This memoir was a delight to read. It chronicles Gary Paulsen’s life through the lens of his love for dogs. Only 137 pages long. This would be a great family read-aloud.

You can't go wrong with a bunch of dog stories. These ones lean toward the heart-warming rather than the heart-breaking, and they're also pretty funny. I read the one about Dirk the Protector to a bunch of classes and they got a real kick out of it. This will be next bedtime read-aloud for my 12 year old.

Wonderful stories of the dogs in Paulsen's life and how they helped him growing up in an alcoholic home. Many of these make great read-alouds for upper elementary and middle school. "Dirk" in particular is recommended.

THE best memoir I have read. From dog stories about exploring with them as a kid too being life saved when sledding. Makes you want to embrace all the dogs. Changes your point of view even if you like cats. Excites you, makes you sad and shocks you.

Reading this book is like listening to Mr. Paulsen's tale of wondrous dogs he has encountered in his life: His colloquial English writing style is all the more realistic and straightforwardly addressed to readers' hearts, leaving strong imprints in their minds without elaborate metaphor. Mr. Paulsen introduces his readers to the dogs that have provided his life with compassion, loyalty, faithfulness, and joy, the virtues which only humans are thought to be endowed with. Take Ike, the black Lab who appeared out of the blue to console the author's lonely heart and become a good friend; and Josh, an incredibly smart and remarkably faithful Border Collie, who was not only a good herding dog but also a loyal friend. I would dare say that these wonder dogs were his saving grace that helped him to find his calling as a fine American writer.

As I use this book with our new fifth grade reading curriculum, I’m a little shocked to see it included. Sure, it’s about dogs which is nice, but it just kind of drags and briefly mentions some drinking and has a few swear words in it. Overall it’s a fine book for older kids, but I’m not sure I would recommend this book to my friends or any of my students in the future.

Short, powerful stories about the joys and sorrows of dog ownership and companionship that clearly influenced a lot of Paulsen’s fiction. The stories about Snowball and Ike made me tear up.

This short book is a lovely light nostalgic read for another looking for a good tale about man's best friend. I only wish it were longer :)

I wasn't crazy about this one. I think I expected more flow from story to story, rather than a collection of short stories, which is what this felt like to me. I do enjoy Paulsen's story telling, I just didn't love this book.

Sweet, sweet title for dog people who may *also* track their lives by the dogs who have befriended them.
This title is super-easy to read but may also be a good read aloud for our youngest OBOB fans because of a few scary moments when Paulsen almost dies.
Read in preparation for OBOB2018.

OBOB 2018, book 4. If you like dogs, you will LOVE this book. If you don't like dogs, I'm not sure. But don't most people like dogs?? I enjoyed each unique story. Some made me teary eyed and most made me laugh. The book was quick and a pleasure to read.

This book tells you about Gary Paulsen's personal life and how dogs have been a tremendous influence in his life. You'll get to meet these dogs and how they actually influenced Gary's life. Worth reading .