Owney the Mail-Pouch Pooch by Mona Kerby is based on the true story of a remarkable terrier mix who became famous in the 1890’s. He was adopted by Albany, New York postal workers, and guarded the mail, only letting the men in blue uniforms near. One day he hopped on a train carrying mail across the country. The Albany men were sad, but a few months later Owney returned. He wanted to ride the train again! This time the railway postmen attached tags to Owney’s collar to show where he’d been. Soon he had so many, he had to wear a harness instead to hold them all! Owney traveled the world, guarding the mail on a steamship headed to Asia. This book is very well researched (the author even thanks a few Maryland librarians for helping get the facts straight) and features cute illustrations by Lynne Barasch.
Dogs
Measuring Penny
Measuring Penny by Loreen Leedy is a fun book to help teach your child a bit about math and measurement. In the story, a little girl named Lisa has to measure something for homework. Her teacher says she can measure anything, so she chooses her Boston Terrier, Penny! Lisa measures all sorts of things about Penny–how much she weighs, how much she eats and drinks, how fast she can run, how far she can walk. Lisa even takes Penny to the park to compare her to the other dogs there–who is the tallest? who has the longest tail? who can jump the highest? Find out what Lisa learns about her favorite pet in Measuring Penny.