The Sand Dog

Grandfather had been gone for two years but I never thought it would be an ordinary day he’d come back, like a Monday or a Tuesday... I always knew he’d return across the water, triumphing over a few monsters on the way, I just didn’t know when...

What would you do if you were allergic but really wanted a dog? In this whimsical picture book, a young girl uses her crafty nature and imagination to create four-legged friends each season as the weather changes. She builds a dog out of snow in winter, sand in summer, leaves in fall, and flowers in spring!

In “The People of Sand and Slag,” a Hugo and Nebula Award-nominated short story, Paolo Bacigalupi weaves a tale about the lives of three technologically modified guards, their barren, heavily mined landscape, and a chance encounter with a creature rare for their time period – a dog. What starts off as a hunt for an enemy ends up as a story of empathy, and what it means to be human. “The People of Sand and Slag” was nominated for the 2005 Hugo Award for Best Novelette, and the 2006 Nebula Award for Best Novelette. It was featured in Gardner Dozois’s “Year’s Best SF” Twenty-Second Edition, Jonathan Strahan’s “Best SF of the Year” 2004 Edition, and in John Joseph Adams’ “Wastelands” Anthology in 2008. Reviews: “A difficult and touching story, which steps pretty far outside the box to examine our relationship to pets, and to nature. At every stage, Bacigalupi gets it right.” --- Internet Review of Science Fiction “Bacigalupi posits a future where humanity has adapted itself to living in a hostile environment. ... There is plenty of techie stuff entwined with the premise itself to satisfy the hardest of hard sf readers, but the main attraction of this story is the faint hope that those parts of us that can accept the "other" might still exist in a world where self-preservation and survival come first.” --- Tangent Online

In the prequel, Paw Prints in the Sand, you read the heartwarming story about Foxy, the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling retriever who was mistakenly sold to the owners of a puppy mill and lives to tell about it. Her story is one of encouragement and hope and enables us to realize how important it is to band together and save the lives of other dogs living in the same type of cruel environment. That is, if you can truly call it living. After all, these poor dogs are merely existing in cramped cages without proper food, exercise, medicine or love. The inspirational sequel continues with a bit of a twist. A man suffering with what some might call a critical mid-life crisis (and then some) is contemplating life and trying desperately to find reasons to stay alive. His wife left him, he hates his job and despises his less-than-appreciative boss. Life as he knows it is pointless. A chance situation gives him reason to smile and he finds himself conversing with a couple of men who are excited to begin a new venture building a modern dog shelter called, "Paw Prints in the Sand. " Often, we hear about dogs that have been rescued by humans, but rarely do we acknowledge that the opposite is actually true. Discover how Harrison's life is drastically changed by opening his heart to these four-legged creatures. You'll find yourself in agreement that often it is our furry friends that rescue us just as much as we rescue them.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • WINNER OF THE 2023 CALDECOTT MEDAL • This glowing and playful picture book features an overheated—and overwhelmed—pup who finds his calm with some sea, sand, and fresh air. Destined to become a classic! NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post • Publishers Weekly • Kirkus Reviews • New York Public Library “An utter joy from beginning to end!” —Sophie Blackall, two-time Caldecott Medal winner This hot dog has had enough of summer in the city! Enough of sizzling sidewalks, enough of wailing sirens, enough of people's feet right in his face. When he plops down in the middle of a crosswalk, his owner endeavors to get him the breath of fresh air he needs. She hails a taxi, hops a train, and ferries out to the beach. Here, a pup can run! With fluid art and lyrical text that have the soothing effect of waves on sand, award-winning author Doug Salati shows us how to find calm and carry it back with us so we can appreciate the small joys in a day.

Ally is allergic to dogs but fortunately the dogs she makes from materials found in nature come to life each season.

Set on a beach in Thailand, this text follows the stories of two litters of stray puppies as they fight to survive against hunger, cruelty and fear as disease and death strike in their midst.