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words, words, every where, nor any drop to read

~ book reviews and book-related musings by Allison Campbell

words, words, every where, nor any drop to read

Category Archives: Animal Protagonist

Reviews With Lilah – A SECRET IN TIME (BIG HONEY DOG MYSTERIES #2) by H.Y. Hanna

03 Sunday May 2015

Posted by Allison Ketchell Campbell in Animal Protagonist, Middle-Grade Fiction, Reviews With Lilah

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

adventure, animal narrator, Ghost Story, Mystery

bighoney

After 2013’s CURSE OF THE SCARAB, which introduced Honey, a Great Dane with a big heart and a bit of a slobber problem, Lilah and I were eager to read the second in the series. This adventure/mystery is set at a dog show, returning for the first time in ten years to the showgrounds supposedly haunted by the dogs who perished in a fire the last time the dog show was held there. As Honey is called into service to impersonate a show dog, one Best in Show contender after another falls victim to strange accidents. Can Honey and friends get to the bottom of mysteries both past and present?

Lilah’s short review: “I love this book. I want to read a million more Big Honey Dog mysteries. I like the way the animals work together and solve the mystery.”

I’m with Lilah. Let’s read a million more Big Honey Dog mysteries. We’ve read the first two full-length novels twice, as well as the three holiday-themed novellas, and we never get tired of them. A first-“person” novel from the point of view of a dog could be ridiculous or tedious, but in Hanna’s hands, it’s delightful. Honey is self-conscious about her drool problem, curious, and eager to help others. Some of her friends from the first novel return to this one, and we also meet a few new ones. As in the first book, not judging others by their appearance, heritage, or first impressions is illustrated without being heavy-handed, and there’s a lovely lesson of forgiveness in SECRET IN TIME that made both of us tear up. At the same time, references to the dogs leaving “pee mail” for each other or exclaiming, “Holy liver treat!” and the like made us chuckle. The mystery is engaging and suspenseful, with a satisfying resolution.

This is a fun ghost story/mystery from the point-of-view of a well-developed character who happens to be a dog. Highly recommend, and we look forward to reading #3.

Our review of BIG HONEY DOG MYSTERIES #1, CURSE OF THE SCARAB, is right here.

Source disclosure: I received an e-galley of this title courtesy of the author.

Reviews With Lilah: CURSE OF THE SCARAB by H. Y. Hanna

21 Tuesday Jan 2014

Posted by Allison Ketchell Campbell in Adventure, Animal Protagonist, Animal Protagonist, Fantasy, Middle-Grade Fiction, Reviews With Lilah

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

dognapping, dogs, Egyptian mythology, talking animals

curseofthescarabHoney, a big slobbery Great Dane, is the main character in this mystery-adventure, which begins with a rash of missing puppies and veers into the supernatural via ancient Egyptian mythology. This one is a page-turner. At times, it was too frightening for my seven-year-old and I actually censored references to dogfighting as I read aloud. Different children will have different sensitivities, but violence to animals is very upsetting to Lilah and without skating past references to dogfighting, I would have had to explain that some people think it’s fun to watch dogs kill each other and use puppies as training tools, and we are simply not ready for that. I also made a judgement call and left out the fact that Max the Pit Bull dies. It’s a good, redemptive death–it really is–but it would have been extremely upsetting to Lilah. Maybe in a couple of years. Parents should make the call on whether these are issues their children are ready to deal with, so I wanted to offer the caveats I wish I had had when we began reading the book.

The canine characters are fantastic. The humans barely play a part and are mostly oblivious to the goings-on. Besides Honey, there are several other neighborhood dogs, including Bean, the dog sitter’s puppy who stays with Honey and disappears, Max, the scarred Pit Bull newcomer, Newbie, the weird new dog, and Honey’s collection of friends who take an instant dislike to Max, asserting that all Pit Bulls are killers and not to be trusted. As comic relief, the dogs use exclamations like “Oh, ticks!” and “Holy liver treats!” and check peemail at the local lampposts and hydrants. They get away from their humans with astounding ease, but dwelling excessively on how the dogs could plan escapes would have bogged down the action and gotten in the way of the story. Hanna has written the book in such a way that the humans are easily dismissed as not terribly competent and are entirely in the background.

The ancient Egyptian lore is integrated very well. Mysterious scarabs are found at the site of each missing puppy’s last location, leading the dogs to the cemetery and a very strange headstone. One of the dogs uses her Boy’s textbook to translate hieroglyphics. Children familiar with Egyptian mythology may guess the real culprit, but Hanna uses many surprises and twists as the mystery unfolds.

Hanna takes on Pit Bull prejudice in a very direct way. None of the other dogs likes Max, simply because of his breed, even Honey. Max (rescued by his Old Man from a dogfighting ring) transcends these stereotypes in the course of the story. Broader application to stereotypes could make for an excellent supplementary discussion.

Lilah and I recommend this exciting middle-grade mystery-adventure with some reservations.

Source disclosure: I received an e-galley of this title courtesy of the publisher.

Reviews With Lilah: THE OTTER, THE SPOTTED FROG, AND THE GREAT FLOOD by Gerald Hausman, illustrated by Ramon Shiloh

20 Monday Jan 2014

Posted by Allison Ketchell Campbell in Animal Protagonist, Picture Books, Reviews With Lilah

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Tags

Creek Indians, fables, flood myth, picture book

otterspottedfrogWhat a gorgeous book. This is a retelling of the Creek Indian tale of the Great Flood and an origin story of humans. Listener the otter is the only one to pay attention when Spotted Frog sings of a coming disaster. He heeds the warnings and builds a raft, surviving when the flood finally comes. The other animals are turned into mosquitoes, searching in vain for food. Eventually Listener and his otter-wife (now a mosquito) become First Woman and First Man.

This is a lovely fable, and it held my seven-year-old’s attention. She praised Listener for listening to his friend when no one else would, and she enjoyed the origin story. We both loved this delightful tale with its lush illustrations. Highly recommended to parents interested in sharing mythology with their children. It would open a fascinating discussion of comparative religion (the story is strikingly similar to Noah and the great flood in the bible). There is also a theme of listening to nature that is more than relevant today.

Source disclosure: I received an e-galley of this title courtesy of the publisher.

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