The World According to Dog: Poems and Teen Voices (Joyce Sidman) August 28, 2008

This collection of poems, essays written by teens, and black-and-white photographs, describes the good, the bad, and even the ugly among our canine friends.  Whether it is our dog’s cold wet noses in our faces or the shedding fur all over the furniture or even the occasional accident, we still love our four-legged friends and their unconditional love for us.  Teen writers respond to poems written by the author, Joyce Sidman.  They tell of their personal “dog experiences” and how they have impacted their lives.

This is an example of one of the teen essays.  Written by 13 year old, Paige Herfurth Marvin.

The One Who Listens

“The relationship between dogs and teenagers is like no other.  After a hard miserable day at school, a dog is waiting for you to come home.  No matter what kind of mood you are in, your dog is there for you.  A dog is like a journal.  You can confess your deepest, darkest secrets and be confident that your dog won’t tell a single soul.  A dog will slither under your bed sheets when you’re scared of the dark.  A dog will sleep at the edge of your bed to watch for monsters.  A dog cares and loves you as much as you love her.”

Recommended for all ages

SLB

Bad Dogs Have More Fun (John Grogan) June 2, 2008

Bad Dogs Have More Fun: Selected Writings on Family, Animals and Life from The Philadelphia Inquirer

This book is a collection of newspaper columns written by John Grogan for The Philadelphia Inquirer on topics such as animals, family, and life’s foibles and farces.

An excerpt from BAD DOGS HAVE MORE FUN (page 71):

Tim Manning of Yardley, PA thought he had outfoxed his yellow Lab, Ralph, by stowing a chocolate centerpiece safely on top of the refrigerator. “Ralph figured out how to open a drawer on the line cabinet next to the refrigerator and us it as a ladder,” Manning wrote. “We could tell because the drawer’s contents were all over the floor, and the chocolate was devoured right there on top of the fridge.”
All of which raises the question that any sane person must be asking: If pets are this much of a pain, why does anyone keep them?
As Sharon Durivage of Yardley put it: “They give their love and loyalty freely and always forgive us for our bad days and cranky moods.”

This collection of articles will make you laugh and make you cry, but it will also make you think about the strange and mysterious relationship we have with our animals. In addition to animals, John Grogan pokes fun at family and life in general. Sometimes it is good to be bad!

Recommend for all ages
SLB