Title: Owen’s Best Friend
Author: Vanessa Lyman Withers
Illustrator: Laverne Morton Carbone
Publisher: SW Productions
ISBN: 9781088057261
Pages: 52
Genre: Self-Help
Reviewed by: Beth Adams
Pacific Book Review
A dog is called a man’s best friend – everybody knows that. But in Owen’s Best Friend, a young boy needed to figure out all of the details so he could pick the perfect dog for himself and his family. Author Vanessa Lyman Withers has created a wonderfully detailed illustrated story which children will enjoy reading – time and time again.
The book opens with Owen playing with his favorite toy – a plastic toy truck. When the truck breaks, Owen cries with sadness and brings the pieces of his broken truck to his dad to fix. Having difficulty gluing back together the truck, Owen then appeals to his mother to buy him a new toy truck; his mother denies the idea saying to Owen he has a whole chest full of toys in the attic where he could simply pick one of those other toys to play with. His parents then decide to get Owen a dog, as there are many animals in shelters in need of loving homes, and they could pick one up. What should they name it? What kind of dog should they get?
This part of the story uses very clever and comical text, as the book’s narration has a beat and rhyme to the words, and the names for dogs become varied and abundant. Upon visiting the kennel, Owen sees a dog with a distinctive “heart-shape” marking on his paw, which reminds him of a dog he read about in a book, and decides without a doubt this is the dog for him. As he picks up the puppy, they smell a distinctive odor – a natural occurrence for all animals – yes, a stinky fart. So, Owen names the dog Hearty McFarty! At this point, every kid reading this book will undoubtedly giggle and laugh at this silly name and the “fart joke” storyline aspect of the puppy.
The book concludes with many dog-owner educational facts about how to raise a dog, what to feed it, how to keep it healthy, and safety tips such as avoiding mishaps when taking the dog for a ride in a car. It is stressed to take a pet to the vet for timely check- ups, and to maintain a healthy diet and exercise for the animal. These lessons help show children the responsibilities which accompany the adoption of a dog. It is not something that you can put in the attic if you get tired of playing with it – it is alive, loving, and will instantly become your best friend.
With the synergistic combination of artistic illustrations, along with the bouncy rhyming text and the inherent humor, Owen’s Best Friend is an ideal book for all youngsters to read. Especially those thinking about getting a new best friend!
