In Madeline's first adventure, she overcame her reading struggles with the help of Bonnie, a library reading dog. In her second story, she became involved with an animal shelter and started to explore giving back, along with Star, one of Bonnie's puppies. Now, in her third story, she and Star are ready to start working as a therapy team, they hope!
Madeline and Star have worked hard, training together, and now they are visiting a retirement home with Bonnie and her owner, Mrs. Dimple. Mr. Finch will be testing Star to see if he will make a good therapy dog. Star does a great job, except at staying put - he's too eager to start visiting! Star is ready to start visiting people and Madeline, although nervous, is happy to join him. Although not emphasized, readers will see that Madeline mother, Mrs. Dimple, and Mr. Finch all stay close to supervise.
Madeline has one worry though - one resident of the nursing home doesn't seem to respond to Star at all. She tries talking to Mr. Humphrey, an older black man in a wheelchair, but he doesn't smile or respond. After some gentle coaching by her mother, Madeline thinks about how long it took her to learn to read with Bonnie and starts applying some of those lessons to visiting Mr. Humphrey. Eventually, with patience and kindness, she makes friends with the sad older man and he responds to her and Star, even being the one to hand over Star's new therapy dog tag.
The soft pastel colors emphasize the kindness and patience that shine through in this loving story of the bonds between animals and humans. Madeline is a sweet, loving child who reflects, in a child-like way, on the patience and kindness that was shown to her when she struggled to read and returns that patience to Mr. Humphrey. Children will love the big adorable Great Pyrenees dogs throughout the story and librarians, teachers, and dog owners can all appreciate the quiet lessons included.
One thing that this series shows very well, and something which I've learned over the years working with shelter animals and therapy dogs at our library, is that the human component is just as important as the animal. We've been very fortunate to have volunteers who show the same patience, kindness, and gentle teaching to our children and adults at the library whether they are learning to overcome their fears of animals, reading, or just enjoying interacting with a furry friend.
The nursing home is a little idealized - most of the patients appear to be mobile or able to care for themselves to some extent and although many sufferers from dementia can be angry (and, frankly, some people, old or not, are just jerks) everyone is generally quiet and friendly. This fits in well with the story, but might be a bit of a shock for anyone taking this as their only guide before visiting a nursing home. However, that's unlikely, especially in this times, so it's really a minor quibble.
Verdict: A must have for your library, whether or not you hope to have a therapy dog program, and a gentle reminder that patience and kindness go hand in hand.
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