Amazing dogs with amazing jobs by Laura Greaves
Penguin Australia, 2019. ISBN: 9780143796879. 288p.
(Age: 5+) Highly recommended. Themes: Dogs, Working animals. I must
start this review by saying that I absolutely LOVE this book! It is
literally a book about awesome dogs that do amazing things - and
they are all true stories!
'Dogs have been living with and helping humans for around fifteen
thousand years. All those years ago dogs were either hunters or
guardians, but today, dogs can do all kinds of amazing jobs.'
This book just really ticks lots of boxes for me. It contains 30
stories about a variety of dogs, each one written with a young
audience in mind. It asks questions of the reader and links
experiences from their lives to that of the amazing dog. I really
liked this aspect as when I read chapters to my 9 year old he was
able to find topics he could relate to, he also liked working out
which countries the dogs came from and where they were located in
the world!
Each amazing dog has a 'Dog File' which gives a quick overview of
the breed, skills and positive parts of the job. This part also
helps give the reader an idea of what is to come, and if they would
be interested in continuing to read.
It is hard to pinpoint a favourite dog, as they really are all so
amazing! But the ones to mention are Bailey the 'Assistant Director
of Seagulls' who keeps seagulls from pooing on historic ships,
Caesar the Canine mascot for an AFL team and Montgomary who is a
doggy blood donor!
This book is not only a fun read, but it has also taught me a whole
heap of new things that dogs can do! They can donate blood, they can
be artists, actors, assistance dogs, and even owl detectors. It has
really given me a new appreciation for canine abilities.
I must commend Laura Greaves on a really well written book. It is
full of questions, interesting facts, and sentences that are just
written with humour. We give this book 5 out of 5, and is a great
book to be read to younger children (5 years +) or be read by
readers 8 years and up.
Lauren Fountain