At home in England, Darling is a mischievous but much loved pet to
Robert and Katherine. But when the British military asks families to
volunteer their dogs to help the war effort, they send Darling off to be
trained, even though it is very hard to say goodbye. Darling goes
through training along with many other dogs and is ultimately used as a
mercy dog, seeking out injured soldiers on the battlefield and leading
the medics to them. After saving the lives of numerous soldiers, Darling
is faced with a major challenge.
*Summary and Cover Image from Amazon*
I absolutely loved this book! I was a little hesitant at first, as I was afraid that it would fall into the "dog book" trap and have an unhappy ending, but it didn't!
I loved that the book was told from Darling's perspective, rather than a narrator. I felt like it gave the book more OOMPH, as you could almost feel what Darling was going through.
As an early chapter book, the vocabulary was easily accessible to most readers. Though I would suggest it more to a child with at least knowledge of England, France, Germany, etc as I thought kids who don't even know those places exist would have a hard time really comprehending the book. Of course, I would highly recommend it to dog lovers.
I couldn't help but think of therapy dogs today, and how they are used in schools and hospitals. And actually, I was kind of hoping that at the end, that was what Darling was going to do (maybe a sequel?...wishful thinking). I'd like to mention that I'm hoping to certify my dog, Luna, as a therapy dog so that she can bring joy to others. Which is why she is practicing by coming to school with me on Tuesdays for my students to read to her (Darling is definitely going in the "dog book" bin!) If you would like to donate to my Donors Choose project to help buy more dog books for the kiddos to read to Luna, please click here.
I'd like to thank Peachtree Publishers for sending me a copy of Darling to read and review.
Make sure you check out the other blogs on tour:
Monday
Sally's Bookshelf - www.sallysbookshelf.blogspot.
Blue Owl Reviews - www.blueowlreviews.blogspot.
Tuesday
Gidget's Bookworms - http://gidgetsbookworms.
Maestra Amanda's Bookshelf - http://maestra-amanda.
Wednesday
Post on the Peachtree blog with a GIVEAWAY! http://www.peachtreepub.blogspot.com/
Thursday
Kid Lit Reviews - www.kid-lit-reviews.com
Friday
Good Reads with Ronna - www.goodreadswithronna.com
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