Book Review -- "Sparky" and a Program Recommendation

    There is an entire series of books available for young readers called the "Dog Diaries" series.  I've seen these books displayed at the library, so I decided to read one of them to see if it was something I could recommend here on the blog.  The book in the series that I read is called "Sparky" written by Kate Klimo.
    "Sparky" is about a dog with that name who is the firehouse dog for a fire station in Chicago during the 1800s.  When the book begins, Sparky is just a pup, and she is in training to be a good firehouse dog just as her mother is.  One night, the entire city of Chicago goes up in flames, and Sparky and her firehouse companions have to go all out to save lives and help stop the fire.
     What I liked best about this book was the history that was involved.  The author does an excellent job of telling readers about what it was like to fight fires in the 1800s.  The book deals with the Great Chicago Fire, and author provides a great deal of historic information about this fire all through the eyes of a fire dog.
     I think that kids would really like this book.  I like it too, but as those who read the blog know, I like books about animals whether they are written for young readers or not.  A good animal book is a good animal book. I imagine all the books in this series are good.  I'll probably read some more of them as I see them available at the library.

    Now for a the program recommendation.  For the past couple of weeks, the PBS series Nature has been broadcasting a program about cats called, "The Story of Cats".  So far, I know that two episodes have been broadcast.  I don't know if more are planned.  However, I do heartily recommend these two episodes.  Most of the programs on "Nature" are excellent, and these cat programs are really high-quality productions.  The highlight for me was the information on the clouded leopards.  I really didn't know that much about them, so seeing them in the wild and learning something about them was exciting.  The episodes are available on the PBS Nature website.  However, episode 1 is only supposed to be available through the first part of December, so if you want to watch it, you need to hurry.  These programs are about all kinds of cats in the wild from the smallest to the largest.

    Next week for the book review, I will begin revealing my dog, cat and animal books of the year.  The cat book of the year is an easy pick.  The dog book of the year is a close contest between two.  The animal book of the year is a close contest as well.  Next week, the dog book of year will be revealed.