All right, friends. You have been seeing me give reviews on picture books with canine characters. Are you wishing that I throw out recommendations on middle grade books with similar animals?
During the next few weeks, I’ll post a quick review of a book I recommend, and each will include notes of discernment.
Here’s the first one!
Silver by Gloria Whelan
This is a sweet story about an Alaskan girl named Rachel, who dreams of racing sled dogs.
One of her father’s sled dogs has puppies, and her father gives her the runt as a birthday present. The plot kicks up as she loses the pup and braves the snow to find him. Thankfully, she finds him and takes him home, but not without the puppy protecting her from an aggressive wolf pup. Because of his fierceness, he convinces Rachel’s father that he’s a potential lead dog.
This book is great for students who are beginning to read chapter books (around second or third grade).
Notes for discernment: Rachel mentions rocks that are “a million years old,” but that’s a tiny part in the story. The book uses the word “Eskimo” for the Inuit, but this was written back in 1988, long before “Eskimo” became politically incorrect. And the Inuit are painted in a positive light.
K.A. Ramstad 