'What the Dog Ate' Winners!

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

© AllThingsDogBlog.com
The Books Have Survived Unscathed!

Dog-loving readers are flocking to All Things Dog Blog to win some great books. This week's 3 winners will get a free copy of What the Dog Ate by Jackie Bouchard, courtesy of the miracles of Twitter search. I drew a list of Tweets at Tweetreach.com and Random.org selected the following winners: @HappyLadyBooks, @rlweitzel, and @high_volzage. These Twitter users will receive a DM to send their address to AllThingsDogBlog@gmail.com. Congratulations!

In my giveaway post I asked readers what their dogs have eaten. The comments are quite entertaining; I highly suggest you go get a good laugh here.

Not a winner this time? It's okay! Amazon's book department will be happy to ship you a copy pronto. Just click this link and off you'll go, right to the page you need to order. You can also purchase e-copies at Amazon, iTunes, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords, and the book is also available in paperback at CreateSpace. Plenty of options!

This giveaway of What the Dog Ate was provided by Jackie Bouchard as a promotional courtesy. I was not paid to highlight the book or run the giveaway. No purchase was required to enter.

Dog Books for Kids: Profile of "The Buddy Files" Mystery Series

by Dori Butler, guest author

© Jeremy Tugeau

If you’re looking for dog books for the beginning chapter book reader in your life, I hope you’ll take a look at my Buddy Files books, published by Albert Whitman and Company.

© Jeremy Tugeau

The Buddy Files is a series of books about a school therapy dog who solves mysteries. The stories are told from the dog’s point of view and they’re aimed at kids who are just starting to read chapter books or anyone who loves a good dog book. What's nice about writing from a dog's point of view is a precocious four-year-old who is reading chapter books can enjoy the books just as much as a 10-year-old who struggles with reading. They're not beyond the four-year-old's realm of experience, and I don't think the 10-year-old feels like he's reading a "baby book." 

Each one is a stand-alone mystery, which means the dog solves a new case in each book. But then there is also another larger mystery that spans three books.

© Jeremy Tugeau

© Jeremy Tugeau

I got the idea for the series when my own dog and I were training to become a pet partner team. Therapy dogs come in contact with a lot of different people, and each person a dog comes in contact with has their own story, or in the case of the Buddy Files, their own mystery to be solved. It seemed like the perfect hook for a children’s book series. I’ve never had so much fun writing as I have writing these books. I love writing from a dog’s point of view.

Buddy grows and changes as the series progresses. He goes from shelter dog in book 1 to working therapy dog in book 4.

© Jeremy Tugeau

In the first book, a golden retriever named King finds himself at the P-O-U-N-D (dogs don’t say that word, they spell it!). He’s adopted by a new family—a 9-year-old boy named Connor and a single mom who is going to be the principal at the elementary school. They change King’s name to Buddy. King/Buddy is growing attached to his new family, but at the same time he can’t help but wonder what happened to his old family.

© Jeremy Tugeau

While solving the Case of the Lost Boy (book 1) and the Case of the Mixed-Up Mutts (book 2), Buddy receives clues to what might have happened to his family. But he doesn’t actually find out what happened to them until the Case of the Missing Family (book 3).

Likewise, in The Case of the Fire Alarm (book 4) and The Case of the Library Monster (book 5), Buddy wonders if his new school is haunted, but he doesn’t find out whether there really is a ghost or not until The Case of the School Ghost (book 6), which will be published in March 2012. You can pre-order through Amazon at the link to assure you get a copy right away when it becomes available.

The Buddy Files books are available online through the Albert Whitman site, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and IndieBound. If you'd like to purchase your own, simply click the links to make your selections.

For a chance to win one of 3 sets of the first five Buddy Files books, you can enter using our Rafflecopter entry widget below. Facebook and Twitter handles are included there so that you may get entry credit for following. Once you've completed the two mandatory entries, you're free to choose any extra entries you wish. Good luck!

Dori Hillestad Butler and her dog Mouse are a registered Pet Partner team through Delta Society, and they enjoy reading her books with kids. Among other awards, The Buddy Files: Case of the the Lost Boy won the 2011 Edgar Award for best juvenile mystery published in 2010.

More information about Dori and The Buddy Files:
Teachers' Guide
Free Coloring Pages
Dori's website
The Delta Society
Therapy Animals

If you don't see the Rafflecopter entry form below, simply click on the post title to refresh and it should appear here: 

This Humane Society is Trying the Used Car Sales Approach:

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

Hopefully this is all in fun. The Winnipeg Humane Society's commercial for Kitty Midnight Madness is all about unloading their over-abundance of kittens. The jokes, one-liners and parallels to local used car sales will have you laughing yourself crazy. Watch for it...this guy almost promises to give you a FREE dog with your trade in!

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© Carrie Boyko, all rights reserved

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Young Dog Fans? 8 Free Books for Young Readers

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

© Carrie Boyko
Oliver is on Guard

I'm thinking about starting a kids'corner--an occasional article or post related to kids and dogs. What do you think? Hubby thinks maybe a book review of all the great dog books for kids would be a good start. Can you tell he's a big reader? He managed to quote to me that "It's the 30th anniversary of Stone Fox coming up shortly". I guess he's serious! 


A couple of days ago I offered up a batch of books for preschoolers. Today I have 8 new books for middle grade readers, ranging from about ages 8-12. How do you win a book for you, your kid, or a special child in your life? Super simple:

• Become an email subscriber (in the top right column of the blog)
• Comment on this post, telling me what you think should be included in the kids' corner. The COMMENTS link is at the bottom of EVERY post.
• Comment on our Facebook page, with your ideas for our kids' corner, great books or anything else you'd like to share about kids and dogs.
• Send me a picture of your dog along with your kid's name.
• Finally, you'll have to send me an address so I can mail the book (my email is LetsAdoptaDogPark@gmail.com). The first 5 addresses and comments I receive will get the books. Don't forget to let me know that you're entering for the middle-grade books. I've also got other book giveaways going on, so I don't want to send your preschooler an adult title she won't enjoy.
• Winners whose addresses are received by December 19 will have their books mailed that week. Addresses received after December 19 will be mailed in January when Tanner and Oliver are back on duty. They love going to the post office.

No spam to that address or your email; scout's honor. I'll only use it for your package if you win something. If you don't win, I'll be sure to put your name in the bucket for our rolling drawings, that will restart later in January, after I return from a bit of time off. Don't worry, the posts will continue to roll. I've preloaded the blog and it will be on auto-pilot while I'm playing with my own dogs.  Happy reading!

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© Carrie Boyko, all rights reserved

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Kyjen Toys Go to Two Quick Readers

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

© Carrie Boyko

Oliver Already Misses

 his New Treat Wheel!

You guys sure don't let grass grow under your feet when it comes to a great prize. I'm pleased to announce that two lucky ladies have won the Kyjen puzzle toys, which will be mailed to them this week. 


We want to see pictures of your pups playing with the new toys, so get your cameras warmed up!


The winners are Patti S. and Pamela M. I have notified both ladies and their pups will certainly be enjoying a great holiday gift. 


Tanner and Oliver are feeling better about giving the toys up, now that they have learned that there are more samples for reviewing on their way. 2011 will be a fun year with lots of product reviews. 


What's up next? Loads of dog books for all ages. Keep reading!

FREE Puppy Stories to Ring in the Holidays

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

(c) Carrie Boyko
Story time Mom? Can I Pick?

It's time to come clean and let you guys know that I'm going to take a little time off. It's just a couple of weeks but it seems like an eternity. Not to feel the click of the keys and the thrill of the days' analytics report will certainly seem wierd, but I'll get through it. You know how it is with company and cooking and parties. Yada Yada!  


The coolest thing about these blogging programs is that you can set up a post to publish at any time and date you choose, and you don't have to be there to hit the publish button. I love it! I'll be putting my blog on auto-pilot while I do my holiday thing--rest and renew--maybe even write some New Year's resolutions. 


The only problem is I also won't be sending out my weekly giveaways. That makes me sad, so Tanner and Oliver and I had a meeting today. While we were baking, eating and cleaning up (they're a big help with that) we decided to give away extra prizes for the next 2 weeks to make up for lack of giveaways during our vacation time.


Soooooo; we went shopping: 

• We got doggie books for preschoolers.
• We got doggie books for early readers.
• We got dog stories for middle grade kids.
• We even got a few gift books for adults who like dog books and dog stories.

We sure did have fun.We had fun getting some books for a special friend too. L.W., you're pretty special. I hope you know that!

Today, I'll start my holiday giveaway with the preschooler books, and I'll work my way up in age. I've got 13 adorable doggie stories for young children who love dogs--ages 6 and under. 

(c) Carrie Boyko
13 Great Read Aloud Books
Just for Dog-Loving Preschoolers

The first 13 of you that leave a comment will be winners. Tell me about your holiday plans with your dog on THIS post or on the Facebook page for THIS post and you'll get a book for that special child in your life. There's one more thing you have to do, though: Send me your address (or theirs) to LetsAdoptaDogPark@gmail.com. If you get your address in by December 19, I'll mail it before I turn off my computer for my well-earned down time. If not, you'll receive it in January, so don't forget! Do it now.


Also...please put the words "DOG BOOK PRIZE" in the subject line and be sure to tell me who you are so I can match up your address to your comment. Don't worry. I won't use your address for anything else. My only hope is that you'll remember where you got the book and come back to see us at www.AllThingsDogBlog.com. 

Watch for our next book give away of titles just for our young readers. Happy tails!

Visit Adopt a Dog Park

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© Carrie Boyko, all rights reserved

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