Dogs Have the Strangest Friends: & Other True Stories of Animal Feelings - Hardcover

Setting the tone for these stories-cum- animal-rights agenda, Masson's long-winded introduction posits that animals "have nearly all the feelings we do, and maybe even some that we don't." Drawing primarily from published works, including his books for adults (When Elephants Weep; Dogs Never Lie About Love), Masson describes intriguing friendships between various species, animals' acts of courage and compassion and other incidents revealing a range of animal emotions. Throughout, the author offers personal, often highly speculative interpretations (e.g., after discussing elephants' well-documented interest in elephant bones, he writes, "I think they are trying to figure out why humans kill elephants for their tusks"). He is given to rambling, sometimes fatuous musings (for instance, writing of two adult peregrine falcons whose father was temporarily unable to feed them in their youth, he says: "Probably they now knew what hunger meant and would never allow their children to go hungry. Or so I like to think"). While many will agree with his politics (he's vegetarian, anti-fur and anti-animal testing), the arguments are presented without balance ("Does this poor planet really need another kind of floor polish, one of the many products tested on animals?"). The most effective element here is the least heavy-handed: Felts's (The Blue Whale) tender, softly focused watercolors of animals in their native habitats. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

At first glance, this seems like an odd book. What is it? Beautiful watercolor paintings give it a serious, thoughtful feel. But it's about dogs having strange friends?

What you'll find is that it's filled with beautiful stories to go along with the paintings. Each one, by telling a story of animal behavior, shows that animals must have feelings, too. There is the story of a hippo trying to save a deer nearly drowned by a crocodile. There is a story of a dog and a lion who would sleep snuggled up together until one day they grew up and realized they were of a different species. There's even a first-person story by the author about when he thought he could walk up to a wild elephant and befriend it--only to find that it was wild and it charged him.

This book will touch your heart, and you'll look at animals with a new compassion and sensibility. Pick it up, read one story, and then come back later. You'll be amused and charmed each time. Filled with lessons gracefully told, the book sets children on the path of compassion towards animals.

Reviewed by Ann and Don Oldenburg, Parents' Choice® 2000 -- From Parents' Choice®