert fighting?

I said in my review of McCarty’s Planet of the Dogs (Volume I), “Author Robert J. McCarty has created a charming fantasy-allegory that can be read and understood on at least two different levels. Children will enjoy the story about dogs who come from another planet to help people on earth. But under the surface are the important messages of friendship, love, loyalty, and how to overcome evil with good.” The same things are true as the story continues in Castle in the Mist. The book is well written and easy to read. It will keep you turning the pages to find out what happens next, and, as with Volume I, leads to a satisfying conclusion. You can learn more about the series at www.planetofthedogs.net."

Wayne Walker's complete review appeared on the Home School Book Review; the Home School Buzz; and Stories fof Children Magazine

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Children and Dog Lovers 

Read sample chapters of all the books in the Planet Of The Dogs series by clicking here : Sample Chapters

Our books are available tfhrough your favorite independent bookstore or via Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Powell's...

Librarians, teachers, bookstores...Order Planet Of The Dogs, Castle In The Mist, and Snow Valley Heroes, A Christmas Tale, through Ingram with a full professional discount.

Therapy reading dog owners, librarians and teachers with therapy reading dog programs -- you can write us at barkingplanet@aol.com and we will send you free reader copies from the Planet of the Dogs Series.

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Ariel Wulff is an informed and passionate dog lover and animal rescue person.

Barking Planet Productions is proud to have published the last three of her books.

 

                                                               

We are big fans of her Yelodoggie art work  

We avidly read her animal book reviews on the Examiner  

And we're always interested in  what's on her mind...and therefore, we read her Blog, Up On The Woof.

       Here is an excerpt from a current post on Up On The Woof...  
"There is an insane amount of trash talking in animal rescue. There are people who band together to do what they can to destroy the reputation of a rescue group. Sometimes it’s because the rescuer is too pretty. (really!) Sometimes it’s because the rescuer does things differently than other rescuers. Sometimes it’s because the rescuer is in the spotlight because he or she is trying to accomplish great things.

I don’t understand this vitriol. I’ve actually heard someone complain ridiculously that a certain rescuer shouldn’t ask for donations. When I asked how that rescuer should fund her rescue, the reply was that she should get a job. Really? Where do people get off making judgements like that? First of all, the rescuer being criticizeddoes have a job — and she funnels most of what she makes into her rescue. But I’d like to see a rescuer who funds their organization completely out of their own pocket. Just who was this critic using as a model? And ultimately, why the hell was it any of her business, anyway?.."

To read it all, click this Link: Up On The Woof

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To see videos of PAL dogs with retired veterans, kids reading, and spreading healing joy to many, many people, clink this Link: PAL Dogs. It will take you to the PAL video channel on YouTube.  PAL = People Animals Love

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 Burlington Free Press.com

 Vermont, also known as the Green Mountain State, is one of the 13 original colonies, and has a population of over 608,000. Much of Vermont is rural and agricultural; tourism is a major source of income. This article held special interest for me as Barking Planet Productions is a member of the Independent Publishers of New Englan (IPNE). 

Vermont small publishers share big ideas...
How independent publishers in Vermont are churning out printed pages and selling books - and ideals - in the digital age...an article by Susan Greene

"Papyrus began to flourish in ancient Egypt. The Chinese figured out how to make paper in about 105 AD. Movable type was invented by a German in 1440. Worldwide during the 21st century, the tactile process of turning a page has been increasingly eclipsed by reading from an electronic device.

But whatever the medium, the message remains constant: Books must first be published by somebody somewhere. In Vermont, dozens of those somebodies are devoted to independent literary pursuits of one sort or another.
Steve Carlson, for example, has maintained a hands-on approach to an eclectic list of titles for the company he calls Upper Access (www.upperaccess.com), located at his home on Upper Access Road in a bucolic part of Hinesburg. Tucked away in the woods, this almost 30-year-old publishing operation tackles a range of subjects such as herbs, weather history, house repair and the many facets of dealing with death..."

Here is the link: Vermont small publishers

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 SMITHSONIAN...

The Smithsonian has a wonderful and informative article by Chris Colin on How Dogs Can Help Veterans Overcome PTSD

It begins like this: "Going to the movies was the worst: the crowds, the dark, the whispering.

'I would constantly be scanning for who was going to come stab me from behind,'
says Robert Soliz, a 31-year-old former Army Specialist from San Joaquin, California. He was discharged in 2005 after serving in a heavy artillery quick-reaction force in South Baghdad. But fear, anxiety, depression and substance abuse swept into his life, and Soliz became one of 300,000 U.S. veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder..."

The article continues and describes the success that veteran Soliz has had in the remarkable Paws for
Purple Hearts program. Like the Warrior Canine Connection program, Paws for Purple Hearts has veterans with PTSD actually train service dogs for wounded vets. And working with the dogs has an extraordinary healing effect on their PTSD.

I strongly recommend clicking the link for this excellent article and exceptional documentary video wherein the healing  power of  therapy service dogs is there for all to witness. 

Heres the Link to the article and the exceptional VIDEO:Smithsonian... Photo by Paws for Purple Hearts. 

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Slate

Cinderella Ate My Daughter by Peggy Orenstien

Barbies Gone Wild is the title of Myla Goldberg's review of Peggy Orenstien's book
about the effects of marketing and Disney on young girls in the USA...you can read it all through this link: Myla Goldberg

..."Orenstein's main concern is the princess problem. As I or any other mother of young daughters can attest, Disney dames and Barbies-gone-wild seem to grab little girls in greater numbers and with greater intensity with every passing year. Who is to blame for this pink menace? Is it the marketers, who are producing more and more pathologically monochromatic and prettified products? Is it the parents (and aunts, and grandparents) who continue to buy these toys? Or is this actually not a problem at all?

 There's real pleasure to be derived from reading Orenstein's sane and reasoned dissection of this phenomenon. She interviews the Disney exec responsible for the birth of the Disney Princess concept that, 10 years later, has landed some permutation of Ariel, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, or Belle in every American household containing a girl-child between the ages of 2 and 10. ..."

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Thirteen isn’t what it used to be...

Justin Cronin, author of bestselling cross-over novels The Passage and The Twelve, opened his enthusiastic NYTimes "Children's" book review  of Rick Yancey's new YA book, The Fith Wave, with comments regarding the blurring, if not the demise, of the distinction between YA and mainstrem fiction.

"In a post-Potter, post-Katniss era, the line between young adult and mainstream fiction often blurs. Novels that once would have slipped beneath the radar of adult readers are now proudly displayed by middle-aged commuters on public transit; books that not so long ago wouldn’t have made it past the P.T.A. into the middle school library are, for a generation raised on endless reruns of “Law and Order: SVU,” just another day at the office. Thirteen isn’t what it used to be — nor, apparently, is the 30 it’s become.

Finding a manuscript that will satisfy both audiences has become the holy grail of publishing. It's a tricky line to walk and few succeed. But Rick Yancey's wildly entertaining new novel, "The Fith Wave'. is such a book...then the fun begins, I say 'fun' because Yancey isn't content with just one brand of Armageddon, and delivers the apocalypse with multivalent gusto..."

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Operation Roger Truckers Find Homes for Cats and Dogs

By Michele C. Hollow for Pet News and Views

"Their hearts are big and so are their rigs. The men and women of Operation Roger describe themselves as “a rag-tag group of 20-30 truckers who volunteer to help needy pets find loving homes.”

If you talk to anyone of the volunteers of this 501 (c) (3), they will tell you that they are truckers first and are required to do their jobs. They travel across America’s highways, often moving from one end of the country to the other.

Since they began back in 2005, Operation Roger volunteers have found permanent homes for almost 700 cats and dogs...here is the link to read all : Pets News and Views

The caring truckers of Operation Roger reminded me of the people in the Dog Rescue Railroad described by Deb Eades in her touching book, Every Rescued Dog has a Tale.

Here is the link to the truckers and Operation Roger

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Authors in the Classroom and Library

When authors, whose books the kids have read and liked,  appear in the classroom and share with kids what happened -- the process, if you will, that resulted in their book(s) --  excitement fills the classroom. It's a proven way to ignite greater interest in books. Judith and Dan Greenburg have been exciting kids about reading -- and writing --- for  several years.

Judith is the author of "Andrew Lost," a humorous science adventure series published by Random House for kids ages 6 - 10. (My youngest grandchildren and I are big fans)  

 

Dan is the author of 72 books including four series of children’s books: THE ZACK FILES, SECRETS OF DRIPPING FANG, WEIRD PLANET, and MAXIMUM BOY.

Both Judith and Da n have an exceptional ability to make contact and communicate with kids.

Judith has had a lifelong excitement and curiousity about science. She enhances her presentations with exciting powerpoint illustrations to stimulate curiousity about everything from dinosaurs to stars.

I've always felt that heartfelt testimonials  provide  good insights. This comment sums up what exciting authors bring to the classroom. 

 “Dan Greenburg was an inspiration to both the students and staff. His storytelling had all of us on the edge of our seats. He has an uncanny ability to use his life experiences to teach students to be creative and inventive writers. He is, by far, the best author we have had visit our school!” 
–Dr. Laura Russomano, Principal, Theunis Dey School, Wayne, New Jersey

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 HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSON... an INTERVIEW from IN-SIGHT MAGAZINE...

Insights indeed...an interview by a Chinese journalist Linguei Shao, in Denmark, with  Dan Ringaard , an Associate Professor at Aarhus University. This is how it begins...

 

"In Danish history, the most famous two geniuses lived in Copenhagen at the same period: Christian Andersen and Søren Kierkegaard.

For many people, Andersen is a writer who wrote fairy tales for children. However, Andersen himself was never satisfied with that. He did not want to be a fairy tale writer only; he wanted to be a world famous author.

Andersen became famous in 1835 at his 30s. He accomplished 156 fairy tales, 1000 poems, 6 novels, 3 autobiographies, several travel books and lots of letters and diaries.

L: There are two kinds of fairy tales: One is the original that passes on from generation to generation, and the other is written by romantic authors. How would you compare Grimm brothers and Andersen in this regard?

D: Grimm Brothers didn’t create stories. They collected stories. You had the same kind of people collecting fairy tales in Denmark, Norway, and also in France, Italy, all over Europe. So The Grimm brothers were the most famous among those who collected stories, whereas Andersen is the most famous among those who actually wrote new fairy tales. Sometimes he used some of Grimm brothers’ fairy tales in his own words and changed  them somehow..."

Here's the Link to read it all: Anderson... The illustration for Tom Thumb is by Wilheim Pederson

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 Amidst the informative posts regarding myriad dog related topics on Nancy Houser's Blog we found...Dog Friendly Summer Outings...

"Summer and dog friendly summer outings are just around the corner. No doubt, you’ve started thinking about where you’ll be heading and what you’ll be getting up to. Along with your dog[s], of course!

You also will have probably considered the restrictions on your plans that owning a dog might have.

Luckily, while many pets won’t take kindly to a change of scenery, dogs love sniffing out new turf and will be all too happy to accompany you on your summer jaunts: see Oscar the globetrotting pooch as exhibit A!.."  The article continues with: Where To Go; How To Get There: Where To Stay; and What To Take...To read it all, click this link: Way Cool Dogs.

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The Library of Utopia...

"If it were just a matter of moving bits and bytes around, a universal online library might already exist. Google, after all, has been working on the challenge for 10 years. But the search giant's book program

has foundered; it is mired in a legal swamp. Now another momentous project to build a universal library is taking shape. It springs not from Silicon Valley but from Harvard University. The Digital Public Library of America — the DPLA — has big goals, big names, and big contributors. And yet for all the project's strengths, its success is far from assured. Like Google before it, the DPLA is learning that the major problem with constructing a universal library nowadays has little to do with technology. It's the thorny tangle of legal, commercial, and political issues that surrounds the publishing business. Internet or not, the world may still not be ready for the library of utopia."

Nicholas Carr, From The Library of Utopia, Technology Review, May-June, 2012

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A dog is lying by the side of the road...What do I do? What are my options? I want to be helpful, but this is all new to me... For answers, examples, true stories and more, visit Sunbear Squad...Let the experience of compassionate dog lovers guide you.
SunbearSquad 

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"When a man's best friend is his dog, that dog has a problem."- Edward Abbey

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April Promise, Kids, Books and Dogs

 

              

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Out in space, on the other side of the sun, is the  Planet of
the Dogs®..

Dogs have always lived there in peace and happiness.

Long ago there were no dogs on Planet Earth

Peaceful
lives were being disrupted...Invaders threatened Green Valley...
Children were kidnapped and taken to the Castle in the Mist… two of Santa’s
reindeer were missing and there would be no Christmas.

The
Planet Of The Dogs series tells of how dogs came down to earth to help bring
peace, to teach people about love, loyalty, and courage – and to save
Christmas.

All books in the series have the dogs finding non-violent solutions to danger created by violent rulers and warrior tribes.

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You Can Learn to Love 'The Little Prince' All Over Again by Jen Dell

The Little Princeby Antoine de Saint Exupery...a children's classic for adults

Last month was the 70th Anniversary of the publication of the wonderful book, The Little Prince. Here are excerpts from a comprehensive and informative appreciation in the Atlantic Wire by Jen Dell.

..."Of course, the plot is merely the shell encasing a much-more-than fairy tale. It's a reflection upon the meaning of life and death; it's sharp-yet-poignant social criticism about loneliness, friendship, and the way we choose to lead our lives... 

In the 70 years since the novella was published, The Little Prince has been voted the best book of the 20th century in France, translated into more than 250 languages and dialects, and has become one of the best-selling books ever published, with more than 200 million copies sold" 

And here is a quote from the Little Prince: Here is my secret. It is very simple: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye. 

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Freedom Service Dogs (FSD)

Imagine Sussanne, a woman, an Iraq war veteran, unable to leave her house for 6 months because of PTSD. Imagine a dog, Cabo, rescued and trained to help her, to support her, to give her a new life. You can see them both on a video (below) about the wonderful work being done by FSD.

 "Fredom Service Dogs(FSD) enhances the lives of people with disabilities by rescuing dogs and custom training them for individual client needs.. They provide lifetime support to their client-dog partners to encourage increased independence and the loving, therapeutic bond between canine and human.

FSD trains rescued dogs. All dogs that they use are rescues, and almost entirely from shelters across the Metro Denver area and the Front Range.

Client-Dog teams consist of a person living with a disability—such as autism, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, or a spinal cord injury—with a highly trained dog. FSD does not discriminate on any basis -- age, race, religon etc.

"Professionally trained service dogs assist their human partners with a variety of tasks including retrieving and carrying objects, opening and closing doors, operating lights, pushing 911 and lifeline buttons, providing brace and balance while walking, and other specialized tasks needed by the client."

The FSD Operation Freedom Program helps returning military veterans; in addition to performing practical assistance for everyday tasks, the dogs are very helpful in healing the effects of PTSD.

All costs, including lifetime support, are paid for by FSD. Their needs for contributions are ongoing.Click here toe see a brief video that will touch your heart: FSDVideo

The all inclusive expense for custom training from start to finish is generally $20,000-$25,000 – but clients are not charged by FSD. They focus their efforts on donating these wonderful animals to disabled people throughout their community to help promote independence for disabled folks in their difficult daily lives.

Any dog that does not fulfill all the comprehensive training requirements is found an adoptive home.

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 April is...

Pets are Wonderful Month and

Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month

 

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NEW YORKER                                      

"Fairy-tale magic is often put across through charged imagery—houses with windows of

spun sugar, dresses the color of sunlight, a horse’s head hung over a gateway, a hedgehog who gores his bride with the prickles on his back. These effects arrive often without logical causes, and always without what C. S. Lewis referred to as psychological “gas.” They challenge us to fill in all the descriptive and causal blanks. For that reason, it should come as no surprise that Einstein recommended fairy tales to parents: 'If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.' "... 

From Maria Tartar's New Yorker Review of Phillip Pullman's book, Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm...Read more:Tartar

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          from the Wall Street Journal...

Don't Burn Your Books—Print Is Here to Stay
The e-book had its moment, but sales are slowing. Readers still want to turn those crisp, bound pages 
By Nicholas Carr

"Lovers of ink and paper, take heart. Reports of the death of the printed book may be exaggerated....Half a decade into the e-book revolution, though, the prognosis for traditional books is suddenly looking brighter. Hardcover books are displaying surprising resiliency. The
growth in e-book sales is slowing markedly. And purchases of e-readers are actually shrinking, as consumers opt instead for multipurpose tablets. It may be that e-books, rather than replacing printed books, will ultimately serve a role more like that of audio books—a complement to traditional reading, not a substitute...

From the start, e-book purchases have skewed disproportionately toward fiction, with novels representing close to two-thirds of sales. Digital best-seller lists are dominated in particular by genre novels, like thrillers and romances. Screen reading seems particularly well-suited to the kind of light entertainments that have traditionally been sold in supermarkets and airports as mass-market paperbacks...

Having survived 500 years of technological upheaval, Gutenberg's invention may withstand the digital onslaught as well. There's something about a crisply printed, tightly bound book that we don't seem eager to let go of."  Link to read it all: Carr

—Mr. Carr is the author of "The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains."

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VIDEO:                    

Here's a  big You Tube smile for all -- click here: DiningDogs

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Fantasy, Imagination, and more...

Noted author Isabel Allende was interviewed by the New York Times (April 7 Book Review); here is an excerpt:

"You edited a children’s magazine early in your career and wrote books for
children. What makes for good children’s literature? Do you have favorite books for children?

First of all, books for kids need to be very entertaining. No preaching, no hidden messages, no condescending tone, no didactic stuff. Kids are smart: don’t underestimate their bull detector. Contemporary kids have access to a lot of information, so don’t even try to fool them. I have never been more nervous about my research than when writing for young adults because they pick up every single error. Kids like fantasy, imagination, humor, adventure, villains and suspense. "

 

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World of Wulff

If you are an author with a lifelong passion for dogs...if you are a passionate activist for their well being in a world where cruelty and negligence are everyday

events...then you might be Ariel Wulff and feel compelled to write a book that could make a difference.

Her current book, How to Change the World in Thirty Seconds, a  Web Warriors Guide to Animal Advocacy Online is a guide to the internet made easy, the internet as a tool, the internet as a dog's best friend...all bundled into a lucid, multi-faceted approach for anyone who wants to make the world a better place.

Currently, Wulff resides in a log cabin deep in one of our Nation's National Forests with her lifemate and five dogs. She attributes her love of animals to having been raised by Wulffs.Click here for more information on the World of Wulff.

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 Are libraries an endangered species..?

New York Review Of Books

In an article about the library being an integral and important endangered species in England, Zadie Smith, a wonderful writer with a dancing mind, wrote an article in the NYRB, The North West London Blues. She wrote about the library and certain public spaces threatened by bad political decisions, as vital to our lives. Excerpts appear below. Here is the link to read more:Zadie Smith

"What kind of a problem is a library? It’s clear that for many people it is not a problem at all, only a kind of obsolescence. At the extreme pole of this view is the technocrat’s total faith: with every book in the world online, what need could there be for the physical reality? This kind of argument thinks of the library as a function rather than a plurality of individual spaces. But each library is a different kind of problem and “the Internet” is no more a solution for all of them than it is their universal death knell. Each morning I struggle to find a seat in the packed university library in which I write this, despite the fact every single student in here could be at home in front of their macbook browsing Google Books...

... Nor can the experience of library life be recreated online. It’s not just a matter of free books. A library is a different kind of social reality (of the three dimensional kind), which by its very existence teaches a system of values beyond the fiscal."

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The importance of children's books in opening the mind to the door of life and the world
of imagination is beyond measure. The importance of a dog in the life of a child is also beyond measure. It was from thoughts like these that the Planet Of The Dogs Series evolved.

Read sample chapters of all the books in the Planet Of The Dogs series by clicking here:Books

Our books are available through your favorite independent bookstore or via Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Powell's...

Librarians, teachers, bookstores...Order Planet Of The Dogs, Castle In The Mist, and Snow Valley Heroes, A Christmas Tale, through Ingram with a full professional discount.

Therapy reading dog owners, librarians and teachers with therapy reading dog programs -- you can write us at barkingplanet@aol.com and we will send you free reader copies from the Planet of the Dogs Series.

Read Dog Books to Dogs....Ask any therapy reading dog: "Do you like it when the the kids read dog books to you?"

"I love this series of books and Planet of the Dogs sets the stage for those works that follow…This book can be, and should be, read on several different levels…these books are excellent motivators, not only for reading, but for generally living life as it should be led. Finally, the entire work is almost irresistible to dog lovers… "

  Don Blankenship, Teacher, Editor/reviewer, Good Books forKids

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Therapy Dog owner Barb Babikian made us aware of Hope and Heroes.For a long time, Barb and her dogs Lille and Dusty, have spent many hours with children with cancer. 

Hope and Heroes "helps children with cancer and their families by funding the Herbert Irving Child & Adolescent Oncology Center at Columbia University Medical Center, located at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital in New York City."

Every year they have a walk as part of their fund raising effort. 

The 4th Annual Hope & Heroes Walk will be on Sunday May 19th, 2013 in Clinton Cove Park, Manhattan. 9:00am Check-In; 10:15am Start

For more information, click here: Hope. The photo is of Lille and Ben.

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Insights on the significance of fairy tales by Jack Zipes

Excerpts from an interview on the Art of Storytelling Show

"At their best,
the storytelling of fairy tales constitute the most profound articulation of
the human struggle to form and maintain a civilizing process.

…Fairy tales map out
possible ways to attain
happiness, to expose and resolve moral conflicts that have deep roots in our
species. The effectiveness of fairy tales and other forms of fantastic
literature depends on the innovative manner in which we make the information of
the tales relevant for the listeners and receivers of the tales. As our
environment changes and evolves, so we change the media or modes of
the tales
to enable us to adapt to new conditions and shape instincts that were not
necessarily generated for the world that we have created out of nature. This is
perhaps one of the lessons that the best of fairy tales and teach us: we are
all misfit for the world, and yet, somehow we must all fit together..." 

Jack Zipes, author of over a dozen books on fairy tales, folklore, and children's literatue, and editor of even more, is Professor Emeritus of the Department of German, Scandinavian and Dutch at the University of Minnesota. Among his publications is his complete translation of the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm....The illustration is by Arthur Rackham.

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I think the brothers Grimm would have enjoyed the Vinegar Works by...

 Edward Gorey... This link will transport you to the offsetting world of Edward Gorey where the darkness is greater than the light...the Gashlycrumb Tinies is not recommended to teach children the alphabet...courtesy of shivabel on YouTube

 "The Vinegar Works -- Three Volumes of Moral Instruction" by Edward Gorey was published for the first time in 1963 by Simon & Shuster, New York, as a three volume set. It contains three stories written and drawn by Edward Gorey: "The Gashlycrumb Tinies", "The Insect God" and "The West Wing".

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Way Cool Dogs offers ongoing advice and information on all aspects of caring for and enjoying your dog...articles range from health care and training to kennel boarding
and travel...Here's an excerpt from a post on going places..."6 dog tips for a safe day outing can change a boring day to a fun-filled day … but in a safe manner.

If you are a new dog owner, or an experienced dog owner, you many not know what you will need to enjoy a day out with your dog. Safety may not be , or what will keep them safe; this article on dog tips will give you all the information you need.

As a responsible dog owner, it is important to ensure that you and your pooch will both have a successful fun day outing. Keeping a checklist will help you remember everything you need when you spend the day having a fun day outing..."

Click here to check out their six dog tips. 

The handsome dog in the photo is Nemo...

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Amazon still featuring porn as 'teen books for girls'  bookmarked says Today Tech NBC Chicago

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“You'll get mixed up,
of course, as you already know. You'll get mixed up with

many strange birds as
you go. So be sure when you step. Step with care and great tact and remember
that Life's a Great Balancing Act. Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left....

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go.”       Dr.Seuss

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 Carol's Corner...A teachers blog...

“Reading should not be presented to children as a chore or a duty. It should be offered to them as a precious gift." Kate DiCamillo

 

If you are interested in teaching kids to write, puppies, or the heartfelt journey of a single mom, visit Carol Wilcox in Denver...here's an excerpt from a recent post, in the form of a teaching letter/guide and tribute to her former mentor, college professor, Don Graves..."

Dear Don,
February and March are for me, the cruelest months. Testing season.  They bring out the worst in me. That ugly, snarling, red-pen wielding teacher that I never want to be. And then I have to breathe. And breathe again. And again.  And remember all that you taught me about the teaching of writing.
1) Care.
You can't teach people to write unless they know that you care. How's your new puppy? How was your game last weekend? We missed you yesterday. Are you feeling better? You can't teach anyone anything until you show them that you care. 
2) Model, model, model, model, model 
You always said, Don, that the most important thing a teacher could do was to write with her kids. Not just talk about techniques, but actually show them what it looked like when you applied those techniques to your writing. You .. .

To read it all and much more, visit: Carol Wilcox

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The NYT published several articles simultaneously on the topic of violence in media and games under the title Big Bang Theories: Violence On Screen...here is an excerpt from Allesandra Stanley's article:

Creating Immunity to All That Horror

"...Broadcasters pride themselves on keeping good and evil straight: The good guys are violent in the pursuit of justice, and it’s the villains who maim and torture for fun or profit. But heroes seem to inflict pain and recover from it with the cartoonish speed of Wile E. Coyote. If humor and distancing deflect the true horror of violence and numb audiences to it, then network television shows may be worse for audiences than even the most gruesome scenes on Showtime’s “Dexter.” Murder, rape and torture are depicted more graphically and artfully on cable shows like “Breaking Bad” or “Game of Thrones,” yet those kinds of series could be less offensive than tamer ones on network television. On cable, horror isn’t shaken off with a quip and commercial break, it lingers like cigarette smoke, infecting all the characters with secondhand depravitity."...Photo courtesy of NCIS

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We first learned of the wonderful work being done by People Animals Love (PAL),
 the Washington, DC, therapy dog organization, through their therapy reading dog program at the Arlington, VA, library. However, this proved to be only the tip of the iceberg as this quote from their website demonstrates.



"While PAL teams visit many types of sites, 85% of our visits are with the elderly. Many of these seniors have Alzheimer’s or dementia, and our volunteers visit month after month, year after year. Most of the people we visit can't own a pet, which is a real loss to those who were devoted pet owners throughout their earlier lives.

In 2011, 280 PAL certified volunteer teams have brought comfort to people at 36 sites − nursing homes, mental health facilities, hospitals, libraries and Stanton Elementary − and over 8,000 people got a wagging tail or delighted gaze through more than 600 hours of volunteered time.


We currently have 320 volunteers and their dogs going out into the community and visiting at 39 public sites."


 Visit their site: PAL

 

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Celebrate World Read Aloud Day with this video of kids around the world.

Why read aloud? What's the special value? What about reading silently?...for answers to these questions and more watch this interview with Lit World founder, Pam Allyn, on Huff Post Live. There are 775 million people in the world who can not read. 20% of HS grads in the USA are functionally illiterate according to Huff Post.

 The photo is of Pam Allyn with a LitWorld reader...

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 New York Public Library Children's Literary Salon

Here is the latest news from NYPL Children's Librarian, Elizabeth Bird regarding two events scheduled for MAY...if you are in the New York area, these are exceptional presentations and there is no charge...

 Wednesday, May 1st at 6:00 p.m. - Berger Forum

Talks on Contemporary Children's Literature
Olivier Tallec and Oliver Jeffers are both avid world travelers and illustrators whose bold and colorful children’s books are bestsellers in the US. Join them for an animated conversation moderated by Pamela Paul, Children's Book Editor of the New York Times Book Review. This event presented in conjunction with the Cultural Services of the French Embassy series: Picture This! Conversations with illustrators from Paris and NY.
Saturday, May 4th at 1:00 p.m. - Children's Center at 42nd Street (Room 84)
Reaching the Reluctant Reader - 21st Century Techniques
Join author Sue Stauffacher (Donuthead, Bessie Smith and the Night Riders, Tillie the Terrible Swede, etc.) and 7th Grade English teacher Andrew Hendricks (Mott Hall III) as they discuss  Wireman, a comic and literacy tool designed specifically to engage older readers. 

As ever these events will be held in the main branch of NYPL at 42nd Street and 5th Avenue.

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 The Wizard of OZ...click here -- OZ-- to visit the Back Street Book Club on NPR and here a brodcast that

Follows The Yellow Brick Road Back To The Origins Of 'Oz'...

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 A HEADS UP --  courtesy of CA Wulff ( from her Examiner Review)

 Flawed Dogs is advertised as a children’s book (ages 8 and up). However, this excerpt from CA Wulff's review suggests otherwise...

"‘Flawed Dogs’ is probably not any more horrifying than many of Grimm’s Fairy Tales, which children throughout the ages have seemed to navigate without developing any long-term neurosis...but…, the story is just horrible. "  Link: FlawedDogs

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SunBear Squad Saves Lives...

What should you do,  what can you do, if you see a dog in distress?

For answers, examples, true stories and more, visit Sunbear Squad...Let the experience of compassionate dog lovers guide you...Be guided by free Wallet Cards & Pocket Posters...  Informative and practical...Visit SunBear Squad

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"To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in   Eden where doing nothing was not boring -- it was peace."                   Milan Kundera

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Goodbye Innocence, Kids, Books and Dogs

 

                   

The importance of children's books in opening the mind to the door of life and the world of imagination is beyond measure. The importance of a dog in the life of a child is also beyond measure. It was from thoughts like these that the Planet Of The Dogs Series evolved.

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Fairy Tales and the Brothers Grimm...

Perhaps I was misled by the Disney version of fairy tales and children's stories, but as my interest and concern for age appropriate labeling of books and movies has grown, I find myself on an educational journey ---an awakening. Much of it has to do with misleading labels in today's marketplace. However, learning about the violence and brutality of children's literature in the past past has been a disturbing revelation. 

The world was a different place in late 18th and early 19th century Europe and Germany. Life was hard and childhood for most was filled with work, uncertainty, and, often, fear. Reading and literacy were uncommon and oral tales were part of a long tradition. The Brother's Grimm collected the stories and myths of the time, published them, and promoted them as tales for children.

Maria Tartar, author, scholar, blogger (Breezes from Wonderland) and Harvard Professor(German Studies, Folklore, and Children's Literature) has
written extensively on these matters. I am currently reading, learning from, and fascinated by
her book, "Enchanted Hunters,the power of stories in childhood".

 Ms Tartar, herself a mother as well as a scholar, has written extensively regarding children's literature and the brothers Grimm in paricular.One of thes was entitled, "The Hard Facts of the Grimms' Fairy Tales."The back cover describes the book in this way: "Murder, mutilation, cannibalism, infanticide, and incest: the darker side of classic fairy tales figures as the subject matter for this intriguing study of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm's Nursery and Household Tales... Throughout the book, Tatar skillfully employs the tools not only of a psychoanalyst but also of a folklorist, literary critic, and historian to examine the harsher aspects of these stories. She presents new interpretations of the powerful stories in this worldwide best-selling book..." 

My learning curve is accelerating, and I take some comfort in realizing that the issue of age appropriateness and concern for what children read and see in movies and TV, is substantial and growing. 

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Therapy Dogs

Dogs in the Library..?

PAL (People Animals Love) has been bringing the healing power of dogs to the greater Washington, DC, area for over 30 years. With more that 350 volunteers and their therapy dogs, they enhance the lives of folks in nursing homes, rehabilitation facilities, hospitals and libraries. Libraries? Of course, through therapy dog reading programs like Paws To Read.

Here's an excerpt from a Washington Post article by Susan Svrulga that explains this wonderful and successful program...

At libraries, children find delight in reading to dogs...

"Sean Sullivan chose a book, sat down on the library rug and explained to Tavish that he was going to read him a mystery about a hidden treasure.

Tavish, never one to turn down a good story, wagged his short red tail and put his head on Sean’s knee.

On the other side of the room, tucked into the back of the children’s section of an Alexandria library, Jonathan Mendez was reading with a Spanish accent to a black Portuguese water dog

named Skipper. A golden retriever was sprawled out in another corner, and a tiny toy poodle sat up, bright-eyed, as a girl read to him about an alligator.

“If you're reading aloud in school to a whole class, you might be nervous,” said Sean, who’s 8. “But the dogs are really here to listen.”

A growing number of libraries and some schools in the region are inviting volunteers to bring their dogs in to help children learn, hoping the pets will calm children who are struggling, excite those who are bored and help kids equate reading with fun.

At the Charles E. Beatley Jr. Central Library in Alexandria on a recent night, there was a waiting list for “Paws to Read,” with children clutching books outside the room hoping to get a turn..."

To read all of this heartening and informative article click here: Paws To Read Note: The top photo is courtesy of PAL; the bottom photo of Emmanuel and his therapy reading dog friend was taken by Tracy Baetz in librarian Ginny Rawls PAL sponsored Paws To Read program.

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                      Welcome to the world of the "new adult."

           Beyond Wizards and Vampires, to Sex by Leslie Kaufman 

Things are moving fast in the book business as sales of sexy adult books crossover (or crossunder) to create a new niche for young adult (YA) readers as reported in this excerpt from Leslie Kaufman's article...

"Vampire and wizard fans are apparently ready for characters who shed their robes and show a little more skin.

Publishers and authors say they are seeing a spurt in sales of books that fit into the young-adult
genre in their length and emotional intensity, but feature slightly older characters and significantly more sex, explicitly detailed.

They’ve labeled this category “new adult” — which some winkingly describe as Harry Potter meets “50 Shades of Grey” — and say it is aimed at 18-to-25-year-olds, the age group right above young adult.

The goal is to retain young readers who have loyally worked their way through series like Harry Potter, “The Hunger Games” and “Twilight,” all of which tread lightly, or not at all, when it comes to sexual encounters. In the “Twilight”
books, for instance, readers are kept out of the bedroom when Bella and Edward, the endlessly yearning lead characters, finally consummate their relationship.

Providing more mature material, publishers reason, is a good way to maintain devotion to books among the teenagers who are scooping up young-adult fiction and making it the most popular category in literature, with a crossover readership that is also attracting millions of adults. All while creating a new source of revenue"...

Here's the link to read all of this fascinating article: Leslie Kaufman

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 Search for Answers... Middle Grade vs Young Adult...four very succesful and respected authors of middle grade books discuss the changes and confusion

 in the book world today...what is appropriate content for 10-12 year olds?...how does rape or brutallity affect a middle schooler?... This is an audio presentation of NYPL's outstanding Children's Literary Salon, organized by librarian Elizabeth Bird. The authors are:

Here is the link: Salon

The next Salon, the Alternative Children's Library, will be held on March 23,12-1 PM. For more information, click here: Alternative

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How well do you know the Hobbit?...The Christian Science Monitor published an entertaining and challenging quiz for Tolkien fans: The Hobbit’: 40 questions to test your knowledge of Bilbo Baggins and co....Here is the Link: CSM    The illustration is by Tolkien                         

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Fairy Tales From The Brothers Grimm By Philip Pullman 

Kevin wrote a thoughtful and comprehensive review on Collected Miscellaney for anyone considering buying this book.Here is an excerpt...

"There was just one small problem.  I found it hard to read 50 fairy tales straight through like it was a novel.  I found myself reading a couple at night before bed, slowly making my way through the collection. So it took me some time to finish...Nevertheless, if you are as fascinated by fairy tales as I am this is a must read. Pullman provides a wonderful collection of Grimm’s Fairy Tales with a straightforward and clean style. Plus, he adds some interesting and whimsical comments at the end of each story... Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm is a must read for anyone interested in folklore and fairy tales but it is also a great read for anyone interested in the art of storytelling and its impact on culture, language and the way we see the world. "                               The illustration is by Arthur Rackham

 

A Different reaction from the UK...

   FICTiON FAN
                                       

On the other hand, Fiction Fan asked Who Is The Book For? Here are excerpts..."Pullman’s versions of some of the Grimms’ folk stories are well enough written and his little summaries at the end of each tale give a bit of background to where each story originated and the different versions that have been told in the past. But from the moment I received the book and discovered that, to my amazement, there are no illustrations, I couldn’t help but wonder

who exactly is this book for?...Pullman has deliberately gone back to the unbowdlerised versions of many of the stories and I’m not sure that I’d be happy to be reading some of these to my (mythical) young children. Rapunzel getting pregnant without really understanding what was happening to her? Houses described as being as filthy as ‘pisspots’? Must be for a teenage or adult audience then? But if so, what do these versions add to the ones we all read when we were young? For me, the answer to that question was nothing much, I’m afraid..In the end I came to the conclusion that the book is in fact aimed at a very specific target audience – Pullman fans"... Once again, the illustration is by Arthur Rackham

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 Dakota's Den

A new book review of Planet Of The Dogs appeared on Dakota's Den, a website for Dog Lovers written by Caren Gittleman and her dog Dakota..."We will write about funny things, sad things, informative things and so much more!We feature book reviews, product reviews, funny videos. You name it, you will find it here and if it isn’t here now, give us a BARK OUT and tell us what you want to see at cgittleman@mi.rr.com"

 

Here is an excerpt from Karen's review of Planet Of The Dogs...

"Looking for a book for the  youngsters in your life that sends the message of love, friendship and loyalty? Have you wondered what life was like BEFOREthere were dogs? Where did the first dog

come from? Why did dogs inhabit Earth?

Planet of the Dogs is a delightful fantasy for  those in the mid to upper elementary grades as well as their parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents! The story begins in a time long ago before there were dogs on Planet Earth. For a while things were beautiful, people prospered and life was good.Then, as is often the case, where there is good, to have balance in life there must be some bad. Planet Earth was threatened by evil forces.  These forces made some people forget how to love.

When Miss Merrie (Queen of the dogs on Planet Dog) heard of the problems on Earth she knew that something had to be done to help them.  The first dog arrived and the course of the world changed..." Here is a link to the website and the review: Dakota's Den 

The illustraition in from the Planet Of The Dogs book

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Read sample chapters of all the books in the Planet Of The Dogs series:

Click here for sample chapters:Books

Our books are available through your favorite bookstore or via Barnes&Noble. Amazon, Powell's...

Librarians, teachers, bookstores...Order Planet The Dogs, Castle in the mis, and Snow Valley Heroes, A Christmas Tale through Ingram with a full professional discount.

Therapy reading dog owners, librarians and teachers with therapy reading dog programs -- you can

Write us at barkingplanet@aol.com and we will send you free reader copies from the Planet of the Dogs Series.

Read Dog Books to Dogs....Ask any therapy reading dog: "Do you like it when the the kids read dog books to you?"

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Old Dog Behavior

When a dog grows old, changes in their behavior often create problems and frustration for their owner. These behavioral  changes, especially when accompanied by declining health and fear of loosing the dog, can be very difficult to deal with... Nancy Houser,on Way Cool Dogs, posted an insightful article on dealing with the problem of old dogs. Here is an excerpt...

 "As a shelter that deals with old dogs behavior on a constant level, dealing with the problems of old dogs means recognizing a decline in functioning.

Things that we used to accept as normal behavior begin to change drastically: their memory will lesson; they will lose their ability to learn; they will not be as aware as they used to be; more reduced physical abilities; and they will begin to deteriorate in their sight, hearing, and toileting abilities.

Most noticeable is their abnormal sleep patterns. They will sleep all day and become restless at night, kind of like elderly people. There is no set pattern for old dogs behavior, as they will stare at objects for hours, bark at nothing, and begin to wander aimlessly; meanwhile, their ability to keep themselves clean will decrease and their appetite will lesson.

Learned commands from puppyhood days may soon be forgotten, along with habits they have developed over the years. For example, they will not come when called and will loose the ability to remain house-trained..." 
Here is the link to read all of this article: Old Dog

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Parade of Misfits by CA Wulff...

Parade of Misfits is an introduction to the world of CA Wulff, author, passionate animal advocate, and dog lover. Living in a cabin in the woods with an ever changing melange of rescued canines and other critters, Wulff experienced a catharsis through her dogs. This book, propelled by humor and adventures, is a prelude to her full blown memoir, Circling the Waggins. The cover of the book is a true forecast of the world of Wulff you will find inside.

 

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What age is a young adult?

                                    

A very real storm of contoversary surrounds the many of the books by best-selling YA (Young Adult) author, Lauren Myracle...how blatanly graphic should a book for 12-14 year old readers be...perhaps Lauren Myracle is an example of why the majority of YA customers in bookstores are now over 18?...In any case, Here is an excerpt from an insightful article... 

ChildHood,Uncensored by Catherine Saint Louis

"LAUREN MYRACLE has been called Satan, a pedophile, and a corrupter of youth, yet her series of books about a trio of Atlanta teenagers, written

entirely in text messages, has sold a total of 1.5 million copies. She has been hailed as this generation’s Judy Blume for her candor, but outraged parents have lobbied to ban her books, which tackle topics like erections, that awkward first bra purchase, and clueless flirting that leads one sophomore to have a hot-tub encounter with a teacher. (Spoiler: her BFFs rescue her in the nick of time.)

....Last year, Ms. Myracle’s so-called Internet girls series — consisting of the titles ”ttyl,” “ttfn,” and “l8r, g8r” (ask a young person to decipher the texting language) — topped the list of challenged and banned books nationwide, according to the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. (Angela Maycock, its assistant director, estimated that only 20 to 25 percent of challenges to books on school or public library shelves are reported.) Earning such a ranking requires a groundswell of people going to their libraries and declaring, “This is trash,” Ms. Maycock explained..."

 Here is the Link to read all of the article: Link: Myracle

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A Dog Walks Into The Room...

I wrote an article on the awesome world of therapy dogs based on information acquired from visitors to this Blog.Clicking on the title (above) will take you to Paw Nation where the complete article was first published. Here's an excerpt:

"How can a dog walking into a room change the lives of the people who are there? It happens
all the time. For the old and infirm, the eyes light up and a smile may cross their face. For the dying, it is a moment of connection with a world they are leaving. For a child, a door opens to
the world of reading, a world of imagination and information, a world of possibilities...

The Dog in the Classroom
Julie Hauck, a third-grade teacher in Sheboygan, Wis., owns a certified therapy reading dog. Five years ago, she created the Pages for Preston program. Preston, a Cavalier King Charles spaniel, like all therapy reading dogs, is neither judgmental nor critical, and the children love to gather in a circle and read to him. "The dogs calm us down when we pet them so that we can read better," said Caroline, a student in the class.

The positive results have surprised even Julie. "The children look forward to reading to Preston beyond my expectations. Their excitement translates into motivation. I've seen a marked and continuing improvement in reading skills and their interest in books"...

Note: the photo was taken in the classroom during the Pages with Preston program.
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 Up On The Woof            

This website is the internet platform for dog lover and animal advocate Cayr Ariel

Wulff. Her passion has resulted in a remarkable and important book, How to Change the Wold in Thirty Seconds...Here is an excerpt from an Amazon review: "This is probably the best "how-to" book I have ever seen. It is written in a very conversational manner while being extremely educational. Along with giving step-by-step instructions on how to use each advocacy tool, Cayr gives some background on each website, organization, and group, and explains how each is set up and how the different helping processes work. She walks you through the necessary steps..." Click the link to Up On The Woof for more information.

 

 

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The Hobbit: Like One Bad Video Game...

  Richard Lawson, who was a big fan of the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, was very disappointed in the Hobbit movie. In his review in the Atlantic Wire he found serious problems with the look of the movie and the heavy padding of the story. In both cases, he reasoned that the need for big box office was the motivator behind distorting what was originally a classic story for children. Here is an excerpt:

"The Lord of the Rings series succeeded aesthetically because it was such an elegant, painting-like wonder to behold. The textures and palettes all had the look of a particularly vibrant illustrated story book, the kind of immersive vision that exists somewhere between imagination and the real world. For The Hobbit, though, Jackson chose to film at a high frame rate and with Real 3D technology in mind — because 3D movies are doing well these days and, hell, doesn't hurt that the tickets cost more — and the results are frequently hideous...It's the problem of technology over-thinking or over-performing, and it is on startling, gruesome display in The Hobbit. When you're wearing the 3D glasses (and admittedly sitting a little off to the side), this hugely expensive movie looks like it was shot on a handheld digital camera..."

Here is a link to the review:Lawson

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What's happening in OZ? According to the review by Manohla Dargis, Oz, the Great and Powerful, is an overwrought jumble of effects that
has strayed from the spirit of L Frank Baum.Here is the lead paragraph..."Can the major studios still make magic? From the looks of
“Oz the Great and Powerful,” a dispiriting, infuriating jumble of big money, small ideas and ugly visuals, the answer seems to be no — unless, perhaps, the man behind the curtain is Martin Scorsese or James Cameron. The Walt Disney Company is the studio lurking behind“Oz,” and, as usual, it is banking that it can leverage this 3-D prehistory of the Wizard of Oz (James Franco) for its wonderful world of cross-promotional marketing and ancillary revenue streams. With so much riding on this “Oz” it’s a surprise that the results are so uninspired...

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From Pets Blog: Here you will find illustrated dog anatomy/characteristics compared to humans...recommended especially for kids with dogs...link:Dog Anatomy Infographic  

Fun and educational

 

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I found this wonderful quotation about "true humanity" on Sunbear Squad an organization dedicated to "transforming animal lovers into animal welfare defenders with knowledge, tools and inspiration." 

"We must fight against the spirit of unconscious cruelty with which we treat the animals. Animals suffer as much as we do. True humanity does not allow us to impose such sufferings on them. It is our duty to make the whole world recognize it. Until we extend our circle of compassion to all living things, humanity will not find peace." 
—Albert Schweitzer, "The Philosophy of Civilization"

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"No one appreciates the very special genius of your conversation as the dog does." -- Christopher Morley

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Related articles

5 Lesser-Known Grimm Fairy Tales That Would Be Great Movies

Controversy, Kids, Books and Dogs

 

                        

 In our books, dogs give loyalty and love to children. They teach them about courage and finding non-violent ways to stop violent invaders. Our books are fantasy adventures grounded in reality. They offer hope. They take place long, long ago when dogs first came to planet earth to help people.

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First Book  provides access to new books for children in need.

..."Every study shows that there’s nothing more valuable than turning a child into a reader at an early age. They enter school with greater knowledge and vocabularies; they do better not just on reading tests, but on math tests. They have the foundation they need to succeed — in school and in life...

Children from low-income neighborhoods are the most vulnerable. 80 percent of the preschools and after school programs serving children in need do not have a single book for the children they serve. In some of the poorest neighborhoods in the country there is only one book available for every 300 children.

First Book, the organization I lead, is committed to helping the 30 million American children living in low-income neighborhoods become success stories. We work with local educators and community leaders across the country to supply them with new, high-quality books. They understand the needs of the children and families in their community, and First Book provides them with the books and educational resources they need..."

The above remarks were part of the response by Kyle Zimmer, president and CEO  of First Book, in respone to President O'Bama's State Of the Union Speech regarding the importance of investing in high quality early education. To date, First Book has distributed more than 100 million books and educational resources to programs and schools serving children from low-income families throughout the United States and Canada. 

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Amidst the marketing noise that accompanied the movie version of the Hobbit, came this paean to the rewards of readng the Hobbit

                           

The Ho bbit is A tale that begs to be read out loud

by Mark Guarino, Printers Row, Chicago Tribune 12212012

..."The magical lure of "The Hobbit" is that, despite its continued stature as a fantasy classic, it remains
decidedly old-fashioned. Tolkien was a classics scholar intent on creating an adventure tale that incorporated elements of epic Norse and Anglo-Saxon legends — "Beowulf," "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" and others. But while the archaic prose of those works continues to weigh down English lit majors as much as their hardbacks of "The Norton Anthology of English Literature," "The Hobbit" is immensely readable, especially out loud and to another person hungry to hear a story.

Tolkien meant it that way. The narrative voice in "The Hobbit" is similar to that of other children's literature of his day: A.A. Milne's "Winnie the Pooh" stories, J.M. Barrie's "Peter Pan" and George MacDonald's "The Princess and the Goblin." But Tolkien pushed his narrator one step further by fashioning him as a kind of gentle intruder to the reader's inner circle. Starting with the novel's opening paragraphs, Tolkien's narrator speaks directly to us, pausing to ask questions we might ask — "What is a hobbit? I suppose hobbits need some description nowadays since they have become rare and shy of the Big People, as they call us." Then he is off, making the unfamiliar perfectly recognizable, so much so that a hobbit hole sounds like a place we might want to retire to someday..."

Note: The illustration is by Tolkien --- Link: Guarino

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WIRED

Compromising or changing a story for the purpose of wider distribution and bigger sales in the world of children's books, and movies made from children's books, continues unabated -- a practice that extends as far back as the brothers Grimm. 

A current example: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” broke a December box-officed record by collecting $84.8 million over its debut weekend. However, the integrity of the movie has been questioned by reviewers and educators. Here is an example: Laura Hudson in Wired...here's an excerpt from her review:

             The Hobbit: An Unexpected Failure

              

"The core misstep of The Hobbit is the confusion of form over content – it conflates the success of the Lord of the Rings trilogy with its shape, and attempts to make a simulacrum out of very different materials. The Hobbit is a fine story, a good story, but a much humbler one than the Lord of the Rings series by several measures. Making the former into the latter is a sort of reverse turducken: trying to hide something big inside of something small, with predictably disastrous results.

One of the most powerful ideas in Lord of the Rings was how its hero defied expectations of scale; even though Frodo was small and unassuming compared to his flashier, taller companions, those qualities didn’t disqualify him from being a hero – they made him the hero. He inspired us because he never needed to pretend to be any bigger than he was.

Putting a hobbit on a rack and stretching him to the size of a giant doesn’t make him a better hero. It doesn’t make this a better movie. If anything, it fails precisely because it runs counter to the spirit of both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings – the one that said size alone did not determine worth, and that being small was sometimes the very thing that made you great."

link: Laura Hudson

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                   What Do Therapy Dogs Really Do?

Therapy dogs are quite extraordinary in their ability to make life better for people...they help people of all ages overcome fear and loneliness...they stimulate healing...they open the door to reading... and much more.

Therapy Dogs United has an excellent video that takes you into the wonderful world of therapy dogs in action. Here is the link: Unconditional Love

                   

                    

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"As a child's faith in fantasy begins to erode, anxieties about the consequences of growing up, leaving childhood behind, and losing the healing powers of the imagination demand new problem solving skills."

-- Maria Tartar, Enchanted Hunters,the power of stories in childhood

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 SLATE

What Did Kids Read Before Hans Christian Andersen?
Homer, among other things...By Brian Palmer 

This article by Brian Palmer takes the reader on a fascinating overview of what kids were reading from
the early days of Western civilization in classical Greece, to England in the mid 18th century.

1914 illustration of "Thumbelina" from an English translation of
Hans Christian Anderson's tales Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
Here's are excerpts:

..."Epic poems, religious literature, romances, and Aesop. Scholars argue over when children's literature—that is, books written exclusively for and read exclusively by children—came into existence. But it's largely a debate over definitions. Even in ancient times, certain types of stories were considered appropriate for children. Archaeologists have unearthed a children's version of the labors of Hercules from the third century written in simple language with large, spaced-out text and color pictures of the lions and the mythical hero. Greek and Roman teachers selected passages from Homer or Virgil that were learner-friendly. And there was always Aesop"...

..."Children's literature—that is, books printed specifically for children or for parents to read to children—may not have existed in English until the 1740s, when John Newbery launched his publishing business. A Little Pretty Pocket Book, which, according to some, was the first true piece of dedicated children's literature, was an enormous success."

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                      A Dog Walks Into A Room...

              


 I continue to be amazed by therapy dogs. The following is an excerpt from an article I wrote based on information shared with me by several therapy dog owners: Julie Hauck, Otto Kittrel, Barb Babikian, Carol and Bob Varney, Susan Purser, and Karen Sorensen; the diversity of their dog breeds  speaks to the wonderful qualities found in all dogs. The title link (above) will take you to Paw Nation where the complete article was published. The excerpt below is about Karen and Star.Thanks to all therapy dog owners for the wonderful work you do

"How can a dog walking into a room change the lives of the people who are there? It happens all the time. For the old and infirm, the eyes light up and a smile may cross their face. For the dying, it is a moment of connection with a world they are leaving. For a child, a door opens to the world of reading, a world of imagination and information, a world of possibilities.
         The Human-Canine Connection – The Therapy Reading Dog                                   Those who have witnessed therapy dogs interacting with people testify to the
positive effects created by the human-canine connection. Parents are amazed and grateful when their child opens up to reading after spending time with Star, a rescued Labrador in the Paws for Tales library program. Star's owner, Karen Sorenson, has started several of these programs for children, kindergarten to fourth grade, in and around Warrick County, Indiana. Even reluctant readers will come around after spending time with Star. Like many therapy dog teams, Karen and Star visit other venues where the human-canine connection is beneficial, volunteering at St. Mary's Hospital, Deaconess Hospice, and in the Evansville Literacy Center, where Karen works as a tutor..Note:the photo is of Karen, Star, and their friend, Emily; the classroom photo at the top is of teacher Julie Hauck's Pages for Preston reading program.

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From Elizabeth Bird NYPL

New York Public Library's Children's Literary Salon is pleased to announce our next event on Saturday, March 2nd at 2:00 p.m.

Diversity and the State of the Children's Book: 




Join authors Zetta Elliott (Ship of Souls, Bird), Sofia Quintero (Efrain's Secret, Divas Don't Yield), Connie Hsu (editor, Little Brown) 



and



 







others for an honest conversation about the issues surrounding diversity in 21st centur













y books for youth.












This event will be held in the Schwarzman Building (42nd Street & 5th Avenue a.k.a. the one with the lions) in the Berger Forum on the second floor.
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 All books in the Planet Of The Dogs series can be purchased at your
favorite independent bookstore or on the internet through Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Powells and many others.

Librarians, teachers, bookstores -- order our books directly from Ingram...professional discount, of course. For sample chapters of all books in the Planet Of The Dogs series, click: SampleChapters

Therapy reading dog owners, librarians and teachers with therapy reading dog programs...

Write us at barkingplanet@aol.com and we will send you free reader copies from the Planet of the Dogs Series.

Read Dog Books to Dogs....Ask any therapy reading dog: "Do you like it when the the kids read dog books to you?"

For sample chapters of Planet Of The Dogs, Castle In The Mist and Snow Valley Heroes, A Christmas Tale, click here: Sample Chapters

"It was a cold, dark night when the howling dogs awakened Prince Ukko from his sleep.  It was a sound he had never heard before, and caused a cold feeling of fear to move through his body. After a few minutes the howling stopped, but now Prince Ukk was unable to sleep."
 

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Deanna Leah of HBG Productions will be representing our Planet Of The Dogs Series at the  Frankfurt Book Fair, Oct 9-13. 

Deanna is responsible for our  relationship and contract with China's Beijing
Chongxian Books Co. (they will publish our book series in mainland China). The Frankfurt Book Fair is enormous with expectations of 7,500 exhibitors from 110 countries. One can imagine getting lost or being overwhelmed. However, Deanna has years of experience in establishing relationships and schedules full days of meetings in advance. She also speaks German and is a dog lover. Her beloved dog, Izzy, is on the right.

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         Influence of Bookstores and Libraries Eroding for Children 

     What' s Going On Here? Is YA still YA? Are children loosing direct book experience? These are major changes...

"A study by Bowker has found that among children, there has been a marked decline in bookstore and library influence as a source of recommendation and acquisition, and that many purchases are instead migrating online to vendors like Amazon. The study had some surprises: most notably 84% of YA books were purchased by consumers 18 or older – and a full 35% of YA books were bought by consumers aged 18-29. In all areas of media use with the exception of video games, girls outpaced boys, both in terms of behavior and in their willingness to engage in discussion." MORE 

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Video winner-Dogs in a delightful music video drive to the pound and adopt humans: DogsHelpHumans (Endorsing the virtues of adoption and Petfinder )
Note:the photo above is of one of the stars of the video.

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New Covers for Harry Potter Series

Scholastic will be publishing seven all-new covers on its U.S. paperbacks this September to mark the 15-year anniversary of the debut of Harry Potter. Here is the the first one, created by Kazu Kibuishi,  for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. 

 

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By the Dawn's Early Light..

80 percent of the pre-schools and after school programs serving children in need do not have a single book for the children they serve.
In some of the lowest-income neighborhoods in the country there is only one book available for every 300 children.
This disturbing information comes from First Book.
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Parents Say Classic Fairy Tales Are Too Scary To Read To Kids (STUDY) by Emma Gray

It's no secret that classic fairy tales aren't the bright and happy stories Disney would have you believe. (The way the Brothers Grimm tell Cinderella, one of her stepsisters resorts to cutting off her own toe to fit into Ella's dainty glass slippers.) Now, rather than skipping over the bleaker elements at bedtime -- or just hoping kids can handle rather dark ideas -- parents are chucking fairy tales altogether, says a new study conducted by British TV channel, Watch...

There has been a move toward seeing fairy tales as an adult, or at any rate, a young adult dark sort of genre," children's author Diane Purkiss told the BBC. "In the past, fairy tales were told by adults to adults, in William Shakespeare's time. It's only in the Victorian era that they've become moral children's tales and it looks like we're going back to the inception of fairy stories now with a more adult take on them."

Here is a Link to read all of this report: EmmaGray...

The illustration is by  by Arthur Rackham, celebrated in his time as one of the leading lights in the "Golden Age" of British Book illustration -- 1900 to World War One. 

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Parade of Misfits, aptly named, is an introduction -- an open door -- for dog lovers to the world of
CA Wulff, author, passionate animal advocate, and dog lover. Living in a cabin in the woods with an ever changing melange of rescued canines and other critters, Wulff experienced a catharsis through her dogs. This book, propelled by humor and adventures, is a prelude to her full blown memoir, Circling the Waggins. The cover of the book is a true forecast of world of Wulff you will find inside.
All of Wulff's books, including Born Without a Tail and How to Change the World in Thirty Seconds are available on Amazon. 
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OHMIDOG

Here are excerpts from John Woestendiak's enthusiastic and insightful review of CA Wulff's How to Change the World in Thirty Seconds as seen on his outstanding website, ohmidog.

..."Just how much one person can do is laid out in Cayr Ariel Wulff’s new book, “How to Change the World in 30 Seconds: A Web Warriors Guide to Animal Advocacy Online.”

Wulff, who speaks from experience, shows how something as big and untenable as the Internet can, with relative ease, be used to make life better for individual dogs, and the species as a whole.

How to navigate the Internet, with an eye towards helping dogs, is clearly and concisely explained in Wulff’s handbook, which should be required reading for animal shelters, rescue organizations and anyone else interested in doing something more about the problems than complain."

 Here is the link to read more of the review:  ChangeTheWorld

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 The World of Illiustration for Children's books...

Never Abandon Imagination, a blog I found when I was exploring early illustrations for the
Hobbit and the fairy tales of the brothers Grimm, was created by Tony DiTerlizzi, award witnning creator of the Spiderwick Chronicles (among other outstanding illustrated children's books). I was linked to his delightful site by the Hobbit book cover (left- courtesy of the Tolkien Estate)  created by Tolkien himself.

To enter a world of illustrations by many extraordinary artists, visit Books That Inspire, on Tony's website. Here is the Link: Imagination

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Let Sleeping Dogs Lie, Shall We?

Here's an excerpt from insightful and diverse posts by NL Houser on this unique website for dog lovers...

"...Thomas Dobush, one of the international renowned Monks of New Skete, once said,  “Learning the value of silence is learning to listen to, instead of screaming at, reality.” Dogs was what he was referring to in the book, How to Be Your Dog’s Best Friend. I bring the Monks of New Skete up because they are known for their published books on superb dog training techniques, a 1978 first edition. If anybody knows anything about dogs, it would be them.

“When it comes to communication with a dog, most cues are non-verbal. The
message is in a look in the eyes, in the body language. In a puppy, the language is even more subtle. Clear reactive moments from a dog to its master are fleeting. This is why a visual training tool is so valuable. Viewing a professional trainer working dynamically with a dog can be far more enlightening than the most articulate description in words. As they say; a picture can be worth a thousand of them”

However, training begins as a young puppy. And according to the monks, the best place for a young puppy at night is on the floor at the bottom of your bed. The worst thing to do is isolate them at a young age in an area by themselves — the porch, the utility room, or outside in a run. Fold an old blanket or sheet up and place it on the floor for them where you can hear them..." Here's a link to read all of this article: Sleeping Dogs  Note:The dog in the photo is our family puppy, Cece.

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                    World Read Aloud Day is March 6

                


" Read it Forward for World Read Aloud Day by reading aloud and giving the gift of story in any way you can. Read It Forward on March 6, on behalf of the 793 million people who cannot yet read."...from Lit World

Video for World Read Aloud Day: Read

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 You know of a local situation where a dog is in trouble...hurt, abused, abandoned...What do should you do? What are your options? You want to be helpful, but this is all new to you... For answers, examples, true stories and more, visit Sunbear Squad...Let the experience of compassionate dog lovers guide you.
SunbearSquad 

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"Don't accept your dog's admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful -- Ann Landers"

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The Storm from Hunger Games to Hobbits, Kids, Books and Dogs

               

The Storm

There is a storm of concern in the world of children's and Young Adult (YA) literature.

It revolves around the the issues of content that may be inappropriate or even harmful to young readers. 

There are few guidelines in the current era regarding brutality, violence and fear.

The Storm also involves movies inspired by children's and YA literature.

It varies in turbulence and there is little agreement regarding the rather unpredictable consequences of the books and movies involved. These range from The Hunger Games to the Hobbit movie and from the brothers Grimm to the teen books of Lauren Myracle. 

Evidence of The Storm is posted below...

(The Tundra Town trader in the illustration above is from our children's book, Snow Valley Heroes, A Christmas Tale, Volume 3 in the Planet Of The Dogs books, a series deemed by critics, moms, teachers and librarians as not harmful, but inspiring)

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The more that you read, the more things you will know.
The more you learn, the more places you'll go. 
            — Dr. Seuss, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!

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The Storm gathered momentum when prominent journalsts, educators and blogger began raising questions about the appropriate audience for the movie based on The Hunger Games Book. At the time of the movie's release, the book, a crossover from Young Adult to Adult, had already sold a phenomenal 12 million copies since it's publication in 2008... 



 

The Hunger Games movie was about to be released when Pamela Paul, author, journalist, mother, and Children's Book Editor/Reviewer for the New York Times, asked: "Who is the audience for "The Hunger Games"? Here are excerpts from her excellent, provacative article... 

 Peer Pressure? How About, Like, Fighting to Death?

By PAMELA PAUL

"HERE’S a pop math quiz: "The Hunger Games”, a best-selling novel by Suzanne Collins about children killing children, is recommended for readers 12 and older. The "Hunger Games" movie, which shows kids killing kids, is angling for a PG-13 rating when it hits theaters March 23. To complicate matters, many readers under the age of 12 are dying to see the movie...

So who is the audience for “The Hunger Games”? A tense and gritty critique of media culture with violence as entertainment... it could be a movie squarely aimed at grown-ups. Or a family film that works on different levels for older and younger viewers, the way Pixar releases do. Or it could be the next "Twilight", another smash young-adult-novel-to-teen-movie adaptation with a similarly vexing (if less prominent) love triangle.

The open question reflects the book’s audience. In recent years a wave of popular young-adult novels has generated a happy convergence of readers who are young, readers who are young adults and readers who are, well, old adults. These best sellers may have caught Hollywood’s attention, and led to major deals... 
But that doesn’t make even a blockbuster like “The Hunger Games,” which has sold more than 11 million copies in the United States since it came out in 2008, a sure box office hit...

One of the film’s producers, Nina Jacobson, who described herself as obsessed with the novel.. made a passionate case to the author, promising to respect the book’s fans without pandering to a teenage audience... Ms. Jacobson assured Ms. Collins she wouldn’t dilute the story by aging the characters up or by glamorizing its violence. “I loved the book as an adult,” Ms. Jacobson said firmly, 'I don’t think it’s a Y.A. novel'..."

(Ms Paul disagreed strongly with MS Jacobson as to whether the novel is young-adult...this is her concluding paragraph)

"...'The Hunger Games' is very much a young-adult novel. The story takes place in a postapocalyptic version of North America called Panem, where 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen assumes the place of her younger sister in a televised battle to the death known as the Hunger Games. The games are retribution for an earlier rebellion against the Capitol, which starves and represses the 12 remaining districts under its rule. Every year 24 children, a boy and girl from each district, must murder one another until one winner remains, an event relentlessly promoted to the entire nation. The ensuing action is similarly relentless — brutal, bloody and heartbreaking."
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Lit World has extradinary goals of helping one million children to learn to read by 2014; and by 2016, to "equip ten thousand literacy leaders to effect change that will impact ten million children across the globe." This year, they are opening Hubs in Haiti and the Phillipines.

The following is from their website: LitWorld

"Worldwide, at least 793 million people remain illiterate. Two-thirds of them are women. All over the world, children are hungry for learning and for the power it brings. Research

shows that children learn to read and write best by writing and telling the stories of their own experiences. Yet it is rare to find safe spaces where children feel fully comfortable to do so.

LitWorld is changing that.

LitWorld stands on three core pillars: Advocacy, Education and Innovation. These pillars together create a complete approach to how we can impact outcomes for the world’s children and help them reach adulthood as readers and writers." 

Read more, see the videos at www.litworld.org

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The Hunger Games movie was a smash hit...Younger kids, young adults and adults flocked to see the movie...
However, The Storm of controversy continued regarding the appropriate age for young viewers... Here is an example. This is the conclusion of David Denby's review  in the New Yorker...

                                    Kids At Risk

" 'The Hunger Games' is a prime example of commercial hypocrisy. The filmmakers
bait kids with a cruel idea, but they can’t risk being too intense or too graphic (the books are more explicit). After a while, we get the point: because children are the principal audience, the picture needs a PG-13 rating. The result is an evasive, baffling, unexciting production—anything but a classic."

And so the question remains. How much does money influence decisions as to whether a book or movie is suitable for Young Adults or Children...what criteria are involved...how old is old enough? 
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" Children escape into reading not only in search of something beyond the space time to which they are confined, but also for comfort." -- Maria Tartar, Enchanted Hunters, The Power of Stories in Childhood

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                                4Paws for Ability

 

Every month 4 Paws for Ability has a graduation day (above) where trainers, volunteers,  family members and children along with their specially trained therapy and service dogs gather for the start of a new life.

These dogs bring love, healing, and practical assistance to children with special needs including Autism, epilectic seizures, Downs syndrme, physical disabilites and/or combinations of these and other challenging conditions.

A non-profit organization, 4 Paws for Ability is raising funds to implement a program to provide service dogs for military veterans in need. The information below is from their website:

"To honor the many service men and women who are still suffering from the conflicts of war, 4 Paws for Ability will be making service/assistance dogs available to help them lead a more independent life.

A special fundraising effort has been launched to be able to place dogs, with no effort on their part, with select disabled veterans of the most recent wars and conflicts including those in Iraq and Afganistan and any conflicts stemming from the tragic events of 9-11."

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Way Cool Dogs always seems to have a wonderful array of canine information, insights, and news...here are two diverse current excerpts...

5 Best Dog Videos of the Past Years

Thank goodness for YouTube for some feel-good dog videos. Watch and enjoy the 5 best dog videos of the past years to make your heart feel good. At least … we think they are good, and so do our dogs. YouTube has the videos we use most for WayCoolDogs. Not only are they good quality ..(.read more and enjoy the videos -- Link below)

6 Tips For Feeding Your Dog Correctly

One of the big question most dog owners ask is what food should I feed my dog? We get confused easily because one brand will tell you what is right for your dog and a supermarket brand will contradict this. So it leaves us thinking what food should we buy from my Pet shop Online and how to feed my dog correctly. Here are a few tips to help sway you in  favor  of what dog food is perfect for your dog.

Read More »

Here's the link: WayCoolDogs

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Therapy reading dog owners, librarians and teachers with therapy reading dog programs....               

 

Write us at barkingplanet@aol.com and we will send you free reader copies of books from the Planet of the Dogs Series.

Read Dog Books to Dogs....Ask any therapy reading dog: "Do you like it when the the kids read dog books to you?"

For sample chapters of Planet Of The Dogs, Castle In The Mist and Snow Valley Heroes, A Christmas Tale, click here: Sample Chapters

(The scouts in the photo above (courtesy of Tracy Baetz) were participating in the Paws to Read program, set up by librarian Ginny Rawls in the Alexandria,VA, library. The therapy dog owner- volunteers participating in the Paws to Read program are fron the Washington, DC, PAL Organization (People Animals Love). 

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from: Waggin Tales Therapy Dog Reading Program

"Thank you again for the Planet Of The Dogs books, the volunteers and their dogs loved them."-Kimberly Buckley,San Pablo,CA, Library

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The Storm... Huge box office results must influence decisions as to whether a book or movie is suitable for Young Adults or Children... These excerpts from Karen Raugust's article last November provide some idea of the huge financial rewards being generated...

 

How Much Influence do Kid's Books -- and Young Adult -- have on Movies...and vice versa? By Karen Raugust

"Fourteen of the 50 movies with the all-time largest U.S. box office totals are based on high-profile books from four series. The Harry Potter franchise accounts for seven of them, collectively generating more than $2 billion in U.S. ticket sales. The three Lord of the Rings films spurred ticket purchases of more than $1 billion, and the Twilight Saga (three movies to date) almost $900 million. The newest addition to the list, The Hunger Games, took in over $400 million in theaters this year. And the release of Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2 and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will certainly add to these totals...All four franchises were already bestselling book series prior to the films. Still, with their massive publicity and wide demographic appeal, blockbuster movies can boost the fortunes of the publishers upon whose books they are based...Fourth-quarter 2012 sales in Scholastic’s book publishing and distribution group more than tripled over the same quarter the previous year, due to the release of the Hunger Games movie."

Footnote:The Hobbit movie made 222.7 million, domestically, in 2012.

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    First Book distributes books to kids that don't have them

To date, First Book has distributed more than 100 million books and educational resources to programs and schools serving children from low-income families throughout the United States and Canada. First Book is transforming the lives of children in need and elevating the quality of education by making new, high-quality books available on an ongoing basis...

 

The children in the photo have just received copies of of Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss from First Book. The event took place at Martha's Table in Washington, DC, a non-profit organization dedicated to serving the needs of homeless and low income children and adults.

Kyle Zimmer, President and Founder of First Books, presented the 100th million book to a boy named Chase Kennedy-Williams. Any school or organization working with kids in need is eligible to get books from First Book.

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 Circling the Waggins: How 5 Misfit Dogs Saved Me from Bewilderness 
The title says it well...when I read Circling the Waggins, I found myself on a
journey into the heart and mind of author C.A. (Ariel) Wulff, a dedicated pet loving woman who shares her experiences, concerns and deep emotions with the reader.

 

The setting is a cabin-home in a national park forest. The primary
characters are several adopted dogs, and cats, and two compassionate
women living in a world founded on the love of dogs. Living in this unigue word ultimately gives Ms Wulff a new awareness and understanding of the experience of living.

The photo (above left) is of the author and Waldo, a key player in the book. The photo (above right) is of Rocket Boy, a high energy bundle of affection. The book is available from Amazon and Barnes&Noble. For more information on Ms Wulff's books, dog rescue activities, and yelodoggie art, visit WULFF

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And now, announcing the latest book from Barking Planet Productions:

C.A. Wulff's New Book...Available Feb.11...Free in the Kindle Store Feb 14-15

How to Change the World in 30 Seconds:
A  Web Warrior’s Guide to Animal Advocacy Online

...Here are excerpts:

" I SAVED A LIFE TODAY. It was one of several dozen lives that I have saved this year, and each time, it took me only 30 seconds. But that's not all -- this year I also prevented the torture of hundreds of innocents, and prevented the illness of thousands more. I am not a super hero, a doctor or a member of the military; I am an animal advocate."

"ANIMAL ADVOCACY AND RESCUE have changed dramatically over recent years because the Internet has become such a valuable and effective tool in saving lives. No matter what your time constraints; whether you have thirty seconds or twelve hours a day to devote to advocacy, you can become a Web Warrior."

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The Storm continues...

 
Educating Alice/Monica Edinger

Some of you may recall my earlier rant about the way the term “young adult” is more and more being used to describe books that are for children.  Well, I think there is something of that same sensibility going on with the new Hobbit movie trilogy.  The source material is a children’s book, The Hobbit, written long before The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and with the style and tone of a book for kids.  There is a narrator that makes little comments now and then, a classical fairy tale bumbling hero who turns into something more, moments of cleverness that are typical of fairy tales, plenty of whimsy and humor to mediate the scary moments, and a — yay!– dragon.

I like fairy stories, especially those known as literary fairy tales of which The Hobbit is very much one.  Such books for me are different than those of high, high fantasy — those that seem to follow on epics like Beowulf, the Iliad and Odyssey, and such.  Stories like The Hobbit are smaller, set on smaller stages, with smaller stakes.  Say trying to get one’s gold back from a dragon versus saving the world from a ring that will destroy everything.....

I could go on and on, but there is no point.  This Hobbit movie series is simply not for children.  It is yet again another situation of a children’s book being taken and turned into YA.  Sure, there are kids who will love the movie just as there are kids who love LOTR and World of Warcraft. But there are many who will not, who won’t even be taken to this.  And so, indeed, here is yet another case of something that is still very much for children has been taken over by something else

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 All books in the Planet Of The Dogs series can be purchased at your

favorite independent bookstore or on the internet through Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Powells and many others.

Librarians, teachers, bookstores -- order our books directly from Ingram...professional discount, of course. For sample chapters of all books in the Planet Of The Dogs series, click:SampleChapters

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Here is Cinderella as you have never seen her before -- unless you are already familiar with

the brilliant dance creations by Matthew Bourne... Here, in one minute and thirty five seconds you will experience an amazing interpretation, set in London in WW Two, of Cinderella... with magnificent music by Prokoviev...Far removed from Disney...Link:Cinderella...illustrating the role of the creative imagination working with a classic fairy tale from the book, Histoires ou contes du temps, published by Charles Perrault in 1697.

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The Storm continues in the Latest News From Elizabeth Bird

The Children's Literary Salon is pleased to announce our next event on Saturday, February 2nd at 2:00 p.m.

Middle Grade: Surviving the YA Onslaught

Join authors Jeanne Birdsall (The Penderwicks), N.D. Wilson (The Dragon's

Tooth), Adam Gidwitz (In a Glass Grimmly) and Rebecca Stead (Liar & Spy) for a discussion of middle grade fiction and popular culture's attempts to rebrand it YA.

This event will be held in the main branch of NYPL (The Stephen A. Schwarzman Building) located at 42nd Street and 5th Avenue in the South Court Auditorium.  No reservations necessary.  For questions about the event please contact Elizabeth Bird at elizabethbird@nypl.org.

(I wish I could be there)

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Real and Virtual Firearms Nurture a Marketing Link By BARRY MEIER and ANDREW MARTIN

VideoGames for kids and YA linked to NRA Gun Promotions on Internet...
"As Electronic Arts prepared to market Medal of Honor Warfighter, the latest version of its top-selling video game released in October, it created a Web site that promoted the manufacturers
of the guns, knives and combat-style gear depicted in the game.
 Among the video game giant’s marketing partners on the Web site were the McMillan Group, the maker of a high-powered sniper’s rifle, and Magpul, which sells high-capacity magazines and other accessories for assault-style weapons.
Links on the Medal of Honor site allowed visitors to click through on the Web sites of the game’s partners and peruse their catalogs..." To read more: KidsGame

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 You Tube...from remarkable Guide Dogs to Polar Bears...

I was watching  a video about Guide Dogs of America and one guide dog video led to
another, causing me to once again appreciate the extraordinary ability of dogs to make life better for people ...Guide Dogs of America provides guide dogs and instruction in their use, free of charge, to blind and visually impaired men and women from the United States and Canada.

(Wikipedia and Guide Dog Users, Inc  provide lists of guide Dogs... )

 I later found myself watching an unrelated, but also amazing video, taken someplace in the far north, of friendship and play between dogs and Polar Bears...how does one explain this?

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Book review...WHAT’S A DOG FOR? The Surprising History, Science, Philosophy, and Politics of Man’s Best Friend

By John Homans, 258 pp. The Penguin Press. $25.95.

Excerpts from the Review By WALTER VATTER

“We wanted another family member, someone to fill out the cast, a supporting actress,” John Homans, the executive editor at New York magazine, writes in his engaging and informative
book that is both a survey of the latest research on canine cognition and a memoir of his yearswith his Lab mix, Stella. As a puppy, Stella found her way from Tennessee to an animal shelter near New York City. Even at 12 weeks old and locked in a cage, she seemed “self-possessed, happy for attention but not demanding it,” the author recalls. The Homans family took to her immediately and adopted her to be a companion for their soon-to-be 10-year-old son — thereby bringing the comedic and mysterious presence of canine intelligence into their lives.

Curious about how Stella’s brain works and how she adapted to her new family, Homans seeks out experts who can explain “the strangeness of having this predator in my home, lying on her back, waiting to get her stomach scratched.” He meets with scientists, trainers and breeders to understand why so many of us bond with dogs, and why dog ownership is on the rise. There were 77 million dogs in America in 2010, up from 53 million in 1996. “We’ve seen a linear explosion in pet populations in Western countries over the past 40 years,” one researcher says. “People are living more isolated lives, are having fewer children, their marriages aren’t lasting. All these things sort of break down a social network and happen to exactly coincide with the growth in pet populations. What’s happening is simply that we’re allowing animals to fill the gap in our lives...”

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A dog is lying by the side of the road...What do I do? What are my options? I want to be helpful, but this is all new to me... For answers, examples, true stories and more, visit Sunbear Squad...Let the experience of compassionate dog lovers guide you.
SunbearSquad 

 

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"If I have any beliefs about immortality, it is that certain dogs that I have known will go to heaven, and very, very few persons." -- James Thurber

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Holidays, Conflicts, Books, Kids and Dogs

 

Happy Holidays to all...

And a special greeting to the therapy dog owners and therapy and service dog organizations who make this world a better place.

We here at Barking Planet continue to be awed by and grateful to the dog lovers and their dogs who help so many people, of all ages, in so many ways.

Dogs have a unique quality that helps people heal, release fear, and find joy. When you think about the blessings that dogs bring to people's lives, especially therapy and service dogs, it boggles the mind.

Happy Holidays...a nd may 2013 be good year for all. 

  Note:Thanks to Richard Bradley for the photo. Every year at this time we post a photo from Richard's  Blog, A Rock In My Shoe . The dogs, Darcy and Caboose, have passed on but their holiday spirit remains. More on Richard's blog and his new puppy in January.

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 Some wise words from Dogster...  

This Holiday Season, Remember: A Puppy Is NOT a Present 

"As the holidays approach, so does an opportunity to educate the people around us on a timely issue: that of puppies being given as holiday presents without too much though or planning beforehand. I don't know about you, but I cringe inwardly when I see stock photos of dogs with bows strapped to their heads displayed in wrapped boxes beneath Christmas trees. It's an image that's readily accepted all over the world. But that doesn't make it right"... to read all the article, click: dogster 

All books in the Planet Of The Dogs series were chosen by Dogster's Dog Eared Book Club Book as Book of the Month.

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Tis the season...

       


I am once again swept with wonder and appreciation of therapy dogs and service dogs...and people like the volunteers and foster home owners in the photo above from 4 Paws For Ability.  

4Paws For Ability is a remarkable organization where they train service dogs and then give them to children with special needs -- children with epileptic
seizures, Downs Syndrome, Autism, physical disabilites, and combinations of these and other challanging conditions.

It seems that it is difficult to find servce dogs for young children with special needs, a dog that will alert others if a child has a seizure, who will awaken confidence in an autistic child, or open the door to much more of  life for a crippled child.

"Based in Xenia, Ohio, 4 Paws For Ability is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization whose
mission is to place quality service dogs with children with disabilities and veterans who have lost use of limbs or hearing; help with animal rescue, and educate the public regarding use of service dogs in public places."

"Today, placing approximately 100 dogs a year, 4 Paws For Ability is the largest organization whose primary mission is to place service dogs with children and one of the only organizations to have no minimum age requirements. "

Visit their site, watch the videos, read the heartfelt, positive testimonials: 

Here is the link: service 
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I found this excellent Way Cool Dogs article on aggression in dogs to be informative, thought provoking, and appropriate for the season. The fact that dogs are so loyal and loving makes a agression among family pets even more disturbing. Where does it come from?

Why Can't Everyone JUST  Get Along?

"We are the sum of our of our life experiences, and the same can be said of dogs. Each dog has an individual personality and genetic make-up, giving multi-dog households the potential for clashes. Finding just the right combination of dog personalities to share your home can be challenging..." The article continues with specific examples draw from a lifetime of dog rescue and dog loving by the author Cayr Wulff...Here is the link: Agression

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Cat's Motto... taught to each kitten....No matter what you did wrong, always try to make it look like the dog did it -- Unknown author

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Holiday thanks and holiday greetings to Deanna Leah of
HBGProductions... HBG
Productions is a literary agency representing independent publishers and self published authors in the international marketplace. Deanna specializes in being hands on and personal, working closely with clients and publishers. She is a regular at the major International book fairs. It was at the London Book Fair that she initiated our relationship with Mr li Ke, publisher, at Chongxianguan Books Co., of Bejing. Mr Ke will be publishing the Planet Of The Dogs series in China. We also send holiday greetings to Mr Ke and his Assocciates. We look forward to having Chinese children enjoying our books.  

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educating alice...
This is a favorite site for thoughtful, original insights and information on kid's reading. Written by Monica Edinger, a passionate teacher (4th graders) of literature and history and...Here is an excerpt from a recent post that I heartily agree with... 
Stop Calling Books for Kids YA!

"More and more I’m seeing “young adult book” used in popular culture as an umbrella term for a wide assortment of titles only some of which are actually teen books. In articles, favorites lists, and blog posts, books being identified as young adult are in fact books for younger readers, children that is.

For example, The Atlantic‘s post “The Best of the Young Adult B-Sides” includes Gregor the Overlander which is a book for children firstly even if teens read it too. Granted, the post’s writers do acknowledge that “…

Endinger continues with examples (including NPR) and the writes..."

 "Nostalgia is what is going on here and it isn’t fair. That is, it is all well and good that those adults who enjoy reading young adult books today like to reminisce about their favorite teen reads. But when they include children’s books among them and called them YA they are marginalizing the true readership of these books. My 4th grade students are children. They are not young adults. They are not teenagers. They are a separate group as are their books.  And they and their books matter too. So please, consider the children…books, that is." 

To read it all, click this link:Alice

And now, the Good News Follow-Up...and an indicator of the power of Ms Endinger's  educating alice Blog

"My recent rant "Stop Calling Books for Kids 'Young Adult'" got a lot of attention. Both from adults who read books for younger readers and weren't understanding my frustration and others who work with children and did. Happily, the New York Times
sees it as I do and starting this Sunday will be splitting their children's chapter book list into two categories, middle grade and young adult. They are defining middle grade readers as being between 8 and 12 years old. As for young adult, they are defining the category as books published for ages 12-18 while also noting that they are being read by many in their 20s and 30s.  Thank you, New York Times Book Review, for recognizing this."

The response by the NYTimes is a step forward. However we at Barking Planet have another dilemma: the Planet of the Dogs series appeals to kids both younger and older than 8 years of age. The illustration is from Planet OfThe Dogs.

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A video Smile...Toys for Tots and the USMC...click and smile: santa

 

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Wow! 55% of YA (Young Adult) Books Readers are  18 or older 

"More than half the consumers of books classified for young adults aren’t all that young. According to a new study, fully 55% of buyers of works that publishers designate for kids aged 12 to 17 -- known as YA books -- are 18 or older, with the largest segment aged 30 to 44, a group that alone accounted for 28% of YA sales. And adults aren’t just purchasing for others -- when asked about the intended recipient, they report that 78% of the time they are purchasing books for their own reading. The insights are courtesy of Understanding the Children’s Book Consumer in the Digital Age, an ongoing biannual study from Bowker Market Research that explores the changing nature of publishing for kids...."

Here's the link to read more: publishersweekly

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PetsBlogs is a very well done directory of resources for just about everything a pet owner might want to find...Products, Supplies,Services,Social Pet Networks and a Pet Cost Calculator...their Blog Directory includes cats, horses, fish and -- of course -- dogs. 

 

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 A Christmas Classic... watch the dogs put up the Christmas Decorations... it's much more fun than deck the halls...link: DecoratingDogs from FLIXXY.COM

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NYTimes

Throw Out the Rules! Read a Fairy Tale

This was the headline of a New York Times Editorial by Verlyn Klinkenborg, precipitated in large part by Phillip Pullman's new retelling of the Grimm brother's "Fairy" tales.

I found it fascinating, in as much as our books, the Planet Of The Dogs series, appear to be an anathema to the Grimm tales, and therefore, Mr Pullman's celebrated new book. Here are excerpts from the editorial that illustrate the differences: 
 

"The tales — and most of the rules within them — are completely discontinuous. Enchanted princes clearly can’t do anything, for instance, or they wouldn’t be flounders. We’re not allowed to wonder whether the mouse that set up house is the one that later moves in with a talking sausage. Nor do the laws lead to the moral of the story. Most of the tales lack anything so simple. Read them through, and you realize that there are any number of kings — kings everywhere! — but very few lessons to instill in a child...The Grimm tales are as amoral as arithmetic. Things work out or they don’t. The important question is never, what do these characters think? It’s, what do they take for granted? And what they take for granted is that anything can happen..." Link: Grimm

Don't Throw Out The Rules! Read the Planet Of The Dogs Series

Our books, unlike the Grimm books, are not amoral; they do have lessons to
instill...the dogs inspire people through their actions and children and adults learn the value of love, loyalty, courage and non-vionet solutions to violence. 

Here what Don Blankenship, educator and reviewer (Good Books for Kids), had to say...

“What
a truly wonderful and unique Christmas story for the whole family. Snow Valley Heroes, A Christmas Tale, by Robert J. McCarty and
illustrated by Stella Mustanoja McCarty is the third offering in the Planet of
the Dogs series; What an imagination this team has… an ideal book to snuggle up
with the little ones on a cold winter night and simply enjoy.” Don
Blankenship, Teacher, reviewer-Good Books for Kids

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SLATE

Are Fairy Tales Out of Fashion?
I hate reading them to my young daughter—the classic versions are too violent, the Disney stories have bad values.

By Libby Copeland|

    

We found this excellent, provacative, and insightful article by Libby Copeland through Maria Tartar's excellent blog, Breezes from Wonderland...here are excerpts...if the subject of appropriate books for kids interests you, I would urge you to read it all.

"It’s no surprise that many parents have stopped reading fairy tales to their young children because they’re too scary, according to a new study by a British television channel. Why should they? Many were never really meant for children, not when the original folk tales were first gathered by collectors like the brothers Grimm...

There’s a tendency to jump to the conclusion that because modern parents are squeamish about violence in fiction we must be wussy and overprotective. But is it also wussy that we don’t spank anymore, or tell our children that they’re wicked? We don’t look at violence in the same way as we used to; it is not a threat for bad behavior, nor is it God’s punishment for sin. I’m sometimes troubled by reading even the most modernized versions of fairy tales to my daughter, who is  2½. It’s not that Walt Disney didn’t do his best to excise the violence from these creaky folk tales; fairy tale scholar Jack David Zipes has called him “that twentieth-century sanitation man.” But the lessons these cleansed tales impart are not ones I wish to teach, even if they are canonical to Western culture..." link: Copeland

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 All books in the Planet Of The Dogs series can be purchased at your favorite independent bookstore or on the internet through Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Powells and many others.

Librarians, teachers, bookstores -- order our books directly from Ingram...professional discount, of course. For sample chapters of all books in the Planet Of The Dogs series, click:SampleChapters

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 One more time…Dogs in music video adopt humans at the pound http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6C6YCTNqVo  this is the link

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Yelodoggie Enters Contest to raise money for Dogs Deserve Better...

 DDB rescues chained and penned dogs. The contest is called "Rattling Chains".Here were the Guidelines: 
" All pieces in each medium should reflect the theme and belief that Dogs Deserve Better than life on a chain, and portray any area from the extreme feelings of isolation and loneliness on a chain to the elation and joy a dog experiences when he/she is set free. "

For more yeldoggie art and cards celebrating the spirit of dogs, click here: yelodoggie


About yelodoggie

C.A.Wulff is an author, artist and animal advocate. She has been involved in pet rescue for over twenty-five years and has written two books about her true-life adventures living with an ever-changing house full of pets: Born Without a Tail, and Circling the Waggins. Wulff also writes a pet column and book review column for the Examiner, and has served as a contributing editor for Pet Pardons News. She attributes her love of animals to having been raised by Wulffs.

Here is an Amazon reader review of Wulff''s Circling the Waggins, the latest Barking Planet Productions publication
."Circling the Waggins" is at once an engaging read for any animal lover but can easily
be viewed in a larger sense as an object lesson in how relationships are intertwined
and how each of us affects and is affected by them. The author, Cayr Ariel Wulff, an experienced animal-rescue care-giver, provides thoughtful insight into the personalities and character of a variety of critters--dogs, cats . . . even some feeder mice. Replete with all the stuff of life--joy, fulfillment, sadness, loss, comedy, angst, exhaustion, exhilaration--this book is an intimate examination of interplay among people, animals and the events that shape their lives. A more serious follow-up to her book, "Born Without A Tail", one must ready oneself for tears, laughter (and everything in between) and a good dose of philosophical ponderings. A most satisfying read. 
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Therapy reading dog owners, librarians, and teachers with therapy reading dog programs...

Write us at barkingplanet@aol.com and we will send you free reader copies of books from the Planet of the Dogs Series.

Read Dog Books to Dogs....Ask any therapy reading dog: "Do you like it when the the kids read dog books to you?"

For sample chapters of Planet Of The Dogs, Castle In The Mist and Snow Vall ey Heroes, A Christmas Tale, click here: Sample Chapters

The photo is of therapy dog owner Barb Babikian, on the right, holding her therapy dog, Dusty. Barb's other dog, Lille, is being held by therir friend, Reitza, who, sadly, did not survive cancer. Barb and her dogs work in schools, hospitals, and special needs facilities. Their work,in addition to helping to open the reading door for kids has brougt joy, love and support to many others.

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A message from Waggin Tales Therapy Dog Reading Program

Thank you again for the Planet of the Dogs books; the volunteers and their dogs loved them!-- Kimberli Buckley, Librarian, San Pablo.Ca Library

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Sunbear Squad Reminder for the Month of December:

When attending holiday gatherings that include pets, be observant and proactive. Remember that parties can become very stressful for resident and visiting pets, especially when active, curious, pet-loving children are present. Take on the responsibility of watching over pets and children and be prepared to intervene when you see pets under stress, to help prevent bites or scratches.

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"A dog teaches a boy fidelity, perseverence, and to turn around three times before lying down."  Robert Benchley

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