Welcome home, Harley by Jess Black

Little paws series. Random House, 2017. ISBN 9780143781776
(Age: 7+) Recommended. Dogs. Guide dogs. One in a series called Little paws, this is a collaboration between Random and Guide Dogs Association of Australia, bringing short easily read stories about dogs to life for the newly independent reader. In this title, Lexie and Tom go to the information session with their parents. Here they learn all about the aims of the training schedule and what is expected of them as trainers. The two are very excited when they meet their dog, Harley, and learn why the dog was named. Given a carrier, food, bowls and collars the family sets off home to introduce the dog to their family home. Here it will stay, gaining valuable training in what it means to be in a family and given a wide variety of experiences. After a few hiccups in which the children learn as much as the dog about being in a family, they settle down to training the dog both at home and at preschool. Easy to read, short, with some illustrations, these will appeal enormously to the early reader and they will learn a lot along the way about guide dogs, having a dog in the family and the responsibility and care of an animal.
For more about these books see the Guide Dogs Blog.
Fran Knight