Dog days of summer…

So it’s been hot here in Spain. Really hot. Shops close in the afternoon, shades are drawn. It’s siesta, as anyone with half a brain should know. Of course, that means the dog and I are cruising the (empty) streets of Salamanca armed with out-of-date maps and a list of what we really need to see there. The city is one of the jewels of Spain, but right now there’s just one phrase that keeps going through my head.

Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noonday sun. –Indian proverb

With that in mind, I plugged in Dog Days of Summer as my search term. Along with a surprising number of books with subtitles like “Puppy Role Plays for Submissives and Dominants“, the almost irresistible but strangely classified Heinlein classic The Door Into Summer, and To Kill a Mockingbird, I saw it. The answer to a question that has troubled dog owners through the ages: what do dogs really do at night?

Rosie Amber’s Friday Five challenge is to take ONLY FIVE MINUTES to browse an unfamiliar category and select a book based solely on the cover art.

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Book blurb:

I have a dog. Nothing exotic or special, just an ordinary dog. In fact, I always thought he was a boring dog. What I mean is, he can fetch, roll over, and shake hands, but mostly he sleeps and eats.

Or so the little boy in this story thinks, until one morning when he opens the door a little early and sees his dog jump out of a limousine. That night he decides to follow his dog, and that’s when the fun starts.

 

Before he knows it, he has entered the little known world of doggy glamour. His dog, distinctly reminiscent of Humphrey Bogart, treats him to a nighttime adventure where he learns where dogs go to relax and sees what they do while their masters are fast asleep. A terrific read aloud, Nina Laden’s story will have everyone captivated by the coolest dog around.

BUY LINKS:

AMAZON US | AMAZON UK

• Book Title: The Night I Followed the Dog
• Author: Nina Laden
• Genre: Children, age preschool-7
• Publisher: Chronicle Books; First Edition edition (August 1, 1994)
• Price: paperback from $1.24/£.40
• Reviews: 47 for a total of 4.7 out of 5 stars 
• Pages: 32

My Analysis: I’m watching my dog sleep next to me in a shady park next to the incredible Salamanca cathedral. She’s relaxed. Very relaxed. All four paws are up in the air and she’s making little running motions, while happy muffled barks are coming through. Like all dog owners, I wonder where she is and what she’s doing in her dreams. But I’ve never come up with a solution as adorable as proposed by the little boy who follows his dog one night. I’m particularly enchanted with the picture games that author Nina Laden plays with the text. On just the first page, “fetch” has a dog dragging away the letter F. “roll over” is printed upside down. And “eats” has big bites out of each letter. Since it was published so long ago, the paper book is sweet, affordable, and irresistible. Now I just need to find the right child to pass it along to when I’m done. Or not.

BUY or PASS:   BUY

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Here is Rosie’s Friday Five Challenge. It only took five minutes and a couple more to write up, and was a ton of fun. I hope you’ll consider joining in. All Rosie asks is that you link back to her original post here so we can all join in viewing your challenge results.

AUTHORS – You often only have seconds to get a reader to buy your book, is your book cover and book bio up to it?

My Friday Five Challenge is this….. IN ONLY FIVE MINUTES….

1. Go to any online book supplier,
2. Randomly choose a category,
3. Speed through the book covers, choose one which has instantly appealed to your eye,
4. Read the book Bio/ Description for this book, and any other details.
5. If there are reviews, check out a couple,
6. Make an instant decision, would you BUY or PASS?
7. I’ll be back next week with another Friday Five Challenge, do feel free to join in.