The Greatest Game

When my husband and I got married, we received what would seem to others like an unusual gift from his older sister. Next to the beautiful hand-painted serving bowl she gave us, she included a book: “50 Games to Play with Your Dog,” by Suellen Dainty. Jon and I didn’t own a dog, plus that’s not exactly the sort of gift one expects to receive for a wedding. However, my sister-in-law and I are close, and she knew me well enough to know that I’d wanted a dog all my life, and that I was eager to get one as … Continue reading →

Books for Pet Lovers

With six shopping days left until Christmas, that doesn’t leave much time to get any last minute gifts you may need for the pet lovers on your list. It certainly eliminates ordering gifts online, but there’s always the bookstore. Here’s a list of books you can’t go wrong with: Fiction Earlier this month Aimee profiled some great, classic fiction featuring animals that would delight any age pet lover on your list: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH Tailchaser’s Song Watership Down Others you might want to revisit include: Black Beauty National Velvet For mystery lovers, dog and cat characters … Continue reading →

Reading Rodents: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

Before it was a movie, The Secret of NIMH was a book: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. Published in 1971, Robert C. O’Brien’s book won the Newbery Medal in 1972. Mrs. Frisby is a widowed field mouse. Her late husband was a companion of the mysterious and intelligent rats of NIMH. NIMH is the National Institute of Mental Health. The rats had been subject to various experiments that left them highly intelligent and organized — more like humans than rats. They escaped the lab and set up a literate, mechanized society under a rose bush near where the … Continue reading →

Reading Felines: Tailchaser’s Song

When I was younger, I would read just about any book that had animals in it. My love for anthropomorphic animals led me (eventually) to discover Tad Williams’ Tailchaser’s Song, an epic fantasy quest story starring cats. These cats are feral cats, living away from the mysterious and not-to-be-trusted humans. One particular feral cat — our hero, Fritti Tailchaser — sets off from his familiar turf and clan to find a missing friend named Hushpad. Hushpad is the latest cat in a long line of disturbing disappearances. Along the way (as is the case in many fantasy quest tales), Tailchaser … Continue reading →

Reading Rabbits: Watership Down

I was looking at my bookshelf. It’s hard to NOT look at my bookshelf, as it’s directly opposite my desk! But I realized I have a lot of animal books on there. If you are an animal lover (or know someone who is) you might want to check out Richard Adams’ Watership Down. Watership Down is an actual place. (I didn’t know that!) It’s a hill in the north of Hampshire, England. Watership Down was first published in 1972 and has never since been out of print. Apparently it’s Penguin Books’ best selling novel. That’s pretty impressive, considering how many … Continue reading →