“Ooooooh!”

From James Patterson and Steven Butler’s Dog Diaries.

Ever since being rescued from the animal shelter and introduced to his pet human, Rafe, life has been pretty amazing for Junior the dog.  Junior explains to the reader where to find the best hiding spots, exits, and neighborhood protection lookout spots at the family kennel and the backyard… which is often plagued by pesky squirrels and evil raccoons.  When he lived in the dreaded animal shelter, Junior was friends with Odin, Diego, Betty, Lola, and Genghis; even though Junior was the last one to be adopted, all the dogs were able to stay connected through the local dog park.  After an incident at the dog park involving a raccoon, Rafe and Junior both land themselves in trouble with the heartless dog trainer, Iona Stricker.  Stricker threatens to call the animal shelter to take Junior way unless Rafe enrolls him in the obedience classes that she runs at the dog park.  And while Junior is good at doing tricks, he’s not so great at understanding the human commands for each trick, so he completely fails the class.  As Stricker is preparing to have Junior taken away, the dog spies a flyer for an upcoming dog show competition.  As a last ditch effort, Rafe gets Stricker to agree that if the dog can win any prize at the competition, then she won’t report Junior.  When Junior finds out that he’ll be competing against Stricker’s robotically-obedient dog, Duchess, he’s scared, but unwilling to leave Rafe, he prepares to give the competition all he can.

This hilarious story is short and sweet, but full of heart.  Patterson and Butler easily create a story dog-lovers will cherish.  Dog Diaries is a must-read for any young reader that loves humor and adventure.