Kepler's 2020 Project in the News:
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I hate to play favorites, but once in a very long time comes a flawless, unforgettable picture book!. I suggest you deprive no one in your life, no child or adult, of the pleasure of this book. Nubs leads a pack of wild dogs in a war zone. Major Brian Dennis leads Marines in the Iraqi desert. But this is NOT a story about war. It's a story about friendship. When Brian first meets the little white dog with clipped ears, he names him "Nubs" and shares his army rations with the starving dog. But Brian does not suspect that he and his team are about to be ambushed with gratitude, humor, and loyalty. They return to Nubs as their missions allow. They heal his wounds when he has been hurt; they feed him and warm him in winter. They even introduce Nubs to his new favorite, pop-tarts! But most of all the soldiers, and especially Brian, find joy and humor in Nubs' affectionate antics and requests for belly rubs. But troops are forbidden pets. So in the midst of winter, when Brian's team is ordered to the border with Jordan, they must abandon their friend as he hopelessly trails behind their Humvee in the cold desert dust. Downcast but determined, the freezing and exhausted Nubs tracks Brian 70 miles across the desert walking day and night to turn up at the Command Outpost! Their defenses demolished by Nubs' loyalty, the Marines build him a dog house at their station and Brian sets up an international effort to evacuate Nubs to San Diego to stay with friends until Brian can join him, if he survives the war. Heartfelt emails and letters fly across the world until Nubs is granted a U.S. passport and the King of Jordan's vet prepares him for the trip and his new life in the States. This tale is told in a rich hybrid medium that combines amazingly emotive photographs, letters, maps, emails, and heartfelt asides from Brian. It is a pitch-perfect victory of story-telling. It captures the playfulness and loyalty of a dog and the young men who had the courage to leave their hearts wide-open in a war zone where it is so easy to lose our ability to love. Reviewed by Vivian |
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