I loved this book so freakin' much!

My son had to read this for school and I read some with him. Some stories were funny and therefore interesting. If you have had lots of animals in your own life, writing a book like this yourself would be a good idea! Some topics and words were not appropriate for the age range (8-12) that the book’s audience is written for.

A book that was charming in the writing and the characters were ok but they weren't really memorable in any shape or form. This book was fun to read but this was aiming towards kids definitely so I recommend it to kids who love dogs.

Gary Paulsen has many great books. This is written in a several story format. This story is a non-fiction story about a man reflecting his life with his dogs. Josh a border collie he had as a man was smarter than any human had ever met. I do recommend this book to avid dog lovers because you will be truly touched. This genre is ok to me.

Wow. I loved this book. If you are a fan of Gary Paulsen, or a dog person, or both, you will like this book! I read it during silent reading time with my library classes, which actually wasn't a great idea because I was alternately crying or laughing or both - and trying to be quiet! - during the different stories. I would have enjoyed even more a much longer book with many more stories of dogs from Gary Paulsen's life.

A favorite quote:
"I have always had dogs and will have dogs until I die. I have rescued dozens of dogs from pounds, always have five or six of them around me, and cannot imagine living without dogs. They are wonderful and, I think, mandatory for decent human life."

I think the book is very good because all the dogs that the Author had mention have a special thing for his life because those dogs impact his life. The book also give a lot of characterization of all the dogs in the book and give us the readers on how the dog really is when they are with the author.

I read this book on Audible.

The stories are great but it was very hard to understand the narrator. He read really fast, and just reading (not telling a story to listeners). He was mumbling at times.

I understood the value of a good storyteller and also the difference between a writer and a storyteller in this context.

With the right storytelling, this book could me much more enjoyable.

Respectfully,

DB

I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to read Paulsen’s memoirs and nonfiction. This was like a warm, fuzzy hug. The book is short as Paulsen focuses on 9 dogs he’s owned and reflects on their personalities and the way they shaped him. The stories are inspiring, heartwarming, adventurous, and funny. Love!

Picked this up to use it as a mentor text in my classes and ended up reading the whole thing. Paulsen really does have some interesting, nearly unbelievable stories about dogs. This was a good read but had it been longer I probably would have set it down. It was just the right length as is. I do wish he kept things more in chronological order.

This was such a cute read! I absolutely adore anything Gary Paulsen writes, he lived such a fascinating life and I love reading about his adventures. This one hit me especially hard because dogs have always played a massive part of my life and I know how incredible they are, but some of these stories were so beautiful they brought me to tears !!! Highly recommend if you're struggling to keep up with your 2024 reading challenge lmao

The title of the book is My Life in Dog Years and the author is Gary Paulsen. The genre is Autobiography and it has #137 pages.

This book is about Gary’s dogs that he has owned throughout his life and there story. Each chapter was about a different dog. Gary has a dedication chapter that is dedicated to cookie the dog that saved his life when he was drowning. The first chapter is about Snowball a dog that Gary wanted when he was little. Gary got Snowball when he was on a vacation trip and the town he was in raised dogs to eat them. Gary saved Snowballs because she was about to get killed when he grabbed the her and would not let her go his mother haggled over the price but eventually got Snowball for Gary. Snowball was black with one white circle on its side. Gary was only seven so Snowball and him grew up together. Snowball looked like a hound. Snowball also saved Gary from getting bitten by a snake. Snowball became a parent to Gary and watched out for him always. Snowball died when a military truck hit her and she was dead instantly. The next chapter was about Ike. Most of Gary’s childhood was spent alone. When Gary was twelve his uncle gave him a rifle and Gary immediately went off into the woods. gary also bought a shotgun. Gary started hunting and fishing and it was when he was hunting ducks that he met Ike. Ike was a black lab and a stray. Gary looked at his collar and all it said was my name is Ike. Gary started to hunt and Ike brought him back the ducks and every day ike was waiting. Ike suddenly disappeared and Gary could never find him again. One day Gary went to a sporting goods store and met a man in a wheelchair and they exchanged stories about their dogs. One the interesting things was that he to had a wonderful dog named Ike. The next chapter was about Dirk the protector. During a tim Gary spent his life on the streets working in a bowling alley and being beat up by other boys. Almost every night gary got beat up by Happy and his friends until one day. Gary like normal was trying to find a way to get around them so he went down the fire escape and when he tried to put a foot down on the ground he heard growling. Gary had a hamburger in his pocket and through some down. The dog ate it and gary jumped down and ran but then he ran into Happy. Happy started beating up Gary but all of a sudden it stopped and all gary could hear has ripping and growling. When Gary didn’t hear anything anymore he looked up and saw the Dirk with a part of Happy’s pant leg in his mouth. Then Gary went home and Dirk followed far but still in sight right behind him. Dirk went right in Gary’s house and gary gave him the other half of the hamburger. the next morning Dirk followed him to school and stopped at the other side of the street. When Gary got out of school Dirk was still there and then gary knew Dirk would protect him. Dirk always followed Gary around and protected him. One day gary went out to a farm and Dirk went with him. Dirk never let anybody touch him before but when that farmer petted him he wagged his tail. Dirk had found a home and always stayed out at that farm protecting the farmers sheep. The next chapter was about Rex the farmdog. Rex was on a farm that Gary worked on. Rex was a collie and he loved to make sure everything was in line and herded. Every morning Rex would scout and heard the cows into the barn to be milked. The chapter ended with Rex herding his owners daughters. The next chapter was about Caesar the giant. Caesar was a great dane. Gary got him by responding to and add that he saw. Caesars owner brought him to Gary’s house and left imately. Caesar was so sad he would not eat or drink he just layed by the door waiting for his owner to come back. Finally Caesar decided that he was not coming back and became his normal self. One thing that happened was one morning gary took Caesar for a walk but Caesar caught some sent of the cat and drug gary all over his neighbors yard and through the entire town. Caesar loved hot dogs and could eat allot. One day towards the end of the chapter Caesar was at a baseball game with gary and took and ate a little girls hot dog right out of her hand. The next chapter was Fred and Pig. Gary was walking and a little boy came up to him with a box full of wood chips and asked if he wanted to buy it. Gary asked what was in it and he said it was a lab and something that came into that yard that night. Gary reached in the box and the Fred bit him. Gary eventually ended up buying it. Fred spent most of his days with Pig. They ate together slept together and did everything together. Pig kept on getting out so Gary put in a electric fence. When Fred tried to get in he couldn’t and he started to bite the electric fence. Eventually Fred got in and no harm done. The next chapter was Quincy. Quincy was a little dog that gary traced for a siberian husky. Quincy was known to get into the trash but she never did. One day Quincy jumped through Gary’s window when they were at Dairy Queen and went in. Quincy loved sticking her head by the window and then falling back down onto the seat. The next chapter was about Josh. Josh was a very smart dog and knew everything. Josh in the end was a best friend with a horse.

I loved this book and would recommend it to and animal lover.

This book is highly recommend for someone who loves dogs. I like this book because it went through all the dogs he has had in the past and named was he truly loved them for. Cookie I thought was one of my favorite dogs in the story because Cookie was a sled dog. Dirk was also a favorite of mine; Dirk was a hunting dog. The owner found Dirk while he was hunting. Dirk was always by his side to go get what ever the owner shot. Dirk would always sleep in a tent with the owner every night. Every time Dirk heard something he would wake up and be a protector to his owner. I like this book because each dog was meant for a purpose and it was always sad when the dog dies or runs away.