Books for Dog Lovers

 

Stella
Best Friends Dog Tales 1
By McCall Hoyle
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Publication date: September 6, 2022
Print length: 176 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1639930555
Reading age: 8 - 11 years, from customers
Grade level: Preschool - 1

 Publisher’s Blurb:

STELLA has been nominated for 14 state awards in FL, ME, NE, NM, OK, PA, KY, KS, LA, AL, MA, SC & TX!

"This empathetic read is also full of important themes and lessons for young readers bravery, how to overcome fears, and that mistakes don't have to define us." --School Library Journal

Told from Stella's perspective, this story is about a special dog who must find the courage to overcome her fears in order to help save a young girl with epilepsy.

Ever since she was a puppy, Stella was trained to use her powerful beagle nose to sniff out dangerous chemicals and help her handler keep people safe. But during a routine security inspection, Stella misses the scent of an explosive. The sound of the blast is loud and scary. Unable to go back to work because of her anxiety, Stella is retired as a working dog.

When a young girl named Cloe wants to adopt Stella, the beagle knows this is her last chance to prove her worth. But how? When Stella smells a strange chemical inside Cloe's body, a scent that surges just before the girl has a seizure, Stella's nose makes the connection. But how can Stella warn her new family without them thinking she's having an anxiety attack? How can she convince others that she can be a new kind of service dog and hopefully save Cloe's life?

Even dogs deserve a second chance.

 

Just Gus
Best Friends Dog Tales 2
By McCall Hoyle
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Publication date: September 3, 2024
Print length: 208 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1639933235
Reading age: 8 - 11 years
Grade level: Preschool - 1

 Publisher’s Blurb:

Gus is a livestock guardian dog with one job―protecting his farm from coyotes and foxes. He likes keeping the sheep, the chickens, and his humans safe, and he’s very good at it.

 One day, Diego and his dad come to visit the farm, and Gus immediately connects to the small boy. They both like to sit still and enjoy the quiet, and Gus can tell that Diego likes being around a gentle giant of a dog, that it helps relieve the boy’s constant worry.

 When Gus detects the scent of a bear in the woods, he rushes to protect his flock, injuring his leg in a fight with the dangerous beast. Wounded, Gus needs to rest and heal away from his sheep, so he doesn’t risk reinjuring his leg. Diego suggests Gus come home with them to the North Carolina coast.

 Suddenly, Gus is thrust into a new world of saltwater and sand and neighbors who don’t appreciate the presence of a large guard dog, like the neighbor who reminds Gus of his first owner―the junkyard man with the heavy boots.

 Gus realizes Diego might need a friend as much as his sheep need a protector, but if he can’t learn to control his instincts, like barking and patrolling the neighborhood, Gus might lose his chance to stay in his new home. If he can’t protect the farm or his boy, Gus worries he might never find his place in the world.

 Just Gus is a tender story of belonging and of two friends who learn they are better together than they were alone.

Millie
Best Friends Dog Tales 3
By McCall Hoyle
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Publication date: August 5, 2025
Print length: 224 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1639933945
Reading age: 8 - 11 years
Grade level: 3 - 8

 Publisher’s Blurb:

Selected for the 2024-2025 Club Tome Book Award -Tome Student Literacy Society

From the author of Stella—nominated for fourteen Best Book of the Year state awards—this heartwarming story is about a street dog named Millie and a young girl who are both dealing with abandonment issues and must give trust and belonging a second chance.

Millie is a feisty border terrier who lives on the streets and has a keen sense for finding scraps of food, usually in the shadows or the cover of darkness. She protects herself with a shield of what is perceived by many as aggression—barking and snarling—when in reality, she is just plain scared.

Turned over to animal control after a recent run-in with the dogcatcher, Millie is rescued by a special teacher who also rehabilitates and rehomes dogs. It’s a win-win. Together the dogs and Ms. Berry's students learn emotional resilience, anger management, and other coping skills.

When one of the students, a struggling reader named Tori, shows a natural gift for dog training and working with fearful dogs, Millie is temporarily placed in her care. Tori may be young, but she knows a thing or two about anger, fear, and abandonment after her mother can no longer care for her and she is placed in kinship care with her grandfather. Millie wonders if she’s finally found her human and begins to let down her emotional guard. But when trust and belonging are challenged, Millie reverts to old habits—fleeing, hiding, and growling. Will she end up back on the streets? Or can Millie and Tori embrace their training, trust in each other, and find a forever home together?

 My thoughts:

These loosely connected books offer a wonderful insight into the behavior of dogs. Hoyle does train dogs, and does a really wonderful job of making canine behavior understandable, even for quite young readers.

 Told from the point of view of each title dog, we get the stories of humans through canine eyes. The narration recounts human conversations, which requires a little bit of suspension of disbelief from us, but also gives us insight into the dogs’ relationship with their humans.

 The dogs featured, as well as the humans, all have their own histories and issues to heal from—which is nice. It’s a sort of dual story as humans and canines learn together.

 Whatever the emotional story is, each of these is a story about a dog forging a friendship with a child, who needs the support and love that only a dog can give.

 Possible Objectionable Material:

Health issues, some frightening situations. Abusive and scary humans.

 

Forever Ripley
By McCall Hoyle
Publisher: Shadow Mountain Publishing
Publication date: September 2, 2025
Print length: 208 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1639934164
Reading age: 8 - 11 years
Grade level: 4 - 6

 Publisher’s Blurb:

Ripley, an aging German Shepherd Dog, spent her life guarding the wildlife refuge with Max, the best man she’s ever known. But that was before the accident, before he gave her one final job: “Take care of the girls.”

 And Ripley has done just that—especially for Charlie, the girl Ripley loves even more than peanut butter. Ripley watches over Charlie with dedication, especially when faced with bullies who threaten the refuge. But Ripley is slowing down. She knows dogs don’t last forever.

Sensing their time together is running out, Charlie plans a farewell adventure filled with Ripley’s favorite things—fried chicken, sandpiper chasing on the beach, and ice cream in Nags Head. Through it all, they learn that love isn’t about holding on—it’s about lifting each other up.

A heartwarming tribute to love, resilience, and the joy of a life well lived, Forever Ripley proves that even in goodbye, there is beauty, courage, and the promise of new beginnings.

 My Thoughts:

As with the “Best Friends Dog Tales”, Hoyle focuses on the relationship between a dog and a child. This time, though, the dog is nearing the end of life, fulfilling a promise to her original owner to look after “the girls”. Ripley knows that her life is ending. Watching Charlie come to terms with this is lovely, and heart-rending. Yes, sad things happen in this book, but it is a beautiful, joyful book.

 Possible objectionable material:

Charlie is in physical danger from poachers. The death of a pet.

 #Stella #JustGus #Millie #ForeverRipley #McCallHoyle #ShadowMountain #DogBook #NetGalley #BookReview #Biblioquacious

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing advanced reader copies of these books in exchange for my honest opinion.