|
Timbuktu by Paul Auster
Mr. Bones, the canine hero of Paul Auster's astonishing new book, is the sidekick and confidant of Willy G. Christmas, a brilliant and troubled homeless man from Brooklyn. As Willy's body slowly expires, he sets off with Mr. Bones for Baltimore in search of his high school English teacher and a new home for his companion. Mr. Bones is our witness during their journey, and out of his thoughts, Paul Auster has spun one of the richest, most compelling tales in American fiction.
Tigger by Susanne Haywood
We are all familiar with human responses to change, but what about the animal's perspective? Globetrotting Tigger, the ginger tomcat with attitude, is born into the sunshine and easy lifestyle of Western Australia, but is forced to follow his family of restless humans to the USA for an adventurous two years in the forests and fields of Maryland. He returns to Australia and life on a small farm in the bush with all its associated excitements and perils before he is whisked off yet again to a damp, green country called England. What matters to Tigger when he leaves home? And how does he cope with the unfamiliar? Tigger's story is told through the sharply observant eyes of a cat in charge of his band of endearingly naïve humans, whose ideas he often finds puzzling, but accepts with good grace. In the background of the story, Tigger's humans face their own struggles as they learn to adjust to their new surroundings, but they really aren't that important.
A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron
This is the story of one dog's search for his purpose over the course of several lives. More than just another charming dog story, A Dog's Purpose touches on the universal quest for an answer to life's most basic question: Why are we here?
The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa
Nana the cat is on a road trip. He is not sure where he's going or why, but it means that he gets to sit in the front seat of a silver van with his beloved owner, Satoru. Side by side, they cruise around Japan through the changing seasons, visiting Satoru's old friends. He meets Yoshimine, the brusque and unsentimental farmer for whom cats are just ratters; Sugi and Chikako, the warm-hearted couple who run a pet-friendly B&B; and Kosuke, the mournful husband whose cat-loving wife has just left him. There's even a very special dog who forces Nana to reassess his disdain for the canine species.
But what is the purpose of this road trip? And why is everyone so interested in Nana? Nana does not know and Satoru won't say. But when Nana finally works it out, his small heart will break.
A Dog's Life: The Autobiography of a Stray by Ann Martin
Squirrel and her brother Bone begin their lives in a toolshed behind someone's summer house. Their mother nurtures them and teaches them the many skills they will need to survive as stray dogs. But when their mother is taken from them suddenly and too soon, the puppies are forced to make their own way in the world, facing humans both gentle and brutal.
|