I was so excited to use Madeline Finn and the Library Dog by Lisa Papp as our featured hardcover in this box. I saw the book for the first time at the Western Book Reps Association Book Fair in June 2016 and immediately fell in love. It was exactly the type of book I was looking for, for our boxes. The Canadian price of the book however, was a bit of a shocker but somehow I knew I had to make it work. Lisa based the story on a Read-to-Dogs program at her local library for children struggling to read. She says “Dogs are masters at unconditional love. They accept the children for who they are, exactly as they are – no strings attached. And when a child senses that, their fears drop away, doors open and forward momentum is natural”. I think Lisa has truly captured the magic that comes from a relationship between children and their pets. This book gets our vote for Picture Book of the Year.
Our paperback this month is Churchill’s Tale of Tails, an adorable story of friendship and self-esteem, written and illustrated by Romanian born Anca Sandu. Churchill the pig can’t find his prized tail anywhere. His friends try to help by giving him other tails to try on. Churchill get’s so carried away wearing all these wonderful new tails, that he doesn’t have time for his old friends. Anca is from Oregon and this is her first book.