Keeping one's humanity and surviving...
If your younger sister's life is at stake and you have survival skills, how to you plot a way to prevail when there are others who would kill you? How can you stop violence without violence? The dilemma for Katniss and Peeta in the post-apocalyptic world of the Hunger Games has been a problen for people for millennium.
Dealing with these classic issues, the Hunger Games has resonated far beyond the Young Adult (YA) world for whom it was written...Over 17.5 million copies have been sold and the movie is breaking all-time box office records...
Our readers are younger, but the problem of dealing with violence and possible death remain. If your life and your land are threatened by warrior invaders, what do you do?
The solutions in the Planet Of The Dogs series, however, are nonviolent. The dogs bring peace to the land through cleverness, courage and love and by appealing to the humanity of powerful people by exploiting their vulnerability...The dog's success is quite plausible.
Final Thought: It's too bad no dogs were there to help Katniss...
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“Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope. It is a tool for daily life in modern society. It is a bulwark against poverty, and a building block of development, an essential complement to investments in roads, dams, clinics and factories. Literacy is a platform for democratization, and a vehicle for the promotion of cultural and national identity. Especially for girls and women, it is an agent of family health and nutrition. For everyone, everywhere, literacy is, along with education in general, a basic human right.... Literacy is, finally, the road to human progress and the means through which every man, woman and child can realize his or her full potential.”
- By Kofi Annan (Ghanaian diplomat, secenth secretary-genearl of the United Nations, 2001 Nobel Peace Prize.)
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The Joy of Children's Literature...This is the site of book lover Denise Johnson... "I am a professor of children's literature and literacy methods courses at The College of William & Mary. I enjoy reading, writing, and talking about books with children, teachers and anyone who will listen (so please, share your thoughts with me!)."
Bookmobile Blues...
Here is an excerpt from a current post from Ms Johnson;a nostalgic commentary commentary/tribute to books, librarians and reading. Here is thelink:bookmobileBlues
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Needless to say, the story that appeared yesterday on NPR, The Final Chapter for a Trusty Bookmobile?, brought back all of those memories. Especially since there is a bookmobile that has been abandoned close to my house as well..."
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Read Sample Chapters of the Planet Of The Dogs Series at www.planetofthedogs.net
All books in the Planet Of The Dogs series can be purchased at your favorite independent bookstore or on the internet through Barnes& Noble, Amazon, Powells and many others.
Librarians, teachers, bookstores -- order our books directly from Ingram...professional discount, of course.
Therapy reading dog owners, librarians and teachers with therapy reading dog programs...write us at [email protected] and we will send you free reader copies of books from the Planet of the Dogs Series.
Read Dog Books to Dogs....Ask any therapy reading dog: "Do you prefer it when the the kids read dog books to you?"
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I received this email from therapy dog owner Barb Babikian regarding Hopes and Heroes. I have always admired her therapy dog work and been touched by photos of her dogs with children who have cancer; the photo on the left is of Lille and her friend, Sienna.
Dear Family and Friends,
I recently accepted the challenge to raise funds to support Hope & Heroes Children's Cancer Fund - and I need your generous support. With the volunteer work that I do with Lille & Dusty I meet many children battling this terrible disease. The innovative and compassionate clinical care programs and cutting edge research they are funding at Columbia University Medical Center is nationally recognized and respected. I urge you to visit their website for more information.
It is faster and easier than ever to support this great cause by making your tax-deductible donation online using the link below. If you would prefer, you can send your contribution to the address listed below.
Whatever you can give will help, $5, $10 - it all adds up! I greatly appreciate your support and will keep you posted on my progress.
Sincerely,
Barbara Babikian
To make a donation online, visit my personal page.Hopes
(Barking Planet made a donation; perhaps you can, too)
To send a donation, mail to:
Barbara Babikian
P.O. Box 384
Sugar Loaf, NY 10981-0384
Make all checks payable to: Hope & Heroes Children’s Cancer Fund
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More Wars in the Book World...Jason Boog, editor of Galley Cat, writes:
"The Department of Justice has sued Apple and publishers for allegedly colluding to set eBook prices. Apple, Macmillan and Penguin will fight the suit in court; HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster and Hachette have settled with the government.
In court documents, DOJ attorneys alleged that Apple and five major publishers engaged in a “substantial” conspiracy as they set up the agency model for eBook pricing–including deleting emails “to avoid leaving a paper trail.”
To read all of this article, follow this link: GalleyCat
In response,Scott Turow, president of the Authors Guild made the following statement:"The settlement provides a gigantic obstacle to Amazon’s competitors in the e-book business by allowing Amazon to function without making a profit, something that leaves that market forbidding to anyone else who might think of entering, and a bad business for those already there. Today’s low Kindle book prices will last only as long as it takes Amazon to re-establish its monopoly..." Read all at: Turow
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UP on the WOOF
Ariel Wulf is a non-stop advocate working to raise awareness and stop dog abuse.She has wriiten a series of articles for Up on the Woof on topics ranging from the the cruelty of Puppy Mills to dog abuse on Craig's List...Here are excerpts from current posts....
" I employ a certain type of advocacy for “Free Pet” ads I come across on Craigslist –emailing the advertisers with a list of specific dangers. A quarter of them don’t respond. The other three quarters usually write back that they had no idea about the dangers. That usually opens an email conversation about what other options they have. I always fully expect to get nasty emails in return, but that has never happened....
...Last month, Facebook and the ASPCA worked together to put an end to ads for puppy mills on Facebook Marketplace. I wrote an article about it for Pet Pardons News, and while I was researching it, an interesting fact came to my attention.
The ASPCA commissioned a poll that found while most Americans have heard of puppy mills and say they wouldn’t buy a dog that came from one, most Americans also believe that the dogs in pet stores come from legitimate sources. Many people also mistakenly think that anti-puppy mill campaigns are about the puppies.
Think about the word mill for a minute. Two of the definitions of “mill” are: A factory where something is manufactured and, To grind, crush, or pulverize ...Definitely worth a read by dog lovers and and decent people everywhere"....Here's the link : UpOnTheWoof
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Tender Loving Canines (TLCAD ), an outstanding therapy dog center, were among the winners of a Planet Dog Foundation grant. They serve the San Diego Area. They focus primarily on three areas of therapy dog training and help: Wounded WarriorService Dogs; Autism Service Dogs, and Facility Service Dogs. Their site is extremly well written and has excellent photos. Their link,TLCAD, is above.
Here is a brief excerpt from their site: ..".For a Wounded Warrior, the transition from combat back into society as we know it, can be daunting. The hyper vigilance and hyper reactivity to situations, sensations, sounds and smells that kept them alive in the war zone no longer have a place and are generally considered unacceptable. By utilizing a trained dog, many of the fight or flight reactions that return home with the veteran can be gradually modulated and even, over time, extinguished..."
The Planet Dog Foundation -- link:PDF -- contributes "through a grant-making program designed to financially support 501(c)(3) not-for-profit partners across the U.S. The goal of our grant program is to fund programs that train, place and support dogs helping people in need. Funding is allocated nationwide to promote and financially support service-oriented canine programs such as assistance dogs, therapy dogs, search and rescue programs or police, fire and military dogs. " Follow the link to learn more.
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An announcement from Elizabeth Bird, NYPL Children's Librarian...
The Children's Literary Salon at the New York Public Library, on May 5, presents:
Toby's Tails by Susan Keefe -- The life of a Border Collie on a farm in France
This warm and caring book is narrated by a puppy during his first year of life on a working farm wherein he meets all kinds of critters, both on the farm and in the fields. From goats to chickens, there are always new discoveries. Fortunately, Toby is mentored by Lucky, an older dog, a Golden retriever, who guides him throughout his adventures. Black and white photo illustrations support the story. I feel that urban parents, especialyl, will find this to be good read aloud book for introducing kids to a dog's world and daily life on a family farm. This true story of 200 pages is based on the author's experiences and the real life adventures of Toby, the dog.
Susan also has a pet world website, designed with caring and affection, for younger kids: http://www.yourpetsmagazine.com/
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Free Nextdoor Social Media Helps Find Lost Pets...a good news article on Nancy Houser's Website about a valuable free service.
"There is a free social media for U.S. neighborhoods called Nextdoor.com that has not only helped people but countless lost pets to find their way home. Nextdoor was launched nationwide in October of 2011, reuniting hundreds of lost pets with pet owners. They have 1,600 neighborhood websites and and are located in 46 states..." Here is the link to read all the article: WayCoolDogs
Way Cool Dogs is filled with dog news, canine health information, dog stories and more...an important source for dog lovers.
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Pet Partners...Helping Children Read
"Thousands of Pet Partners teams across the country participate ina variety of reading programs for
children in libraries, schools andbookstores. The concept is simple: Let a child read aloud to a dog rather than to a teacher, parent or classmates. In this way, a reluctant reader is able to pursue the activity with more self-confidence and without fear of making mistakes in front of people, making iteasier to concentrate on the task at hand.
Pioneering research done during the 2000-01 school year by Intermountain Therapy Animals of Salt Lake City, Utah,demonstrated that children participating in their R.E.A.D.®(Reading Education Assistance Dogs) program achieved great gains in their reading ability. In that study, children who read to dogs weekly throughout the school year showed significant improvement in their reading skills.The number of Pet Partners participating in R.E.A.D.,Reading with Rover,SM and other reading programs is significant and growing...."
To read more about the work of Delta Society Pet Partners, click this link: PetPartners
The Pet Partner dog in the photo is Lynn Michalson's MacKenzie...to see Mackenzie and other therapy dogs at work in a heartening video, visit this link: HealingDogs
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Sunbear Squad is dedicated to providing information, materials and inspiration to animal lovers...teaching people of good will what to do if they see an abandoned or injured dog.
Sunbear Squad features Rescue Stories wherein the good side of Human nature ultimately prevails...Here is the true story of a traffic accident and a dog rescue...
"One day I was driving in Houston TX with my dog Rutger riding in the back of my SUV and I had an accident. I was knocked out, and when I came to, I turned and saw that Rutger was not in the SUV anymore. Most of the windows were smashed and I assume he got out through a window. The vehicle was lying on its passenger side, so I climbed out of the driver's side window and stood on the vehicle looking around the highway for my dog. I didn't know how long I was knocked out, but all the traffic was stopped as I was part of a multi-car pileup and I could see that some police were just now approaching the scene. There was an ambulance trying to thread its way through the stopped traffic also..." Here is the link to the rest of this story: SUNBEAR
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"There is honor in being a Dog." -- Aristotle (384 B.C.- 324B.C.) RHETORIC
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