Madeline Finn and the Shelter Dog

December 15, 2018
A little girl adopts a puppy and starts a program at an animal shelter in which children read to dogs and cats waiting for adoption.The resourceful little girl gained confidence in her own reading abilities by reading out loud to a huge, white dog in the initial story, Madeline Finn and the Library Dog (2016). Now Madeline is adopting a puppy from a litter born to the dog who helped her in the library reading program. Madeline names her puppy Star and learns all about taking care of a new pet. When Madeline visits an animal shelter, she wants to help the dogs and cats feel loved. She designs her own volunteer program, enlisting other children to read to the animals at the shelter as well as donating towels and blankets. The cheerful story, narrated in first-person present-tense by Madeline, concludes with a lonely dog being adopted by a boy who is one of the volunteer readers. Charming, soft-focus illustrations in pencil and watercolor have an old-fashioned flavor, with appealing dogs and a quiet, pastel palette. Madeline and her mother present white, the shelter supervisor is a woman with brown skin and dark, curly hair, and the kids in the reading program include several children of color. While the often harsh realities of animal shelters and rescue animals are glossed over in this introduction to the subject, the story provides a positive look at two ways of acquiring a new pet. (Picture book. 4-7)

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January 1, 2019
Preschool-G In Madeline Finn and the Library Dog? (2016), we met young Madeline Finn, whose reading confidence was boosted when she met a furry friend called Bonnie at her public library. In this sequel, the Finn family brings home one of Bonnie's puppies, Star. Madeline learns how to walk and feed Star, keeping him safe and having patience about puddles on the floor. Wanting to share that love, Madeline organizes a towel drive for the shelter where Mrs. Dimple, the friendly local children's librarian, adopted Bonnie, bringing her diverse community together to read to the dogs there. Madeline asks if the shelter is like a hotel, to which Mrs. Dimple replies, Sort of . . . except the animals want homes where they can stay forever. The literary and visual style is consistent with Madeline's first story. A gentle first-person text accompanies the watercolor-and-pencil illustrations on soothing beige pages, which perfectly befit the reassuring, happy ending.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)