Books like Orville

If you have a passion for compassion, this book about a chained dog who is rescued from neglect will make you want to unchain all the Buddys in the world. The illustrations vibrate with this lovable mixed-breed’s emotions—ranging from despair to joy. From his happy new furever home, Buddy narrates his story, which will have an emotional resonance with even the youngest audiences. As Buddy says: “I have my real home. Now I have everything.” No matter how many times I read this book, the ending still tugs at my heartstrings.

A book begs you to sit up and take notice when Maurice Sendak writes this cover blurb: “Astonishing drawings!...An entirely unique work of art.” This wordless picture book with remarkable charcoal sketches shows the heartwrenching abandonment of a dog and shocking aftermath. Does the open-ended finale offer a flicker of hope for our canine hero? You decide. No dialogue needed, but this book is sure to spur conversations with young animal lovers (keep tissues handy).

A quirky story about a ginormous canine and a fearless young heroine? Yes, please! And bonus points for starring a big black dog—the kind that blends into the shadows at humane societies and is, therefore, least likely to get adopted (and the kind that I always adopt). Tempera paintings of an eccentric family in their Gothic house juxtaposed with tiny sepia vignettes will spur kids to explore every inch. They’ll cheer as the dog shrinks down from the magnitude of a T-Rex to an adoptable size.

This is a picture book. No words. Yet it displays the depth of human sensitivities as few books can. The sensitive bonding of a young woman and a dog. Each an outcast - wanting to belong - and finding this in each other. My heart opens every time I read this book. I never get tired of it. An inspiration into the kindest essence of life. It is absolutely magnificent.

Discovering this book was a transformative experience for me, coinciding with my immersion into the world of dog sports alongside my rescue Puli, Baldwin, and my first Australian Shepherd, Bliss. I resonated deeply with Jon Katz's journey as he welcomed a border collie named Orson into his life. I couldn't help but envy the author as he settled into an old farmhouse, complete with a herd of sheep for his dog to work every day. Katz's candid reflections on training Orson struck a chord with me, particularly when a dog trainer advised him that to have a better dog, he must strive to be a better human. That’s so true!

I found myself unable to put the book down as Katz's shared his insights into the amazing bond between humans and dogs. His honest portrayal of the challenges he faced navigating through life alongside his hyper-active border collie was completely… show more.

This book proves rough beginnings can produce beautiful endings.

I read Marley and Me a few years before losing our first golden retriever, Sunny. I had waited twenty-three years to have a dog of my own. My husband and I had looked at more than a dozen puppies before deciding on our perfect little princess.

The first day, our puppy slept like the sweet princess we knew she was! But on day two, she woke up a tyrant. She was the golden retriever version of Marley—and like Marley, Sunny won our hearts and became a beloved member of our family.

She lay in my lap while I read Marley and Me—a good thing because I had to stop reading and hug her a lot while reading the book!

TV’s Lassie saved children from wildfire and quicksand. Real-life service dogs save entire families from the isolation and stress of a child’s incurable illness or severe disability.

Through the vivid stories of compromised kids who blossom with highly trained dogs, Greene celebrates the canine gift for understanding us humans—rooted in 10,000 years of interspecies history but ignored by science until the recent past.

This book gripped, moved, and informed me while hitting close to home. Like my own rescue mutt, many service dogs were trained by prisoners who discovered their own best selves by teaching an unwanted animal to love. Humans and dogs need each other, as Greene shows with heartfelt but rigorous reporting. 

When photographer Lori Fusaro and I were traveling around the country working on our book together, we made a point of hightailing it to Maine so we could visit the idyllic retirement oasis created by author David Rosenfelt and his wife Debbie Myers for themselves and more than 20 large, geriatric rescue dogs. Rosenfelt’s book Dogtripping chronicles the couple’s cross-country retirement move from California to Maine with all those aging dogs in three RVs with the help of volunteers who were fans of Rosenfelt’s mystery novels. It’s a HOOT! You can watch a Facebook Live video of Rosenfelt discussing his Dogtripping book with me here at an event sponsored by The Grey Muzzle Organization, one of my favorite charities that helps senior dogs in need.

This is a great book about a dog named Jade who was involved in a roll-over car crash in the wilderness near Yellowstone Park. It’s an emotional and very interesting read as you learn what this desperate family had to go through to recover their lost dog, a task made all the more difficult because they (husband and wife) were injured in the car crash and because Jade was skittish and ran from anyone who tried to help her. In spite of grizzly bears, other predators, frigid nights, and potential starvation, the family managed to recruit local volunteers who ultimately helped them capture their dog.

“She died sniffing life, and enjoying it,” wrote E.B. White in his obituary for Daisy, a terrier hit by a cab while smelling a Manhattan flower shop.

White had a keen eye for the distinctive personalities of dogs, and he shared his life with many, who scamper to life in this compendium of essays, letters, and occasional pieces. My favorite of his canine characters, the curmudgeonly dachshund Fred, “saw in every bird, every squirrel, every housefly, every rat, every skunk, every porcupine, a security risk and a present danger to his republic.”

White had better-natured dogs; none got under his skin like Fred. Love can be complicated, White reminds us. Even between human and dog.