Books that - well, books that people like and that are likely to be found in public libraries. Bix is learning not to chew them.

Please add your favorites.

Children - Fiction

Stories You Can Read to Your Dog by Sara Swan Miller -also the sequel - Three more stories you can read to your dog
It's Hard to Read a Map with a Beagle on Your Lap by Marilyn Singer (poetry, doggerel really)
Bark, George by Jules Fiefer,
Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann
Clifford the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell with many sequels
The Blues of Flats Brown by Walter Dean Myers
The Invisible Dog by Dick King-Smith (about a Great Dane, King-Smith is also the author of The Sheep Dog AKA Babe)
Some Swell Pup : or, Are You Sure You Want a Dog? Maurice Sendak and Matthew Margolis
Stay! : Keeper's Story by Lois Lowry
What Faust Saw by Matt Ottley. Poor Faust, trys to warn the world about an alien invasion and everyone tells him to just stop barking.
Martha Speaks by Susan Meddaugh also Martha and Skits etc.
The Stray Dog (Spanish edition: El Perro Vagabundo) Marc Simont
Dog Heaven by Cynthia Rylant also The Bookshop Dog
Up in Heaven by Emma Chichester Clark see also: Final Days

Children - Fiction Classics

read by and to generations of kids
Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion There are sequels and you can buy the stuffed version of Harry if you have a real Harry fan in your family.
Go dog. Go! by P.D. Eastman.
Ribsy by Beverly Cleary.
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. Shiloh is a Beagle. Unfortunately this is required reading in some schools - how to quickly destroy the joy of reading)
Angus and the Ducks by Marjorie Flack about a Scottie.
Dominic by William Steig. see also: The Amazing Bone
A Dog on Barkham Street by Mary Stoltz.
Pretzel by Margret Rey with pictures by H.A. Rey of Curious George fame.
Whistle for Willie by Ezra Jack Keats - a dachshund, as is Pretzel.
The Incredible Journey: A Tale of Three Animals by Sheila Burnford.
Where the Red Fern Grows: the Story of Two Dogs and a Boy by Wilson Rawls (sad).
Old Yeller by Fred Gipson (sadder).
Sounder by William Howard Armstrong (saddest).

Children - Nonfiction

Dogs by Gail Gibbons
How to Talk to Your Dog by Jean Craighead George with a special treat, pictures of JCG, author of beloved books such as Julie of the Wolves and My Side of the Mountain
My Puppy is Born by Joanna Cole; photographs by Margaret Miller. Norfolk Terrier.
ABC Dogs by Kathy Darling ; photographs by Tara Darling
The True-or-false Book of Dogs by Patricia Lauber
Brave Dogs, Gentle Dogs : How They Guard Sheep by Cat Urbigkit about Great Pyrenees
Dogs by David Alderton; photography by Tracy Morgan
Superpuppy : how to choose, raise, and train the best possible dog for you by Jill Pinkwater and Daniel Pinkwater
Speak!: Children's Book Illustrators Brag About Their Dogs Perhaps this book was intended for children, but it speaks equally (or more?) to adults. The companior book is Purr..: Children's Book Illustrators Brag About Their Cats, also poignant, charming and touching. Both were edited by Michael J. Rosen and are unfortunately no longer in print. Check your library or find used copies.

Children - Learning to Read

Of course there was always Spot, of Dick and Jane fame. Now we have -
Come! Sit! Speak! by Charnan Simon. A beginning reader, recommended by a beginning reader.
The Complete Adventures of Big Dog and Little Dog by Dav Pilkey (see also his When Cats Dream)
Henry and Mudge (a whole series). Cynthia Rylant.
A Dog named Sam Janice Boland.
The Bravest Dog Ever: the True Story of Balto Natalie Standiford. Beloved reader published long before the Disney Movie.
Bingo, the Best Dog in the World by Catherine Siracusa, pictures by Sidney Levitt.


more children's books below

For Adults

memoirs

• The Dog Who Wouldn't Be by Farley Mowat
• anything by Jon Katz for example A Dog Year : Twelve Months, Four Dogs, and Me
• Travels with Charlie John Steinbeck. Charlie was his Poodle.
• Picasso & Lump photographs by David Douglas Duncan Lump was a Dachshund, not only a pet but the subject of a whole series of paintings
• Marley and Me: Life and Love With the World's Worst Dog by John Grogan. Yes, it's a bestseller, but it's really entertaining.
• Elizabeth Marshall Thomas The Hidden Life of Dogs and The Social Lives of Dogs:

dog behavior

• anything by Stanley Coren for example How Dogs Think : Understanding the Canine Mind or The Pawprints of History
  
• Katz on Dogs : a Commonsense Guide to Training and Living with Dogs
• Ian Dunbar's books such as Before & After Getting Your Puppy: The Positive Approach to Raising a Happy, Healthy & Well-Behaved Dog
• Cesar's Way: The Natural, Everyday Guide to Understanding and Correcting Common Dog Problems by Cesar Millan. See also: Malcom Gladwell's New Yorker article of May 22) and The Dog Whisperer

from the dog's point of view

• The Plague Dogs Richard Adams, author of Watership Down etc.
• Sight Hound Pam Houston
• A Dog’s Life by Peter Mayle with drawings by Edward Koren.
• Timbuktu Paul Auster
• Unleashed: Poems by Writers' Dogs edited by Amy Hempel and Jim Shepard Some cool, rainy afternoon turn off the tube, forego the flix, just snuggle up with a pup and read this, one of the great dog books. If you haven't read any poetry since Junior High - start here.
  

anthologies

• The Literary Dog edited by William E. Maloney and J.C. Suares

collections

• Collected Dog Stories Rudyard Kipling
• Uncle Boris in the Yukon and Other Shaggy Dog Stories by Daniel Pinkwater
  

hard to pigeon-hole

• What the Dog Did by Emily Yoffe -- Great overall book about dog ownership, with an emphasis on beagles. This book will have you laughing out loud.
  

Really stupid books

Teach your dog to read : a unique step-by-step program to expand your dog's mind and strengthen the bond between you by Bonnie Bergin with Sharon Hogan. We thought this was a parody of modern dog books - but alas, it seems to be serious. Or is it?

Recent Books

Suddenly dog books are very, very popular.
People Magazine, Sept 18 2006 page 5, carries reviews of four new dog books
A Three Dog Life Abigail Thomas (memoir)
A Good Dog Jon Katz (see above) (memoir, sequel to A Dog Year)
Mostly Bob by Tom Corwin (memoir)
Shelter Dogs by Traer Scott (photographs)

More Library Books

Each was recommended by at least one reader. Note: no library will have all of these. Five or six thousand children's books are published each year and most libraries will be able to buy only a few of them.
Buster's Echo by Ragnhild Scamell and illustrated by Genevieve Webster.
Meow Ruff: a Story in Concrete Poetry. A picture book for young children by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Michelle Berg

Footnote: Bix has to share his library with a Pit/Setter mix; a sort-of Manchester Terrier, an even smaller Beagle mix, a couple of Westies who come every Monday afternoon, and a variety of occasional visitors - including a Spinone Italiano. Oh, and lots of people.