about the book
One day, a Labradoodle gives birth to a whole passel of puppies. Four of the puppies are groomed for the show ring, three train to do search and rescue work, and two become service dogs. The last puppy tries all three of these important jobs, but he is just too exuberant and rambunctious. Mogie is a rule breaker. He splashes in mud puddles and howls at the moon! Who would want a dog like that?
Then one day, he breaks a very big rule. He wanders into the Houston Ronald McDonald House, a place where sick kids who need long term care stay with their families. And rule number one is NO DOGS ALLOWED!
But one little boy, Gage, really needs a friend. He was once a ball-chasing, back-flipping boy, but now he is confined to a wheelchair. Mogie trots right in and, with his tail wagging, helps Gage feel better. Mogie has found his true calling…he is a very important comfort dog.
Once Gage is all better and can go home, Mogie stays at the Ronald McDonald House. There are many more kids that need happy tail wags and sloppy doggie kisses! He is the very best at helping young patients get their “mojo” back!
A share of all proceeds from the sale of this book goes to Ronald McDonald House.
about the author
Kathi Appelt has always been impatient. It started when she was born in Fayetteville, Texas, on the front seat of her father’s Ford heading to the hospital!
At an early age, Kathi enjoyed writing. On an unfinished wall in their Houston garage, Kathi’s mom let her express herself in any way she liked. Still there, her “expressions” look like all sorts of scribbles at the bottom, but a little further up, the wall turns into a journal.
Continuing to write, Kathi graduated from Texas A&M University and did graduate studies at the University of Iowa. She is on the faculty of Vermont College’s Master of Fine Arts Program and also teaches writing occasionally at Texas A&M.
At some point Kathi realized that real writers didn’t have to have a lot of dangerous exciting adventures. She feels that the best writing is about places, people, pets, objects, and events in everyday life. She has published over thirty books for children and young adults so far, including The Underneath, for which she won a Newbery Honor in 2009.
Kathi is married to Ken, a researcher at Texas A&M and a musician. Their two sons, also musicians, are grown. Ken and Kathi share their house with four cats—Jass, Hoss, D’jango and Peach.
Sources:
Author website
Author interview : National Book Foundation
Author interview : Horn Book
Also by Kathi Appelt:
Counting Crows. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. 2015.
When Otis Courted Mama. HMH Books for Young Readers. 2015.
Bubba and Beau : Best Friends. Voyager Books. 2006.
Miss Lady Bird’s Wildflowers : How a First Lady Changed America. Harper Collins. 2005.
Incredible Me! Harper Collins. 2003.
Bats around the Clock. Harper Collins. 2000.
about the illustrator
Marc Rosenthal was born in New York City but was whisked right away to Turkey where he spent his first two years of life.
He attended Princeton University and studied architecture, but after he quickly discovered that designing buildings just wasn’t what he wanted to do with the rest of his life, he went back to school. At the State University of New York, he earned a Master’s of Fine Arts in painting. Marc is especially drawn to the styles found before World War II and likes to use all sorts of mediums, including digital.
After graduating, he worked as a graphic designer in Milton Glaser’s New York studio. To make a little money on the side, he started to do illustrations, not realizing then that it would become his life’s work. His work can regularly be found in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Forbes, Fortune, The Atlantic Monthly, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, and many other national and international publications “too numerous and obscure to mention!”
Marc and Eileen currently live in the Berkshire Mountains in Lenox, Massachusetts, with Pete, their cat.
Sources:
Illustrator website
Illustrator biography: Simon & Schuster
Illustrator biography: Pippin Properties
Illustrator video interview: Norman Rockwell Museum
Also by Marc Rosenthal:
One Robot Lost His Head : A Robot Counting Book. Pow! 2015.
Big Bot, Small Bot : A Book of Robot Opposites. Pow! 2015.
Bobo the Sailor Man! by Eileen Rosenthal. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. 2013.
I’ll Save You Bobo! by Eileen Rosenthal Atheneum Books for Young Readers. 2012.
I Must Have Bobo! by Eileen Rosenthal Atheneum Books for Young Readers. 2011.
Archie and the Pirates. Harper Collins. 2009.
read more!
Counting Crows by Kathi Appelt
Three exuberant scrawny crows, dressed in bright red striped shirts and polka dotted red scarves, are crows perched in a tree. Readers can count more and more crows doing very crow-like things, including snacking on roly-poly bugs and gathering at the bird bath. But what will happen to the twelve crows when the cat appears?
Doctor White by Jane Goodall
A little white dog is adopted by a London children’s hospital. Somehow, Doctor White, as the pup is known, can sense which patient is critically ill and cuddles close by until they feel better. One day an ornery health inspector comes along and kicks Doctor White out! But when his own daughter becomes gravely ill, a brave nurse breaks the rules and sneaks the dog back in. Will Doctor’s White’s special care help the young girl recover? This book is based on real events.
Tuesday Tucks Me In by Luis Carlos Montalvan
Luis is an Iraq veteran who now suffers from PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder. At times he is very sad. Luis’s service dog, a golden retriever named Tuesday, tells Luis’s story. He tells how hr helps with Luis cope with his disorder, beginning with their morning routine and ending when they go to bed. Photos reveal their day and Tuesday’s total loyalty to Luis.