Bedtime Stories for Dogs
Book Review
I don’t currently own a dog and I’m not what I would call a “dog lover” although I like dogs. I don’t fit the criteria of “dog lover” as stated in the introduction.
“Your dog occasionally allows you to sleep in the bed (but only if you don’t hog the covers!)”
“Your dog has his/her own wardrobe that rivals anything you have in the closet (and the jewelry, oh, the jewelry!)”
“You don’t even notice the dog hairs in your food.”
“You carry your dog when he/she gets winded.” Well, that does sound like me.
Author, Leigh Anne Jasheway is definitely a dog lover. It becomes clear that she must have spent many hours with many dogs to have written with such insight into the canine psyche. Each bedtime story may sound familiar to you, such as “Hans and Greta” “The Three Little Pugs” or “Snow White and the Seven Chihuahuas.” Jasheway handled each fairy tale in a way that was surprising, never common. Each story is charmingly reworked from a dog’s point of view. The dog characters perfectly fit the fairy tale personality and you will find that there are a few characters from other fairy tales thrown in for color and plot.
When “Bedtime Stories for Dogs” came to me, I didn’t plan to read it and I didn’t think I would like it when I did read it. However, after reading one story, I was tempted to read another and then another. I was pleasantly surprised with the delightful doggie twist that each story took. Six nursery rhymes are an extra treat toward the end of the book. Flip to one of those for a quick smile.
The author, Leigh Anne Jasheway-Bryant, M.P.H. (master of public health/ mistress of public humor) is a stand up comic in Eugene, Oregon. In addition to being a humorous author, she is a humorous and motivational keynote speaker, humor and health columnist and radio personality. She says that each of the stories was proofed (and woofed) by her two eleven-year-old wiener dogs. I’m pretty sure that the last story of the book “Angel Dogs” is about them.
Dog lovers everywhere; take notice. “Bedtime Stories for Dogs” will be great fun for you and your dog or for you and your kids or just for you when you need cheering up. I got a chuckle out of each story and nursery rhyme, and I know my cat enjoyed them, too, although she tried to appear bored.
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