Love, A Blanket, and a Good Book: Madeline Finn and the Shelter Dog by Lisa Papp

Madeline Finn really, really wanted a puppy. And finally, Mom said yes.

Mrs. Dimple's big shaggy dog Bonnie has three puppies ready to go to new homes. But how can Madeline choose the right one?

"Why don't you see if someone picks you?" says Mrs. Dimple.

So I close my eyes and think of the name I chose. "Star," I whisper, and the littlest one climbs right into my lap.

Mrs. Dimple tells Madeline how she adopted Bonnie at the animal shelter. As she learns how to care for Star, Bonnie feeds her, forgives her for making messes, and gives her a blanket in which Star snuggles while Madeline reads to her. But Madeline worries about the animals at the shelter who have no forever home.

And when she visits the shelter with Mom and Mrs. Dimple, there is Mr. Chips, a dog who doesn't ever wag his tail. There are sad kitties and lonely bunnies with droopy ears.

Madeline goes into motion. She scours the linen closet for soft, old towels for the homeless animals, yet there are not enough for all of them.

When she reads to Star, he makes a soft little woof.

"Does anyone read to the shelter dogs," she asks Mom.

And when Mom sadly doesn't say yes, Madeline knows what to do. She makes posters for the library:

Saturday 10:00

Come read to the shelter animals.

Bring a blanket and a book.

At first, Madeline is the only reader there. But then a crowd of kids with blankets and freshly checked-out library books show up for a Saturday read-in at the animal shelter, in Lisa Papp's Madeline Finn and the Shelter Dog (Peachtree Books, 2019). Papp's gentle storytelling is sweetly personal and perfectly paced, paired with her charming, softly textured pastel illustrations that warm the heart and fill it with compassion for homeless animals. Papp manages to tell a realistic story of one child and her pet while putting in a plug for both shelter animals and their supporters and libraries and reading. Pair this one with Lisa Papp's first Madeline story, Madeline Finn and the Library Dog.