Let’s Talk Dog Books

Lord Banjo visits summer camp

You know Mum is not the only person in the family who can write about books.

I have two favorite dog books, but I’ll save those until the end, as in save the best for last.  I discovered all kinds of dog books on the many bookshelves around the house. The first two I found at eye level tucked in Mum’s childhood books on the bookcase.  “Beautiful Joe,” like my book, is written by the dog, but unlike me, Joe had a rough life and a mean owner. Mum tells me it was one of her favorite books.

Next to that book sits a worn copy of “Big Red,” the story of a seventeen-year-old boy and his Irish Setter. I find it amusing that Mum remembers it fondly because it is about a boy and a dog hunting and fishing and all kinds of stuff she never did--topics I wouldn’t think Mum would find appealing. Did you know this and other books by Jim Kjelgaard were removed from lists of recommended young adult books years ago about the time folks were canceling NRA memberships?

In Mum’s office, I spied “Lucky Boy,”  a beautifully illustrated children’s story about a lonely dog and a lonely man. Mum says she saw it displayed in a bookshop one day and had to have it.

Also on the office bookshelf, I found “Marley and Me.”  Mum liked this book and the movie. I wonder whether she especially liked it because Josh Grogan, the author, was a columnist like she is.  The book about Marley, a wild child of a dog, grew out of Grogan’s columns about the big galoot.  Though Marley did things like eat sofas, Josh and the rest of the family loved him dearly.

Another of Mum’s favorites is “The Art of Racing in the Rain.” She says folks always ask her whether my book is like that, and she tells them my book is nowhere near as deep. Enzo is a lovable philosopher of a dog who educates himself by watching TV and focusing intently on the words of his dad. His story is sweet and sad.

The last dog book Mum read was nonfiction: “How Dogs Love Us.” Emory University neuroscientist Gregory Berns wanted to know what his dog Callie was thinking and whether she and dogs, in general, love people the way people love us.  He used MRI imaging technology to scan Callie’s brain and figure out the answers.  The story of how he got little Callie to put her head in an MRI machine and hold still is fascinating as are the results of his research. I hope Mum is reading this because she needs to know that an MRI is not something I want to experience!

Now, to my two favorite books. “Someone to Look Up To,” about a Great Pyrenees who lives in France, is my #2 favorite book.  Why? Well, a Great Pyrenees tells the story, and I’m part Great Pyrenees. I learned lots about my breed and realized that not all dogs, even beautiful pure-bred Great Pyrenees, have responsible and loving people parents.  The book is both heartbreaking and heartwarming. 

Can you guess my all-time favorite? Of course, you can: it’s my book “Lord Banjo the Royal Pooch.” My story is humorous, not heartbreaking, and reading it is guaranteed to put a silly grin on your face and make you LOL. What more could a dog lover want?  

Find “Lord Banjo the Royal Pooch” and “The Ink Penn: Celebrating the Magic in the Everyday,” on Amazon. Contact Lord Banjo and the Royal Mum at inkpenn119@gmail.com, and follow them on Facebook, www.facebook.com/KathyManosPennAuthor/.