Two new books for debate preparation.
Are you a pet owner? Do you have a kid begging for a pet? Do you want bragging rights for your cat or dog? Are you mulling over whether or not to add a new four-legged family member? Well, have I got a couple of new books for you!
Aline Alexander Newman’s Cat Tales: True Stories of Kindness and Companionship with Kitties tells the stories of 24 real cats who are mysterious but also awesome, caring, adventurous, hardworking and, of course, curious. They represent different breeds and many have become famous on You Tube. Some have won medals for heroism. Quite a few have special needs but are heroic in amazing ways. Newman’s writing is lively and compelling and peppered with purrfect puns to keep you smiling. Of course, as a National Geographic book, it is illustrated with pictures depicting all kinds of feline adorableness. There is also information about exceptional qualities of cats, how to read their body language, how to pick a friendly cat from a litter of kittens and how to train your cat. When it comes to the history of the relationship between cats and humans, It seems that they only became pets about 5,000 years ago (giving a few points to dog-lovers as you will see in my next paragraph).
By the time you finish this book, you’re ready to adopt a cat.
Not so fast, says Dorothy Hinshaw Patent in her upcoming book, Made for Each Other: Why Dogs and People Are Perfect Partners. First of all, new scientific evidence from DNA is pointing towards the beginning of dogdom 27,000 years ago, when friendly canines began hanging around humans, warning them of danger, hunting with them, and learning how to love us. Love, that incredible emotion in humans that is accompanied by a release of the hormone oxytocin in the brain, also happens in dogs. Scientists have taken MRIs of dog brains and they light up with pleasure in the same places as ours do when we’re feeling happy. Made for Each Other is full of scientific information that backs up the doggy behavior that makes us love them. Much of that love is expressed with eye contact maybe explaining why dogs jump up when they see someone they love. Patent’s writing, with its unadorned clarity exudes her obvious love for her subject. The photos in this book were taken by William Muñoz whose humor and artistry enhance the lovable doggy subtext. I especially like the double-page of a dog’s nose in all its graphic close-up detail. Yes, dogs live in a smelly world.
By the time you finish this book, you’re ready to add a dog to your family.
And if you can’t make up your mind, each book is a great resource for a family members to sharpen their debating skills. There’s a good chance you’ll end up with both.