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Dog Lovers Book Club - Christmas 2019

It's Christmas time and the most wonderful time of the year with a super-sized Christmas 2019 special edition of our Dog Lovers Book Club

If you can't bear the thought of a Christmas morning without books under the tree, we're here to help with a selection of new releases and old classics that is sure to delight dog lovers.


THE WISDOM OF OLD DOGS 
by Elli H. Radinger


An insightful and warm-hearted account of what grey snouts can teach us about life. 


Elli H. Radinger tells compelling stories of trust, patience, mindfulness, intuition, forgiving and wit, but also of how to cope with grief and loss

Life with a dog in its final years can teach us many things. Every day is a gift. 
Have no regrets. 
Take care of your pack. 
Discover what really matters.
Accept what you can't change. 

Forgive as long as you live. 
You're never too old for new tricks.


Hardcover, 320 pages

Publisher: Mirror Books24th October 2019

RRP: $31.50 at www.booktopia.com.au


DOG TRICKS AND TRAINING BOX SET
by Heather Hammonds

Puppies and dogs sure are cute, but it can be difficult to train one without professional help! And the cost of puppy preschool classes on top of the cost of a beloved pet can increase the spend quite quickly. 

Take the simple route to a well-trained dog with Dog Tricks and Training

In this kit, Heather Hammonds will shows dog owners on how to train their dog in an easy and positive way. Heather's step-by-step instructions are easy to follow and soon the dog will be not only obedient, but performing show-stopping tricks for the whole family! 

Featuring a 64-page book, exclusive access to helpful online videos, a clicker and a rope, any dog can learn new things with Dog Tricks and Training!

Activity Kit, 64 pages
Publisher: Hinkler Books Pty Ltd, 13th November 2019

RRP: $16.99 at www.booktopia.com.au


A DOG NAMED CHRISTMAS
by Greg Kincaid

The perfect stocking-filler for anyone who adored Marley & Me - a delightfully festive and heartwarming tale.
When Todd, a developmentally challenged young man still living on his parents' Kansas farm, hears that a local animal shelter is seeking temporary homes for its dogs during the holiday week, he knows exactly what he wants for Christmas.

Animals are Todd's first love, and his persistence quickly overwhelms his father's objections to befriending a canine, a reluctance that proves to have a painful origin.


The family takes in a very special animal, and the shelter's Christmas adoption programme soon grows larger than anyone had hoped. By the story's end, Todd, with the help of a dog named Christmas, has taught an entire community the transformative power of goodwill and shared love - a lesson for all seasons.

Paperback, 192 pages
Penguin Random House, Imprint: Arrow, 7th March 2016
RRP: $24.99 - visit www.penguin.com.au

DOG POEMS

Since prehistory, dogs have served as man's best friend, giving us loyalty, assistance and boundless inspiration.

Dogs offer comfort and amusement to their owners. They provide solace when we're sad, entertaining antics when we're bored and affection every day. 


To poets in particular, these beloved creatures are the most bountiful muses, as they bark, yip, hunt, fetch, growl and slumber, reflecting back at us our most heartfelt tenderness and often rewarding us with unconditional love we scarcely deserve.

Dog Poems offers a litter of verses in celebration of our most faithful companions by some of the greatest poets of all time.

Paperback: 112 pages
Publisher: Profile Books, Imprint: Serpents Tail, 5th November 2019 

RRP: $16.99 from www.booktopia.com.au


DOGS IN ART
by Susie Green

From the Zoroastrian sculpture of a 100kg Mastiff to the portrait of a coiffured lapdog, Dogs in Art presents humanity’s best friend like never before. 

Through a wide range of genres, fashions and cultures, from Roman mosaics to pop art, video, impressionism and photography, this book brings together more than 200 breathtaking canine images to tell the story of dogs in art, from ancient times to the present. 

Susie Green considers the artist’s often very personal motives behind their work, the vastly different cultural raison d’ĂȘtres, and the reasons why these sentient, emotional beings are loved and trusted by hundreds of millions of people, including artists such as Hogarth, William Wegman and Lucien Freud.

The perfect gift for the many dog lovers around the world, this beautifully illustrated volume offers a dynamic new perspective on our relationship with this much cherished animal.

Hardcover, 288 pages
Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 12th November 2019

Price $43.75 at www.booktopia.com.au

A DICTIONARY OF INTERESTING AND IMPORTANT DOGS
by Peter J. Conradi

Tin Tin's Snowy, Odysseus's Argos, Darwin's Polly, Mary Queen of Scot's 22 lap-dogs, Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Flush... Behind every great man or woman is a dog.

A Dictionary of Interesting and Important Dogs is a rich compendium of the world's most significant and beloved dogs. Embracing the intriguing and the provocative, the essential and the trivial, Peter Conradi forays into history, literature, personal anecdotes and Chinese dog recipes to unearth a treasure trove of canine characters.

Discover the stories behind the four dogs who travelled First Class on the Titanic and how they survived; the 100 references to dogs in Alexander Pope's oeuvre; Edinburgh's Greyfriars Bobby who stayed by his master's grave for 14 years; and the 1100 dog names that Edward Duke of York considered appropriate for hunting dogs in the 15th century.

This is a wonderful and witty homage to man's most faithful friend.

Hardcover, 224 pages
Publisher: Short Books Ltd, 7th November 2019

RRP: $29.99 at www.booktopia.com.au


BOOK CLUB KIDS’ CORNER 

MERRY CHRISTMAS, DUMPSTER DOG! 
by Colas Gutman, illustrated by Marc Boutavant 

It's Christmas once again. But this year, Dumpster Dog and Flat Cat have decided they're going to celebrate in a house instead of their trash can! But can they find a home for Christmas?

Enter the Noel family. Dumpster Dog scratches at their door, which is opened by the young Marie. How wonderful, she thinks, to finally have a disgustingly dumpy dog to leave under the tree for my brother. With that, she opens the door!

Paperback, 72 pages
Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books, 1st December 2019
For Ages: 7+ years old

RRP: $14.99 at www.booktopia.com.au



MAD DOGS
by IB Gumnut

Mad Dogs is an Australian outback story about two mischievous dogs who, when their work is done, decide to have some motorbike fun! 

Mad Dogs 2 is also set in the Australian outback. On a sheep station, the farmer is away on business. Two Cattle Dogs, Red and Blue, feel they are responsible for the farm. Two loud and rowdy birds - a crow who has learned to talk and a one-eyed rooster - have upset the farmyard! Red and Blue decide to move the pair away.

This involves
 driving the big farm tractor to lift and remove the old dunny (outback toilet) where the birds reside. Once this is done, Red and Blue decide to do some more work with the big smoking tractor. Red and Blue are quite pleased with what they do, but the farmer on his return might not be as impressed!
Paperback, 24 pages
Publisher: Gumnut Entertainment Pty Ltd, 10th October 2019
For Ages: 5 - 12 years old

Price: $15.75 at www.booktopia.com.au

BAD DOG 
by Mike Boldt 

The differences between cats and dogs have never been funnier! In this hilarious new picture book, a little girl really, really wants a dog... but gets a cat instead!

"Look what I got for my birthday! A pet dog!" says a little girl holding a... cat? 

Rocky doesn't listen or obey like all the other dogs. (Because Rocky is a cat.) And Rocky hates her leash and doesn't seem to like other dogs. (Probably because Rocky is a cat.) And rather than play fetch, Rocky prefers to... lick between her toes? Ew. Rocky is a bad "dog"! BUT Rocky doesn't bark, and is so cute when she sleeps in sunny spots. Maybe Rocky IS a good dog? (Or, you know, maybe Rocky is a cat.)

Cat lovers and dog lovers alike will howl with laughter at this little girl's wilful insistence that her cat is a dog. The hilarious ways in which cats and dogs are different are brilliantly illuminated with each turn of the page and will leave young readers and their grown-ups giggling. 

Hardcover, 40 pages
Publisher: Random House USA Inc., 5th November 2019

RRP: $29.99 at www.booktopia.com.au

CHOOKS IN DINNER SUITS
A Tale of Big Dogs and Little Penguins

by Diane Jackson HillCraig Smith (Illustrator)

On a tiny island lives a waddle of Little Penguins. But their numbers are dwindling. Swampy Marsh knows what to do, but no one will listen. Soon he can count the last few penguins on the fingers of one hand. The desperate townsfolk give Swampy, and his friends Max and Mimi, one chance.

Will his solution work? Will Swampy save the Little Penguins of Middle Island?

A warmly funny account of one man’s quest to save a penguin colony, with two very unusual helpers. This story is based on events that took place on Middle Island, Warrnambool and have become well known to the public. This true story, which features both human and animal heroes, has been written as a heartwarming tale by Diane Jackson Hill. Craig Smith’s lively illustrations capture all the drama and humour of the predicament and the characters involved.

Paperback, 32 pages
Publisher: Museum Victoria Publishing, 1st June 2016
For Ages: 3+ years old

RRP: $19.99 at www.booktopia.com.au 

THE TALES OF MR WALKER
Author: Jess Black
Read by: Michala BanasJane BunnVirginia TrioliDave O'Neil


Introducing Mr Walker – a hotel dog with a nose for adventure! Eight charming Mr Walker stories read by a variety of Guide Dog Ambassadors.

On a brilliant autumn’s day, Mr Walker arrives at the grandest hotel in town. While things get off to a wobbly start, this charming Labrador is determined to put his best paw forward. And it’s just as well because the most unexpected adventures await . . .

The audiobook edition of The Tales of Mr Walker contains eight delightful stories inspired by the real-life Mr Walker, a Guide Dog Ambassador who now calls Park Hyatt Melbourne home. 

Royalties from sales of this audiobook go to Guide Dogs Victoria.

Format: Audio Download
Imprint: Penguin Random House Australia Audio, 5th November 2019

RRP: $13.99 at www.penguin.com.au


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