Courage Reviews What Pet Should I Get?

Personally, I can't believe this is even a question.

Paw Rating = Three paws out of Five.

Level = Begining Reader.

Real Quick = A boy and his sister try to pick out just one pet to take home from the pet shop.



Dear Readers you and I know, there is only one answer to the question below.  "What pet should I get?"   A DOG!!! Its all set!

But the kids in this book are taking a look, for just one pet, out of many, and their choices are plenty!  Should they get a cat? No, not that!  A bird? How absurd, perhaps a fish is their wish?  Maybe something more exotic, like a Yent for their tent?

("Wait, what is a Yent," you ask?  

I was not sure myself, Readers, as I have never come upon a Yent in a pet shop or anywhere else.  In the picture it appeared to be a sort of large tiger.  Which seems to this reading dog, like a very bad idea for a pet, since a tiger, is basically a very large CAT!)

Choosing is hard, they just cant decide.  Whatever they choose the whole family must abide.

This new book from Doc Zeuss, explains learning to choose (see what I did there, Readers? "Zuess" and "Choose?" I am a clever dog, if I do say so myself.).  I liked the pictures, but at least for my blog,  it would have been better, if they'd have chosen A DOG!

* Readers, Morgan would like to point out that I, Courage The Reading Dog, may not be entirely impartial in this review.  She says that sometimes people have very good reasons for choosing another type of pet, like a lack of space, or allergies, or many other things.  Morgan says it is best if people take their time before deciding on a pet, and don't rush to make a decision like the family in this story does.  By the way, both myself and my sister, CRAZY Zoe, are adopted. Morgan and I would  like to point out that many pets are living in shelters, hoping every day that they find a family and a forever home.  We wish the book would have added a message about pet adoption at the end of the story.  

Hairy Pawter

Morgan has once again re-imagined a book cover staring myself, Courage The Reading Dog!

Hello Readers!  Today's post will be short because it is almost 7:00 P.M.  At 7:00 P.M. I have to go outside, and bark "Hello" to the dog and his person who go jogging behind my house.  But, I'm excited to share Morgan's new book cover starring ME, Courage The Reading Dog!!!  I expect you know which book we are parodying?  One of my favorite stories of all time!

Teddy's Glorious Birthday Party!

(Dog) Shouts out to my Reader Friend, Madeline, in  Northern California, who threw a fantastic birthday party for her dog, Teddy.  Happy Birthday Teddy, you LUCKY DOG!

Are you doing something special with your dog this year?  Send a picture of your adventure to Courage2read@gmail.com, and I will feature it in my blog (so you can be as famous as I am)!

Hello Readers!  Today I am excited to publish my exclusive interview with Ms. Debi Krakar, The Founder and Executive Director Of The Austin Dog Alliance.  These are the nice folks that helped Morgan and I get started as a therapy reading team.  They have a great program for dogs who are interested in becoming a therapy team with their human!  Of course, there is much more than just therapy training at The Austin Dog Alliance.  I'll let Debi tell you all about that below!

Here I, Courage The Reading Dog, am interviewing Debi Krakar the Executive Director of The Austin Dog Alliance!

Courage Interviews Debi Krakar OF Austin Dog Alliance.

Courage: "Hello Debi, First I want to thank you for taking the time to answer my questions.  As the Executive Director for The Austin Dog Alliance I'm sure you are very, very, busy and I appreciate you granting me an interview! So lets get started!

People often ask Morgan what they need to do in order to get their own pets certified to do reading therapy, or other kinds of therapy work.  Morgan always recommends starting by contacting Austin Dog Alliance.  Can you tell us a little bit about how ADA helps therapy teams train and get certified?"   

Debi: "We have a pet therapy class for dogs that already know sit, down, come, stay, leave it and polite leash walking.  The ideal therapy dog LOVES strangers of all shapes and sizes." 

Courage:  "Can human kids train to be part of a therapy team too?"  

Debi: "Children from 10 – 14 can volunteer with their parents and their dog.  Teenagers who are 15 or older can test and visit by themselves."  

Courage: "What about puppies?"

Debi: "  Puppies should attend training classes as soon as they are 8 weeks old.  To pass the therapy dog test, we recommend waiting until the puppy is 18 months old." 

Courage:  "Morgan and I began training by taking ADA's Pet Therapy seminar.  Morgan found it helped her a great deal when she was trying to decide if pet therapy was a good fit for she and I.  Not all dogs enjoy pet therapy I'm told.  Can you tell me what sort of dog usually makes a good therapy dog?"

Debi:  "They must love all strangers and enjoy petting and hugging from strangers.  They also need to be neutral around other dogs.  They can get a bit interested in other dogs, but must be able to listen to their human handler, even if another dog is nearby." 

Courage:  "After Morgan and I completed our first Pet Therapy Training class we took our Pet Therapy Dog and Handler Evaluation.  I passed with flying colors, Pyrenees are notoriously calm, cool and collected, as you probably know.  But Morgan was very nervous. Our instructor Carolyn H., and I, really had to coach Morgan to get her to pass.  The examination evaluates the dog AND the human, is that correct?"

Debi:  "  Yes."  

Courage:  "What happens if one part of the team doesn't pass the evaluation?"  

Debi:  "Sometimes a handler needs a bit more training, just like the dogs.  We work to help both pass as a team." 

Courage:  "Once we passed our evaluation Morgan was still a little bit nervous about starting.  Luckily, we were able to go out and observe other therapy teams at work.  Do you recommend all new teams do some observing first?"

Debi:  "It really depends on the handler.  Some folks really need this step, others don’t.  We try to respect what each individual teams needs." 

Courage: "How many pet therapy teams do you have at the ADA today, and what type of therapy visits do they do?"  

Debi: "We have 120 therapy teams.  They visit about 180 different partner sites.  These include hospitals, nursing homes, colleges, elementary and middle schools, libraries, occupational therapy centers, recovery centers and more." 

Courage: "Morgan loves the support she continues to get from the ADA staff and volunteers, even now that we are not currently taking classes.  Any time she has a question she says she knows someone on the ADA team will help her find an answer.  Now I, Courage The Reading Dog, have one last question for this interview.  My sister, Craaaaazy Zoe (the chocolate Labrador) is a bit jealous of all the attention I get doing my therapy work.  Unfortunately Zoe is a little too... "bouncy" to do therapy.   Do you have other programs at the ADA that Zoe might like? 

Debi: " Zoe would likely enjoy agility.  She can run and jump and use her enthusiasm to win the game."  

Courage:  " I will tell her to check that out!  Thanks again for taking the time to talk to me Debbi."

******************************************************

Readers,it is I Courage The reading Dog again.  I want to tell you there is something for everyone at The Austin Dog Alliance. There are programs you can get involved in where you and your family can foster and train a PTSD service dog.  There are all kinds of fun classes for you and your dog to take like Agility, and Nose Work classes, they also offer classes for basic obedience and more advanced manners. They even have a special class to help people learn  how to teach their dog fancy tricks.   In additon to classes, there is summer camp for kids and dogs!  Best of all, you can have your dog's birthday party at the beautiful ADA facilities (which include a kitchen, classrooms, and a gorgeous fenced park where your dog can run off leash).  Morgan thinks I should also mention to mention that you can have people parties there too.  So if you are looking for fun things to do this summer and you don't want to leave your dog behind (we HATE getting left behind!) please check out The Austin Dog Alliance right away!

¡Perros! ¡Perros!

Esta libro tiene muchos grandes cuadros de perros.

Paw Rating = Five paws out of Five.

Level = Very beginning reader in either English or Spanish

Real Quick = This simple story (written in both English and Spanish) is about lots of different kinds of dogs enjoying their day.



Readers, as many of my Paws And Read friends already know, Morgan and I are learning Spanish in our spare time.  Today I am going to attempt my first book review en Español.  I beg your pardon in advance for the errors that will surely follow, but will just repeat something that my other person, Mike, often says to Morgan; "Making mistakes is the first step in doing something well."

Wish me well Readers, here I go...

El libro que revisar para hoy en día se denomina, "Perros, perros." Recomiendo este libro para los lectores que están aprendiendo a leer en inglés o español. Las palabras y la historia son muy simples, y muchas de las palabras repetir a lo largo de todo el libro para que pueda practicar reconociendo en ellos varias veces en una fila. También hay un montón de fotos bonitas de perros que hace que el aprendizaje es mucho más divertido.

OK Readers, its short and sweet.  How did I do?

This is what I was attempting to say...

"The book review for today is called " Dogs , dogs . " I recommend this book for readers who are learning to read in English or Spanish . The words and the story are very simple, and many of the words repeated throughout the entire book so you can practice recognizing them several times in a row. There are also plenty of nice pictures of dogs that makes learning a lot more fun ."

What is your favorite book?  Would you like to write a book review for my blog? You can write in eith Spanish or English.  You can send your book review to Courage2Read@gmail.com  and I will publish it in this blog.  You will be famous!  Would you like me to review a book for you?  Just leave a comment in the comment section under this blog post, and I will try to review your book for you.  Want to read more of my book reviews?  Please stay tuned to this blog, More book reviews from Courage The Reading Dog are on the way!

Courage's New Blog Background!

Readers!

I'm excited because Morgan made some sketches of me and turned them into a background pattern for my blog.  Here's a closer view of them.  Also, I don't know if you noticed, but I have new picture on my profile, its of me in the library.   How do you like my new look?

This is my new background pattern close up.

Courage Reviews Dragons Love Tacos

Apparently, Dragons love tacos as much as Dogs do!

Paw Rating = Five paws out of five.

Level = Medium/easy read.  Good for a read aloud bedtime story too.

Real Quick = Dragons love tacos, but complications arise when a bunch of dragons attend a spicy taco party.



Readers, I had no idea!!!  Until I read this very informative book by Adam Rubin, I had no idea dragons liked tacos as much as dogs do!  I also had no idea how to properly throw a taco party for dragons so that everyone has a good time and, most importantly, STAYS SAFE!  Fortunately, one of my Readers told me about this book, and I was able to educate myself!  Turns out dragons have some very specific dietary requirements.  Ignore them at your own risk!

The  watercolor illustrations by Daniel Salmieri are a lot of fun to look at so even if you can't read yet I think you will enjoy this funny, helpful book.  I highly recommend this one to everyone who loves their dragons!

PS (Morgan says you are not supposed to put "PS's" in book reviews but I'm just going to ignore her as usual) Dogs ALSO really love tacos and as far as I can tell, we like them fixed almost exactly the same way as dragons do.  So next time you're having a taco party, don't forget to invite your dog friends too!

 What is your favorite book?  Would you like to write a book review for my blog? You can send your book review to Courage2Read@gmail.com  and I will publish it in this blog.  You will be famous!  Would you like me to review a book for you?  Just leave a comment in the comment section under this blog post, and I will try to review your book for you.  Want to read more of my book reviews?  Please stay tuned to this blog, More book reviews from Courage The Reading Dog are on the way!

Why I Do Not Like Carl, An Essay By Courage The Reading Dog

This is a Turkey Vulture, this is NOT Carl.

People often ask me, "Courage, what is it about Vultures that you don't like so much?  Why are you always barking at them?"

The answer is that I DO like most vultures!  I love most vultures!  As you probably know already, there are two different types of vultures that you commonly see in the United States, Turkey Vultures and Black Vultures.  Did you know that vultures are actually very cool birds who provide a valuable service to people and dogs?  Its true!   Both types of vultures belong to the scientific family of birds called, Cathartidea.  The name Cathartidea comes from the Greek word "cathartes" which means "purifier."     One of the things that vultures eat is dead animals.  Most vultures don't kill other animals, they just come in to do the clean up.  That's why you often see them by the side of the road, feeding on the bodies of animals that have been hit by cars.  The vulture has very strong stomach acid that allows it to feed on, and digest meat that might be too spoiled for other predators to eat.  If it weren't for vultures doing the clean up, there would be a great deal more rotting carcasses around, and that could spread disease.  Especially if your dog is the type that likes to eat or roll on dead things!  Of course I don't do that, but never mind, back to vultures...  Did you also know that vultures don't chirp or screech like other birds?  That is because vultures do not have a syrinx , which is the part of the bird that allows it to vocalize.  Vultures have to be content with grunts and hisses (Morgan says "Sort of like Zombies.").

Morgan has drawn this picture of the two types of vultures to help you spot Carl.

If you see a vulture with a read head, you know that that is a Turkey Vulture and that is NOT Carl. Carl IS a vulture, but not a Turkey Vulture.  Carl is a Black Vulture.   Black vultures have black heads.  Obviously, not all Black Vultures are Carl, but he's out there, and if you see a Black Vulture it might be him. If you are looking up into the sky and you see a vulture flying, but you can not see what color its head is, here is a trick to tell the two types apart.  Turkey Vultures hold their wings in a "V" shape (V for Vulture- get it? See what they did there? Those clever vultures!), Black Vultures just hold their wings straight across.

This hazy photo is the best shot we have of  Carl.  Here, Carl is looking down from a lamp post and  taunting me!

So why do I dislike Carl so much you ask?  Carl is a vulture who has been known to feed on baby animals like goats and cattle.  It has been the job of Great Pyrenees to protect flocks of farm animals for generations.  Being a Great Pyrenees myself, I take this job very seriously.  I know that Carl is just trying to get dinner, but its my job to tell him to move on, and look for his dinner somewhere else!  So I go crazy!   I bark, and I jump, and I lunge, and I bark some more.   Usually Carl flies off when I do this.  But if he's sitting somewhere pretty high, and he knows I can't get up to him, sometimes Carl just stays put, and taunts me.  He says, "Oh yeah Dog?!  Is that all you've got?!  Why don't you fly up here, and say it to my face?!  Oh I forgot!  You don't have wings!  Poor dumb dog!"  Ooooh! that makes me so MAD!

Eventually, of course, I calm down, and we all go on our way.  I don't actually have any sheep or goats or cows to guard right now (the chickens only sort of count since vultures don't seem to eat chickens).  If you want to know the truth, my barking is mostly just to show off.  Once I've put Carl in his place, Zoe, and Morgan, and I can continue on our walks.

The next time you come upon a vulture, try to see if you can tell if it is a Turkey Vulture or a Black Vulture.  If it is a Black Vulture, feel free to shake your fist at him and say,"Curse you Carl!  Go find your dinner somewhere else!"  If he flies off, that was probably Carl!  If he doesn't fly away he's either taunting you, or he's not Carl and he's saying to himself, "Who is this Carl person, and why does this human think I am him?!"

Courage Reviews Fly By Night by Frances Hardinge

Paw Rating = Five paws out of five.

Level = Advanced Reader through Adult.

Real Quick = Mosca is named after the patron saint of flies.  With her inauspicious name, and her badly behaved goose, Saracen, Mosca runs away from home to save a kingdom on the verge of civil war. Her adventures are both harrowing AND hysterical.

Courage reviews, Fly By Night by Frances Hardinge

Readers, you (and your parents) are in for treat when you pick up Fly By Night by Ms Frances Hardinge! If you liked the Harry Potter books, there is a very good chance you will love this very funny adventure story set in a land on the verge of civil war.  There are some pretty wicked characters out to get the heroine, (a young girl named Mosca,) and her ornery goose (Saracen).  Mosca is on her own,  She has to take care of  her goose, and herself, by playing both sides in a very dangerous political game.  Sometimes its nearly impossible for Mosca (and the the readers) to tell who in the story is a friend, and who is only acting like a friend so they can do something rotten later on once Mosca and Saracen trust them.  This book is written in a delightfully funny style (think Monty Python meets The Muppets) that makes the pages speed by.  Morgan and I didn't want it to end!  The good news is, there's a sequel!  So don't be sad when you finish this story.  Mosca  and Saracen have more thrilling adventures in the second book.

   What is your favorite book?  Would you like to write a book review for my blog? You can send your book review to Courage2Read@gmail.com  and I will publish it in this blog.  You will be famous!  Would you like me to review a book for you?  Just leave a comment in the comment section under this blog post, and I will try to review your book for you.  Want to read more of my book reviews?  Please stay tuned to this blog, More book reviews from Courage The Reading Dog are on the way!

Courage Reviews The Big Pets By Lane Smith

Paw Rating = Five paws out of five.

Level = Medium/easy reader.  Good for a read aloud bedtime story too.

Real Quick = A girl and her giant cat visit magical places where kids and their pets play.

Courage reviews, The Big Pets written and illustrated by Lane Smith.

Hello Readers!  You may have heard me say before that I LOVE stories with great illustrations.  Well, in this reading dog's opinion, Lane Smith does some of the the best illustrations of all!  Mr. Smith has a really unusual style.  If it seems familiar to you, it might be because you have seen Mr. Smith's art work and design in some of your favorite movies.  Mr. Smith did the conceptual design for the movie James and The Giant Peach AND Monster's Inc.  I bet all of my Readers have seen Monster's Inc!  What a great movie!  Oh,but I digress.  This is a BOOK review!

This is one of my favorite books by Mr. Smith (I am also pawtial to The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly stupid Tales which Mr. Smith illustrated, and Mr. Jon Scieszka wrote).  The Big Pets follows the adventures of a little girl and her giant cat as they travel through to the many different lands where children play with their pets.  In the cat land there is a giant milk pool to swim in, while the hamster land is full of holes and tunnels.  What do you suppose is in the place that dogs love?  I'm not going to tell you in this review.  I'll let you read the book and find out for yourself, but I'll give you a hint; dogs love to bury them...

What is your favorite book?  Would you like to write a book review for my blog? You can send your book review to Courage2Read@gmail.com  and I will publish it in this blog.  You will be famous!  Would you like me to review a book for you?  Just leave a comment in the comment section under this blog post, and I will try to review your book for you.  Want to read more of my book reviews?  Please stay tuned to this blog, More book reviews from Courage The Reading Dog are on the way!

Courage's Pawsitively Grrrrrrreat Homemade Pawsicles For Dogs

Hello Readers!  Remember way back in this post I told you about how hot I get during the summer? Does your dog get really hot too? Well summer is almost here (I know, I know, its barely April, but I live in Texas, so believe me, it's almost summer!) and I wanted to share a recipe for my Pawsitively Great Homemade Pawsicles For Dogs. You can make these pawsicles after you and your family have eaten a roasted chicken.  Just be sure to have your parents save all the bones and skin and gristle from the chicken.  I know, I know, people are always saying NOT to give chicken bones to dogs, and I certainly don't recommend it, but you can use the chicken bones to make a healthy broth.  Then you freeze the broth and turn it into pawsicles that dogs love!  This is a great way for your dog to enjoy some nutritious chicken broth and a cool treat on a hot day.

 Morgan says to remind you to get your parents permission before you make this recipe.  It's also a good idea to get someone to help you remove the chicken bones from the broth so you can be sure nothing sharp accidentally gets in, but more of that in a minute.

First, here is what you will need:

One Slow Cooker - 6 Quarts or larger.

Two no-stick Silicone muffin trays (something like this)

Soup ladle

One chicken carcass (carcass = whatever is left after your family eats a whole, roasted chicken.  Ideally there will be bones and skin and little bits of meat still left, but this will work even if there are only bones).

Three large-ish carrots cut into small chunks.

Two large celery stalks also cut into small
chunks

One clove of garlic chopped

One potato cut into small cubes

One teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar  (optional)

Water



OK, gather your ingredients.  Please get an adult to help you cut up the carrots celery and potato if you need to.  I personally do not cut up the ingredients myself.  Morgan does all the chopping work, I just supervise.  Put the chicken carcass and all the other ingredients into the slow cooker then add water, Use enough so that the chicken carcass is covered.  The more water you add the more pawsicles you can make, but the more water you add the weaker the pawsicles will taste.  Morgan usually adds about 4 cups of water to ours.  Turn the slow cooker on low and set a timer for 8 hours and let the broth cook.

Here is what the pawsicles look like before they go in the freezer.
Morgan has added small pieces of chicken meat and skin.  Just
be sure there are no bones!

After eight hours the broth is done (and the whole house will smell really good!).  Turn the slow cooker off and let the broth cool.  You may have to leave it over night.  Be sure the broth is cool before going on to the next step.  Now take the vegetable chunks (the carrots, potatoes and celery) out and distribute them evenly in the silicone muffin cups.  Next, use a ladle and scoop up  only the liquid, watch out for tiny bones, you don't want those in the pawsicles!  Pour the liquid broth into the muffin cups over the cooked veggie chunks. Cover the muffin pans with saran wrap, and freeze in your freezer until solid.  These pawsicles store frozen, for up to 6 months.   Once the pawsicles are solid you can serve them to your dog as a cool treat in the summer.  I recommend serving them outside./  I like to take mine into the yard to eat.  I have a favorite tree I like to lie under while I enjoy my yummy pawsicle.

I hope your dog likes these yummy (and healthy) treats as much as I do!

Yum!  I LOVE pawsicles!

The Fabulous Ms. Carmen

Hello Everyone, it is I, Courage The Reading Dog, welcome to my blog!

Today's post is an extra special for me because I will be interviewing my good friend, Ms. Carmen. Ms. Carmen is the Children's Services Coordinator for one of the libraries Morgan and I visit when we read with kids.  Ms. Carmen introduced The Paws And Read program at the library.  She has become a good friend of mine.  I am really excited that she agreed to be interviewed.  Morgan is jealous of Ms. Carmen because Morgan has always secretly wanted to work in a library. I thought Morgan, and maybe some other readers, might enjoy hearing a little more about Ms. Carmen and her very cool job.  So without further ado, here is my interview with the fabulous, Ms. Carmen!

Ms. Carmen and I share a joke during a break on the library patio.

Courage Interviews Ms. Carmen

Courage:  "Ms Carmen, your job looks like a lot of  fun to me.  What made you decide to work for the library?"

Ms. Carmen:  "I love children, and working with people.  This job allows me to do both."

Courage:  "Did you go to school to study books?"

Ms. Carmen: "I actually went to school to be a teacher.  I was a teacher for eighteen years in Guatemala, my country of origin, before I started working at the library."

Courage:  "What is your favorite thing about your job?"

Ms. Carmen: "My favorite thing is working with families, coordinating activities for them to enjoy."

Courage:  "Lots of people read books on their computers or tablets these days.  Do you think there will ever be a day when you don't have shelves full of books, but just have books stored in The Cloud instead?  How do you see your library changing five years from now?"

Ms. Carmen:  "Our library continues to evolve and adapt in this changing world.  Being part of this evolution is something that makes me really proud. I think that technology is a great part of our daily life.  I do not know if books (paper copies) will go away, but I certainly hope they don't.  The library has a wide variety of e-resources that include electronic books, encyclopedias and data bases, downloadable music, movies to stream, and more.  Whatever the future holds, the library is up to the challenge!  In fact, we are getting a second location that will provide even more of the same great services to our citizens.  Lisa Charbonnet, our library director, says, 'We are the community living room.  We are growing and having a marvelous time. We will always continue to offer materials in an ever expanding number of formats."

Courage:  "Ms. Carmen, do you have any books you'd like to recommend for my readers?"

Ms. Carmen:  "Planning and preparing for storytime has allowed me to become familiar with a lot of picture books.  These are some of my favorites;

Green Eggs And Ham by Dr. Suess

Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom by Bill Martin Jr.

Caps For Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina

Bark George by Jules Feiffer

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle


(this is Morgan interrupting again, I just wanted to point out that The Very Hungry Caterpillar is one of the books Courage parodied in THIS blog post- OK I'm going away now, back to you Courage)

Courage:  "Ms. Carmen, thank you so much for talking with me today.  I'll see you soon at Paws And Read."

Ms. Carmen:  "Thank you Courage.  It was my pleasure."

What Is A Reading Dog Anyway?

Here I am with Morgan and one of my great reading friends. *

Sometimes people ask me how I got to be a Reading Dog.  I used to start by saying, "Well, it all began in the back of a humble barn, five years ago, when a beautiful Great Pyrenees female gave birth to a litter of puppies..."  I soon discovered, however, that this was not what people were asking about.  They even seemed, dare I say it?  A little bit bored when I started to tell them my whole life story.  This was quite surprising to me because ...

(Morgan says - "Courage, you need to get on with it.  You're rambling, you'll lose your audience.  Just tell them about how you trained to be a reading dog.  Try to keep it simple, O.K. Bubba?")

Harumpf!  That's typical of Morgan, interrupting me when I'm in the middle of blogging.  She thinks she's the leader of our reading team, and usually I humor her but lately...

(Morgan says - "Courage! Get to it!")

Alright, alright.

Just in case anyone doesn't know what a Reading Dog does, let me briefly explain.  Reading Dogs and their human partners travel to schools and libraries and listen to kids read stories.  Some kids are excellent readers and just want to practice reading out loud to an audience.  Some kids are very young and they haven't started reading yet.  Those kids just want to show me the pictures and tell me about what happens in the book.  That's fine, I love that!  Some kids have a little trouble reading, and they would rather read to a dog because dogs love the way everybody reads.  We dogs don't mind if you take a little extra time to sound out words, or if you need to get a some help from your Mom or Dad, or your teacher.  Best of all, we Reading Dogs, never interrupt anyone when they are reading. We just lay down, or sit down, and listen.  Of course, we love to have our belly's rubbed or our backs petted while we do it.

Some of my readers like to snuggle on me just like a big, fluffy pillow.*

It may sound like a great job, and guess what?  It is!!!  But in order to get a job like this you have to be the right kind of dog, and you have to have to train your human very carefully.  Morgan and I took FOUR tests in order to get certified as a complex therapy dog team before we began volunteering.

If you would like to learn more about the classes and the tests Morgan and I took in order to be a reading dog team, please stay tuned to this blog for more posts on what it takes to be a therapy dog. You can also visit the wonderful people at The Austin Dog Alliance  web site for more information on therapy dog teams and a list of  on going classes.

* Special thanks to Morgan's Mom for taking these great pictures of me with some of my Readers.

Courage Reviews The Animal Family By Randall Jarrell

 Paw Rating = Five Paws out of Five

 Level = Advanced Reader

 Real Quick = A sweet, peaceful, story about a lonely hunter who adopts an unlikely family.

What Makes A Family?

Hello everyone, it is I, Courage The Reading Dog, here to do my first book report for my blog.  The book I want to tell Readers about is one called, The Animal Family by Randall Jarell.  There's a picture of it up there. See it?  You might be noticing those beautiful illustrations.  Those are done by the famous children's book illustrator, Maurice Sendak .  If you have ever seen a book called Where The Wild Things Are then you've seen some of Mister Sendak's wonderful illustration work.  

This story opens with a lonely hunter living next to the sea shore.  The hunter loves the land and the forest and all the wild beauty around him.  He is almost happy, except that he gets a bit lonely. Then one day the hunter meets a mermaid.  The hunter and the mermaid become friends.  Each enjoys the other's company, each learns new things from the other, until finally the mermaid decides to take a big step and move into the hunter's house on the hill.

At first the mermaid misses the ocean very much.  It's hard for her to get around on land.  Things like beds, and tables, and chairs seem so strange to her, all she can do is laugh at them.  Gradually, the mermaid learns how to live in her new, dry environment.  She and the hunter come to care for each other very deeply.  Then one day the hunter brings home a baby bear...

As the story progresses the hunter adds more unusual animals to his family.  The new family members bring great happiness to the hunter and the mermaid, even though it means extra work, and sometimes extra messes and misadventures.  

Morgan, (my person) and I, both love this story.  We like the way it keeps us entertained without ever having any violence, or even any really serious peril or danger in it.  It is a quiet story about how good it feels to have a family.  It's about how a family can be anyone, even if they are not always related, or even if they aren't a human.   This book makes great bedtime reading.  It is warm, and comforting, and makes this dog, at least, really appreciate his own family.  Yes, even his sister, Craaaaazzzy Zoe.

This is Zoe.  Morgan says she is, "Chocolate with nuts."

What is your favorite book?  Would you like to write a book review for my blog? You can send your book review to Courage2Read@gmail.com  and I will publish it in this blog.  You will be famous!  Would you like me to review a book for you?  Just leave a comment in the comment section under this blog post, and I will try to review your book for you.  Want to read more of my book reviews?  Please stay tuned to this blog, More book reviews from Courage The Reading Dog are on the way!

Starring Courage The Reading Dog As Himself.

One of the things I like to do when people read stories to me, is lay down and close my eyes, and imagine myself as the protagonist of the story. It doesn't matter if it is about a dog, or a person, or a pig, or a planet.  I have a great imagination.

In order to help me imagine myself in the story,  my person, Morgan, made some pictures of me on the covers of some of my favorite books.  She changed the artwork on the original cover so that it looks like I, Courage The Famous Reading Dog, am on the real cover of the book.  She also changed the authors' names and some of the other words in the titles of the books. This is called a Parody.   Can you tell which books we are parodying?   Can you pick out all the changes Morgan made?   The first person to leave a comment in the comment section below, correctly listing all 5 of the real books will win a set of post cards with these Courage covers on them.  I hope you enjoy this game as much as I did.

By the way, do you ever imagine yourself as the hero of a story that you are reading?

Does this book cover look a little familiar?

How about this one?

This one might be a little tricky.

Maybe some of you have read the original graphic novel for this one.

This is one of Morgan's favorite books.  Do you know which one it is?

  

Great Pyrenees, The Real Joe Cool. **

People often ask Morgan what breed of dog I am.  More than a few of them guess that  I am a Samoyed, but, in fact, I am that noblest of breeds, a Great Pyrenees.

It is I, Courage The Reading Dog.  An excellent example of the splendid, Great Pyrenees breed.

 I don't mind that people are a little confused.  Samoyeds and Great Pyrenees both have very similar thick, fluffy, white coats that make us so soft and snugly, we are virtually irresistible.

People are always saying this when they first see me.

Additionally,  my tail does this curly thing when I am not paying attention to it, that, I'll admit, looks a bit more like the curled tail of a Samoyed than a regular Pyrenees tail.  But I am 100 percent Pyrenees I can assure you!

Great Pyrenees and Snoopy share many similar personality traits.*

So what kind of personality do Pyrenees have, you may ask?

I don't know if you are familiar with Charlie Brown's cartoon dog, Snoopy?  If you are, you probably know that Snoopy is a beagle, but I think Snoppy's personality is much more like a Pyrenees.

Pyrenees are naturaly patient and protective with smaller creatures.*

From hanging out with me,  you can tell that Pyrenees, just like Snoopy, are very laid back and make great family dogs.  Our breed is quite old and has a long, and glorious history.  We were originally developed in the 1400's to guard herds of sheep in the Pyrenees mountains.  Our experience as guardians of flocks makes us very patient and gentle with all small creatures, including children.  So, like Snoopy, we tend to have a lot of friends who are littler than we are.  Its not difficult to be considered little compared to a Pyrenees, when we are full grown we can weigh anywhere from 90 to 120 lbs.  Of course, just like everyone else, I try to watch my weight, exercise, and eat healthy.  I check in at a respectable 110 lbs.

They say Snoopy is a Beagle, but
he THINKS like a Pyrenees!*

 Again, just like Snoopy, we Pyrenees are exceptionally smart, and very independent.  This has given us a reputation for being quite stubborn and sometimes difficult to train.  We are not stubborn, we are being polite.  It may seem like a Pyrenees is not listening to you, but really, she is simply waiting politely for you to realize that her idea is better than yours.








With all that thick, white (and sometimes tan or brown) fur  I was mentioning earlier , Pyrenees do require a lot of brushing and yes, we do shed.

 (Morgan says - "A LOT!!! They shed a lot!!!").  

ANYWAY as I was saying...   We Pyrenees do best when it's cold.  The hot summers here in Texas are a bit difficult for us .  Sometimes I even drool a bit when I am stressed out from the heat.   Morgan takes me to get my fur cut every summer.  This helps me stay a little cooler but... it's important not to cut a Pyrenees' fur (or any dog's fur) too short.  We dogs can get terrible sunburns without our fur to protect us!  Pyrenees have an additional risk.  If you cut our fur too short, lots of times it never grows back!

If you have more questions about the Great Pyrenees breed, please be sure to post them in the comment section below this blog post so I, or one of my expert friends, can answer them.  If you are interested in learning more about how to take care of Great Pyrenees, as well as other types of dogs, please be on the look out for more of my posts about dogs coming soon.

Meanwhile, thank you for visiting my blog and I hope to see you for a story sometime!



* This cartoon is by the wonderful, Charles M. Schulz .

** Joe Cool is Snoopy's alter ego.