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.
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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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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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
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
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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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