Dog Diaries #1: Ginger

KATE KLIMO is the author of many books for young readers, including the Dog Diaries series books Ginger, Buddy, Barry, and Togo. To learn more about her and her work, visit kateklimo.com

TIM JESSELL is an award-winning illustrator whose work has appeared in numerous children's books. He is the illustrator of all the books in the Dog Diaries series. Check out his work at timjessell.com.

Series are to middle-grade readers as bones are to dogs. That means that the portion of the chapter-book audience that is animal crazy will likely take to this first title in the new Dog Diaries series, which tells each story from a dog’s point of view. In her canine journal, Ginger tells her life story enthusiastically and guilelessly, as you might expect of a golden retriever. Puppy-mill born, she has a run of rotten luck with her owners and winds up a stray. Rescued by an animal-control officer and brought to a shelter, she eventually finds happiness with exactly the right boy, Corey. How do we know he’s right? Well, Ginger calls him by name when all the other people in her life are referred to by such names as Yummy Crumb Man, Skinny Man, and Bad Dog Walker. This gets a tad cutesy at times, but a more serious note in the end matter attempts to educate readers about puppy mills, rescue groups, and picking a dog for a pet. This will definitely fill a need at most libraries. Grades 2-5. --Karen Cruze