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WHERE THE LOST DOGS GO

A STORY OF LOVE, SEARCH, AND THE POWER OF REUNION

A warm and heartfelt memoir perfect for fans of the author’s first two dog-focused books.

A bestselling author tells the very personal story of how and why she became involved in lost animal search and rescue missions.

Charleson’s (The Possibility Dogs: What a Handful of "Unadoptables" Taught Me About Service, Hope, and Healing, 2013, etc.) dog Puzzle had long worked by her side searching for lost people or those who had been victims of catastrophe. Then the author brought home a Maltipoo rescue named Ace whose “dignified, shabby gentility” and last-minute rescue from euthanasia became a talking point for her and the parents she kept at arm's length. Despite a harrowing existence as a lost canine, Ace showed the marks of a dog who had once been loved; he also revealed a knack for locating lost pets. Charleson familiarized herself with the tactics of lost animal search and began training Ace and Puzzle in on-the-ground location strategies. As she helped reunite pets with their owners, the author began recalling the life she had led with the parents who had “made me a rescuer.” Though they were deeply troubled, both shared a common bond in their love for animals that was so strong that they often spent beyond their limited means to save strays. But the author’s own life with the pet-loving parents who “had rarely been wonderful together” was difficult. The family moved often, and when Charleson was a teenager, her mother left to start a life on her own; after that, the three of them slowly drifted apart. In a touching twist of irony, the Maltipoo stray was the one who ultimately came to Charleson's rescue. Not only did he help heal the relationship with her parents; he also became a source of comfort when Puzzle and her parents eventually died. Moving and profound, Charleson’s book affirms the special human-animal connection and fully celebrates the healing powers of forgiveness and love.

A warm and heartfelt memoir perfect for fans of the author’s first two dog-focused books.

Pub Date: June 4, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-328-99505-6

Page Count: 320

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Review Posted Online: March 2, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019

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NUTCRACKER

This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.

Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955

ISBN: 0670717797

Page Count: -

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955

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