Dog Star by Megan Shepherd

"If we can't stop the rocket, maybe we can get Laika out. We can't let her go on a mission with no chance of return. She isn't like the equipment you have in that capsule. 

She's a living creature."

Nina is old to enough to begin to question her life in the Soviet Union. Her best friend, along with her friend's parents, have recently defected to the US. Nina herself is being trained to be a good Soviet citizen. Her father works for the Institute of Space Medicine. The space race is in full swing. The Russians are desperate to be first. The Americans are planning to use monkeys and mice but in Russia a small stray dog is selected and trained. 

Meanwhile we meet a street dog, later to be named Laika. She longs to become a warm dog but when she is captured, she is taken to a strange place and put into a cage. Sharing this space are two other dogs. One has already been sent into space so she explains the three tests that Laika will undergo and how, if she can pass these tests, and travel into space the reward will be a real home with children to love her.

Bookseller blurb: Based on an incredible true story, Carnegie Medal nominee and New York Times-bestselling author Megan Shepherd crafts a harrowing, propulsive girl-and-her-dog tale that will linger in your heart long after the last page. Laika is a Cold Dog, a stray pup fighting for her life on the streets of Moscow. Then, one winter night, she is plucked from her alley to become a Starflyer, a dog trained to travel into space. Distrustful of people, Laika tries to do everything she can to escape. That is, until she meets Nina. Nina is a Cold Girl, lonely and full of questions. Her best friend has moved to America in a rush, leaving Nina to face the school bullies all by herself. Plus, her father's work as a scientist in the Soviet Space Program grows more secretive by the day. When the two meet in her father's laboratory, their growing bond slowly warms the chill that has settled in each other's hearts. As the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union grows fierce, Laika and Nina uncover shocking secrets and hard truths that will test their friendship. How will they find the courage to chase their dreams all the way to the stars?

Have you ever thought about the idea of warm dogs and cold dogs. Warm dogs live with a family. They are fed, allowed to be inside and even perhaps sit on a couch and most of all they are loved, especially by children. A cold dog is a street dog. A dog that lives by scavenging and a dog that works hard to survive extremes of heat and cold. And it sure is cold on the streets of Moscow. Laika was a cold dog until the day she was captured for use in the space program.

The title comes from the third voice in we hear in this story - we hear Laika beginning when she is just surviving on the streets of Moscow; we hear Nina who is so upset about the loss of her friend and we read about her struggles to cope with the Young Pioneers; and the third voice is the actual dog star - a voice of encouragement and wisdom that only Laika can hear. 

The ending of this book is inevitably very sad - perhaps if you are recommending this book to a reader in your library you might decide to explain this. Laika was a real dog. She was sent into space from the USSR in 1957. An enormous amount of work went into preparing her for the journey, but it seems almost no plans were made for her return. No one knows when or how but Laika did perish on the voyage.

There is a strange but fascinating inclusion in this book - the book is from a US author but she has included an article dated November 27th, 1957, from our Australian Women's Weekly magazine.

Here are a couple of text quotes:

"Nina felt a rush of confidence now. She sat up straighter. 'Yes dogs. I can help my father with the dogs who will be sent into space! ... Through this, um, I can make the Motherland proud."

"In a few days Laika will travel to the cosmodrome. I wanted to do something nice for her first. One night to have a home away from the Institute. To just be a dog; to bark and play.' He knelt down, scratching Laika behind the ears. 'Can you do that for her, lapochka?"

"So many questions buzzed in her head. Their teachers taught them to respect even street dogs but didn't respect the students enough to tell them the truth. Maybe Ludmilla's family had left because they didn't feel safe in a country where information was so often kept secret. Now, like Ludmilla, would Laika disappear forever too?"

You can hear Megan Shepherd talking about her book here. Dog Star was published in 2023 but I picked up my copy in a bookshop earlier this year. 

The narrative alternates between Nina’s and Laika’s points of view; Laika’s perspective is anthropomorphized with inner monologue as well as dialogue between dogs, and this works to the story’s advantage in arousing sympathy for the small animal who was sacrificed for science. A poignant story that accessibly illuminates a milestone in space exploration history. Kirkus

Read more about animal astronauts here. Companion books:

I previously read Secret Horses of Briar Hill by Megan Shepherd:

The Secret Horses of Briar Hill

Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney

"Do something to make the world more beautiful."

Once upon a time a little girl named Alice lived in a city by the sea. Her grandfather had come to America on a large sailing ship. He found a job making figureheads for ships and carving Indians for the front of cigar stores. Alice listens to her grandfather's stories and decides she too will travel around the world one day and then eventually come home and live in a cottage by the sea. Her grandfather agrees this will be a fine thing to do but he also gives her the advice above. (Listen here)

Alice does grow up and eventually works in a library in another city but she keeps reading about faraway places. Finally Alice, now called Miss Rumphius, is able to travel. She goes to topical islands, snow covered mountains, jungles and deserts. After a small accident Miss Rumphius returns home to a cottage by the sea. She is happy and does recover but what about that promise to her grandfather? She plants a few seeds in her garden not knowing that this will lead her to the answer. The flowers are lupines and the seeds have blown across the nearby hill. Alice sends for more seeds and she scatters them everywhere.

"The next spring there were lupines everywhere. Fields and hillsides were covered with blue and purple and rose-coloured flowers. They bloomed along the highways and down the lanes. Bright patches lay around the schoolhouse and back of the church."

Miss Rumphius completed her promise.

This is one of those classic American stories that many people will be familiar with. I am sure you will easily find a copy in most libraries. Mine came from a recent charity book sale and this copy has perhaps lingered on a bookshelf in a home for many years because this 1982 picture book is in mint condition and the dust jacket in completely intact which is rare. This edition is still available for over AUS$37 (I paid AUS1.50 at the book fair). Take a look inside Miss Rumphius.

Here is the cover of the paperback which I did have in my former school library:

Bookseller blurb: When Miss Rumphius was little, she would sit on her grandfather's lap and listen to his stories of faraway places-and she would say "When I grow up, I too will go to faraway places, and when I grow old, I too will live beside the sea." However, her grandfather gives her a third charge-to do something that makes the world more beautiful. And Alice grows up to do just that. She takes a job as a librarian far away from the salt air, travels to distant locations, and moves back by the sea. However, she knows she must still do something to make the world more beautiful. After watching the Lupines grow by her house, she has a wonderful idea.

One reviewer said: A picture book full of meaning, the gorgeous paintings capture the very essence of New England by the sea and the many stops of her life along the way.

Here are some things I discovered about Miss Rumphius:

• Miss Rumphius was inspired by a real-life "Lupine Lady," Hilda Hamlin, who spread lupine seeds along the Maine coast, as well as Cooney's own experiences traveling the world.
• In 2012, it was ranked number 13 among the "Top 100 Picture Books" in a survey published by the School Library Journal.
• The book was made into a short film by Western Wood (16 minutes) in 2000.
• The Lupine Award of the Maine Library Association is named in honor of the book as is the New Jersey Center for the Book's Miss Rumphius Award given to librarians and teachers who develop creative activities to support literacy education.
• The book itself is dedicated with a small illustrated icon to Saint Nicholas, who is the patron saint of children, sailors, and maidens (or unmarried persons).
• Many of Miss Rumphius' journeys were inspired by Barbara Cooney's own experiences traveling around the world.
• The art for Miss Rumphius has a permanent home in the Bowdoin College Museum of Art.
• Barbara Coney was born in 1917 and died in 2000 aged 82. Her first book was published in 1940, and her 110th book, Basket Moon, was published in September of 1999.
• Miss Cooney twice won the prestigious Caldecott Medal given by the American Library Association for Best Illustrated Book of the Year, first for her retelling of Chaucer's Chanticleer and the Fox, and second, for Ox-cart Man, written by famed New England poet Donald Hall.
• Barbara Cooney was honored as the official United States Nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Medal
• "Of all the books I have done," she says, "Miss Rumphius (Viking, 1982), Island Boy (Viking, 1988), and Hattie and the Wild Waves (Viking, 1990), are the closest to my heart. These three are as near as I ever will come to an autobiography."

Companion books:

The Secret Sky Garden

The girl who planted trees

Amira's Suitcase

All from a Walnut by Ammi-Joan Paquette illustrated by Felicia Sala

This is a book about grief, change and patience. Grandpa tells Emilia a story of the walnut he carried on his journey across the ocean to find a new home. His parents told him he could only take a small bag but he also had a walnut in his pocket. The reasons his family left their homeland are not explained in the text but the illustration shows people in sepia tones carrying bags and children and disembarking a large ship. 

Image source: Felicita Sala

Years after their arrival Grandpa is able to finally plant his seed in a garden and now, years later, Grandpa is able to show his huge tree to Emilia and how to plant the new walnut seed.

"As time passed, Grandpa moved more and more slowly. He stayed in his armchair most of the day and sometimes he fell asleep tight in the middle of a story. ... the days grew very cold and very dark, Emilia held her grandfather close for as long as she could. Then she said goodbye."

This book caught my eye at a recent charity book sale because firstly my friend and I adore the work of illustrator Felicita Sala (we claim her as Australian even though she lives in Rome) and then I saw the dust jacket - I adore dust jackets. We rarely see them here in Australia. Then bonus this dust jacket has a fabulous case reveal - meaning there is a surprise image under the jacket. My copy is in mint condition. I wonder how it came to be donated to the fair - it has perhaps lingered on a home bookshelf since it was first published in 2022.

The warmhearted watercolor, gouache, and colored-pencil illustrations are the true highlight of the book, offering lovingly rendered images of Sala’s native Italy and a poignant view of Grandpa’s aging and eventual passing. A gentle tale about maintaining a sense of continuity and rootedness in the face of life’s upheavals, this book is a worthy addition to any personal or library collection. Kirkus

“The relatively simple text includes many layers—in addition to being an immigration story, it is a family history tale and a story about the passing of a beloved grandparent and the carrying on of that person’s legacy. Paquette’s emotive writing is strong and clear.” –Hornbook

See art from this book here.  Here is the web page for the author Ammi-Joan Paquette.

Companion books:

My Baba's Garden

These Long-Loved things

The Memory Tree

Island Born by Junot Diaz illustrated by Leo Espinosa

"Mai was from a city so big that it was like its own country. India and Camila were from a stony village at the tippy top of the world. Matteo had lived in a desert so hot even the cactus fainted. Nu was born in a jungle famous for its tigers and poets. And Lola was from the Island."

Lola, who immigrated when she was six years old, does not remember the Dominican Republic, and sets out to fill in her missing memories by talking to members of her family and community. 

I especially love the vibrant illustrations in this book. I can imagine using this book with a class as a jumping off point to talk about family and heritage and also here in Australia to talk about our multicultural community. You could also talk about displacement, refugees, immigrants, sharing memories, adult child relationships and why people move from one country to another.

Publisher blurb: Every kid in Lola’s school was from somewhere else. Hers was a school of faraway places. When Lola’s teacher asks the students to draw a picture of where their families immigrated from, all the kids are excited. Except Lola. She can’t remember The Island—she left when she was just a baby. But with the help of her family and friends, and their memories—joyous, fantastical, heartbreaking, and frightening—Lola’s imagination takes her on an extraordinary journey back to The Island. As she draws closer to the heart of her family’s story, Lola comes to understand the truth of her abuela’s words: “Just because you don’t remember a place doesn’t mean it’s not in you.”

I picked up this book at a recent charity book sale - it is in mint condition with a dust jacket. This book was published in 2018 and I suspect it has been sitting quietly on a family bookshelf for many years. Take a look at this review. 

I have a Pinterest entitled "She looks like me" - this book will be a perfect addition to that collection. 

Awards: 2019 Pura Belpre Illustrator Honor.

Companion book for an older reader:

A Map for Falasteen

The Wild Unknown by Emily Gale

The year is 2045 so it's not that far into the future. There are plenty of ideas in this book that actually could happen such as personal assistants worn in the ear called 'mica'; body transplants such as hearts from animals; food orders delivered by robots called 'Goodbots'; government surveillance drones everywhere; student progress monitored by robots at school with reports sent regularly to parents; and talking appliances!

The idea of humans with body parts from animals is a key concept in this story but you might over look it.  It links with the strange changes happening to Eddie and a couple of his classmates and is introduced about two thirds of the way through the book. Eddie begins to grow feathers; he is fully awake at night and so exhausted all day; his eyes seem to have changed to night vision; he can run like an athlete way beyond his usual pace; and he can even stay under the water for a long period with no ill effects.

What is happening? How did this start? Eddie receives a delicious food delivery during the school holidays.

The Goodbot "was the size and shape of a stocky black labrador with a flat face consisting of two shining eyes and a fixed smile. It made it's way to the gate on wheels and rose to smoothly unlatch it. Then it activated its legs to navigate the step and padded towards Eddie like a cat approaching prey. ... (the treat) had to be eaten within the hour, it must be something fresh and delicious. ...the smell was something else - an aroma of fried chicken, freshly baked bread and something mysterious but delicious. ... Maybe it would taste as good as it smelt, instead of as bad as it looked. It did! Wow! WOW!"

Eddie does not question this gift from his dad even though his dad has never sent a food gift like this before and more importantly his father never uses and is even suspicious of Goodbots.

Meanwhile a boy named Theo is missing. You also need to know Eddie's mother works as a fact checker for an organisation called TruthUp because in the past "deep fakes and news-bots had turned the world upside down. No one had been able to trust a single thing they read or watched. TruthUp was trying to make news real again." Luckily Eddie has help to solve or partly solve all of this, his own body changes and the missing boy,  from his friend Kit, Kit's sister Romy and his own computer-game playing brother Jude. 

There is an interesting if somewhat minor theme explored in this story is about politics. A new political party has emerged - it is called Revive and it consists of dead former Prime Ministers. That part did give me a jolt. 

Blurb from author page: It’s 2045 and the world is full of tech. Eddie has a bot in his ear giving him advice all day, a bathroom scale that identifies illnesses, and classroom bots keeping track of him at school. The streets are full of delivery bots and game tech is amazing. But tech can’t help the police find a missing boy called Theo, who was last seen at the river. When they abandon the search, Eddie and his friends sneak down to the river to look for clues. What they find doesn’t make any sense. Then strange things start happening to Eddie. He’s never been sporty but suddenly he’s a brilliant runner. When a friend is caught in the bottom of the pool, Eddie rescues her from drowning by holding his breath for a suspiciously long amount of time. He has excellent night vision – and there are hair-like feathers growing out of his skin. It’s exciting. It’s terrifying. How can it be both? And what do the changes in Eddie have to do with Theo’s disappearance?

I did read this book quite quickly which means the story held my attention and I did enjoy the "hopefully invented" world of the future. Sadly though, two things let this book down - one, in my view, is the pastel colour choice for the cover and the second is the rushed and slightly unresolved ending - I don't think a sequel is planned. By the end of the book (spoiler alert) I was still unsure why the kids had been used in this experiment run by Theo's parents. I did find a reviewer who loved the cover - these things are always so subjective and personal. You can read more plot details here. Here is a Q and A with Emil Gale. Emily also talks about her book on this podcast (40+ minutes).

The Wild Unknown is a thrilling and suspenseful novel that explores the consequences of AI reliance and how this will shape our future. Emily Gale opens up a discussion, prompting children to ask what the benefits of AI are, and what should they be concerned about? She also hints at how AI might influence people in complex spaces, such as political parties misusing it for their own ends, or the media manipulating it. Through Eddie’s transformation and search for Theo, Gale highlights the importance of human relationships, of being able to turn to each other for help and support, and the beauty of the natural world. For ages 9+.  Readings Melbourne

(Its's) an unsettling, yet a compelling mystery that reminds us that human connection, using our own smarts and working together is better and more effective than the most up-to-date technology. It shows that we need a balance, to save humanity, to keep the world safe, and to make sure we don’t destroy the environment. This is in part a warning, and in part an examination of what could happen if gene modification and manipulation become weapons against humanity. Emily Gale has done a wonderful job of exploring this, departing from her usual historical fiction which I adore. A great example of not letting technology rule our lives. The Book Muse

The manipulation of humans using animal parts reminded me of this very old book (part of a series of three):

This Way Little Badger by Phil McMylor illustrated by Cliff Wright

"As the sun goes down and night draw in, Little Badger goes out into the wood for the very first time."

He is not alone. His big sister Belle is with him but somehow they get separated and now Little Badger is lost. He keeps hearing voices calling - 'Hurry home, Little Badger!'. But he has no idea which way to go. He meets an owl, a rabbit, a magpie, and a mouse. Then he finds himself trapped in a deep hole. Luckily he remembers something important his sister told him:

"A badger's claws are made for digging."

I know we don't have badgers here in Australia but I do enjoy books about forest animals and the illustrations in this heartwarming book are fabulous. 

About Cliff Wright:

In 1989 he published his first work in the UK and USA, a children's book called When the World Sleeps, written and illustrated by himself and which was runner-up in the Mother Goose Award for best debut.  Between 1990 to 2008 he produced a further nine titles, including the drawing manual, The Magic of Drawing and the Little Bear series of children’s books. As an illustrator, he has worked on volumes by authors such as Kenneth Grahame for Ladybird's edition of The Wind in the Willows and Gerald Durrell. In the two-year period 1998-1999 he designed the covers of the original British editions of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, published by Bloomsbury.

This book was published in 1997 but I found an almost mint condition copy at a recent charity book sale. This would be a terrific book to share with a very young child along side one of my all time favourite books about fear of the dark:

The Snow Dragon by Abi Elphinstone illustrated by Fiona Woodcock

"It was Christmas Eve, and Phoebe could see that the little town of Whistlethrop was covered in a thick layer of snow. It was the first snow of winter and it had come silently in the night, the way magic often does."

This opening sentence holds so much promise for a wonderful story. It is Christmas Eve - surely that means wishes can come true. The snow came silently the way magic often does - it is confirmed. Magic is coming. But who is Phoebe? Where is she living? Why does she need some magic in her life?

Phoebe lives in an orphanage and if you need confirmation that it is a horrid place just think about the name - Griselda Bone's Home for Strays. It seems the children who are taken there have to stay or stay that is, until Miracle Day.

As the story opens, it is Miracle Day, a day that happens only once each month. Today is Miracle Day but it is for Jack, Phoebe's friend. And now that he has gone, she is the last child left. All she has now is her little dog Herb. 

Griselda punishes Phoebe for using her imagination in a writing activity. She sends her to the dog kennels for the night. It is freezing cold and she is fastened with a metal cuff. Then something magical happens - you can see him on the book cover - the snow dragon.

WOW! This is a picture book I picked up a recent charity bookfair. I based this selection purely on the cover image. I didn't even bother to read the blurb on the back cover. What a fabulous discovery. This is a story about an orphan, it is about the power of dreams and imagination, and it has the most wonderful (and all important) happy ending.

Everything about this book, (which is an abridged version of a tale included in the collection, Winter Magic), is out of this world gorgeous. The telling is full of uplifting messages for youngsters, not least of which is that even in dark times ‘We all have the gift of wonder’ and mustn’t forget to look at the world’s natural beauty. ‘Be content. Be watchful. Be brave’ the dragon tells her. Red Reading Hub

The Snow Dragon was published in 2019 (it is still available) but the story originally appeared in an anthology entitled Winter Magic. Here is the webpage for Abi Elphinstone. I previously talked about her novel Sky Song.

Sky Song

Here is the webpage for Fiona Woodcock. Her work really shines in The Snow Dragon and here are some of her books which I will now hunt out: