Five True Dog Stories

Title: Five True Dog Stories
Author: Margaret Davidson
Major Themes: Dogs
Synopsis: The stories of five different dogs are told for young children.

We have always loved Five True Dog Stories. This is another book that I’ve read aloud about four times, and my children still cheer when I get it out—the older ones remember it fondly from when I read it to them, and that gets the younger ones excited about it.

Two of these stories are very familiar ones that have been told many times, the one about Barry the Saint Bernard who rescued people in Switzerland, and the one about Balto the sled dog in Alaska who saved Nome from a diphtheria epidemic. The other stories are not so well known; one is about a dog who was a detective and tracked down criminals, and another is about a dog who was trained to be a thief! The last one is from a book by Albert Payson Terhune, who wrote several books about his collies, books that I used to get from the library when I was young. It’s about a dog who saved other dogs’ lives, even though he didn’t like other dogs!

These stories are told very simply, with language that young children will appreciate. They are well-written, though, and not at all boring. This is a book that is not twaddle!

No warnings!