Ginger

Dog Diaries #1

by Kate Klimo, Tim Jessell (Illustrator)

Born in a puppy mill, Ginger the golden retriever looks back on her life and the various people who have "owned" her. Abruptly separated from her mother, littermates, and the wire cage that was her whole world, Ginger is shuttled from one harrowing situation to another until she finally escapes, living as an outlaw with a pack of wild dogs. But freedom doesn't feel so good once she becomes hungry and cold and sick. Will Ginger ever find a furever family to call her own? With realistic black-and-white illustrations by renowned illustrator Tim Jessel, and an appendix featuring information about puppy mills, breed rescue groups, animal shelters, choosing a pet, and the history of golden retrievers, dog-crazy early middle-grade readers will beg for more!

Genres: Dogs, Animals, Childrens, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Middle Grade, Historical Fiction

162 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Kate Klimo spent her early years amidst the cornfields of Iowa where the winters were prodigious. Often, when the snows flash-thawed in the spring, she would find her backyard filled with the flapping, resurrected bodies of fish her ice-fishing father had stored in the snowdrifts. Thus sprang into her young head the unshakable notion that, all winter long, fish escaped from the rivers and magically swum through the snow banks of Mount Vernon, Iowa.

When she moved to the little town of Sea Cliff, on Long Island Sound, she met her best friend Justine in the Stenson Memorial Library at the main desk, where they often checked out the same fantasy writers. Together, they read C.S. Lewis, E. Nesbit, Edward Eager, and George MacDonald and embarked on a tireless search for portals to magical worlds, extending from abandoned Victorian mansions to the decrepit local five-and-dime to the sandy cliffs sweeping down to the Sound.

With her propensity for magical thinking and long-standing love of fantasy, does it come as any surprise that Kate grew up to be in the book business? But after over 25 years of heading up Random House Children’s Books, with the publication of The Dragon in the Sock Drawer in March 2008, Kate began to ease over to the author’s side of the desk.

Now a full-time author, in addition to numerous one-off titles, she has written the middle-grade series The Dragon Keepers series and the Dog Diaries as well the Centauriad for young adults. Under the pen name Bonnie Worth, she has penned over a dozen books in the best-selling Cat in the Hat Learning Library. She lives in New Paltz, New York with her husband and two horses.

Reviews

[Shai · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are dog lover just like me, you will appreciate this novel. I like how the author open the eyes of the readesr to the miserable story of dogs, especially the mother (dam) dogs, in puppy mills. The lesson of not giving a puppy or pets as gifts during Christmas or Holidays and how it should be avoided were also mentioned.

[tiffany]

i really enjoyed reading the Horse Diaries and never knew there was a dog one lmao
really excited to read this series yay


watch me find a cat diaries now

[Danika Dunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a very good book and i don't think there is any thing i would change on it. At the one point when ginger found floppy ears that was my favorite part of the book.

[Stephen Wallace · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really didn't like this book. Imagine all the bad things you can do to a dog and you will probably found it in this book, with the exception of dog fighting which I am sure she is saving to use in another book.

Puppy mill, Pet store, Christmas present dog to an unruly unsupervised toddler, punished with a rolled up newspaper , sent to the pound, taken in by a better person, who has to leave suddenly in the care of a uncaring dog walker until he escapes and becomes a stray. No surprises that the dog is finally taken in by a perfect family and gets to save the day. Also, the book is written from the dog's point of view of which I am not a fan. So unpleasant and predictable and I will not be going on to read any more books in her series.

[Ari Damoulakis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok this book review covers the whole series. I was recommended these. Unfortunately for some reason I am not finding an accessible copy of book 9 yet.
Of course this series is lovely for older kids, helps to teach companionship, compassion and so on.
But also dog-loving adults like me will love these.
Unfortunately I am still waiting for my next guide dog, but, apart from the awful ending of life and the question of whether there is an afterlife and a possibility you could be with your dog again, apart from the terrible grief you go through and the memories of that special, unique and magic bond that you had, having a dog and knowing it has needs but also has feelings, emotions and love is amazing and magical. Kate is a wonderful writer and hopefully everyone who reads her books will learn to love, respect and value dogs, and treat them better.

[Eben Holwick · Rating 4 out of 5]

My kiddos loved this book. They didn't want me to stop reading.

[Lindsey Buhl · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little bit sad at first but at the end it is all good and I hope you In joy this book good for children

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

the dog diaries are amazing books. I brought the series of them when I also got the set puppy tales. I really do joy reading books about dogs because I have a dog that I love so much so reading these books about dogs make me see how wonderful dogs are. I read all kind of books about dogs.

[Max · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book because I really like dogs and it's fun to hear what the dog has to say instead of just the owner and it's fun to hear what the dog is thinking and you're like "oh! I didn't know!"

[Mindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a bit sad to start off. My 9-year-old daughter thoroughly enjoyed it though. You get lots of good info about dogs and I can see why it was recommended for my daughter.

[Marshan Alma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story. We will continue the series.

[Katie Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daughter loved this one! Ginger came from a puppy mill and was bounced around quite a bit. We have rescue dogs, so I think my daughter connected to that component of the story.

[Alana Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, Ginger's life first starts at a puppy mill. Then after a while, she gets put into a truck with her litter mates and lots of other dogs are in there, too. Then she gets put at a pet store. Then a family who has a two year old son adopts Ginger. But they turn out to be a very bad family. So then Ginger gets put into a animal shelter. Then a man adopts Ginger and they have a great time. But then the man gets a call that his mom is very sick and has to leave. Then this lady comes to take care of Ginger. One day she opens a window and Ginger jumps through it to be free. Then, Ginger meets a bunch of dogs and joins their gang. After chasing a truck, later the dog catchers come and then Ginger gets sent to a nice place where Bruce lives. Ginger lives in a pen with a old female golden retriever named Elka. One day a family adopts Ginger and take good care of her. Ginger lives with a cat. And then Ginger sees a hole under the fence and finds and girl. She throws and stick into the river and Ginger goes in after that. Then Corey sees Emma and they become friends. Later, at the end of the story, Ginger meets with her brother, floppy ear-well now Fred-and they it's the end. There is also very good pictures.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!!! :) This book was sad. Little Bit died. And her mother got taken from her and they were sent to pet shops. Puppy Mills are bad! Ginger got taken away from her brothers and sisters. She went through many homes but at the end she had a fur ever home and the girl next door got a golden retriever, and it was a boy and Ginger found out that he was her brother.

[Karen K - Ohio · Rating 4 out of 5]

My grandniece was reading this, so I decided to read it too. Kids book. Starts off with very grim with Ginger being born in a cage at a puppy mill but ends happily.

[Addison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this whole book in a couple of hours, and quite enjoyed it. I'm always going to love dogs, and I need to read a very large number of books in not a very long time if I'm going to complete my reading challenge. Anyway, about the book. Ginger, a dog born in a puppy mill, has many adventures on her journey to find a forever home. I loved all the happy moments, and never wanted them to end, because even though a book would be boring with no sad parts, I can't stand when animals are unhappy. I love dogs so much!

[Diane Greiner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great story that is written in the animal's perspective and voice. A child that enjoys reading books about animals will enjoy this series of books of which this is the first one. An added benefit this book provides is information about how to properly to choose and take care of pets that will be an integral part of your family. This is both useful for kids and adults as well. I will be adding this series of books to my school library.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book to share with my granddaughter. I love the Golden Retriever breed and loathe puppy mill breeders. This diary accurately tells the tale of life in a mill breeders barn...
Ginger is a sweet Golden girl and she's everything a Golden Retriever should be. Life throws her some curves but she is fortunate in the people who save her.
An excellent book for children who love animals.

[Gideon · Rating 5 out of 5]

if. I. had. ginger. I. think. he. would. be. a. perfect play. mate

[Karissa Ferguson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jude gives it 5 stars! This was a quick and enjoyable read aloud. The ending was a nice surprise and almost had me teary!

[Lois Schwarz · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is one of the worst books I have read about dogs. Why is it a bad read? Because it is full of shit. The author is part of the reason animals are thought to be 'human' and with this kind of thinking (as most American people think in todays world 2023) books like this continue to keep you, the reader, in the dark ages. Knowing Animal lovers as I do (for it has been my life), I know who the author is in the very first chapter of this sickening book that pulls the reader into the fury of human beings on earth destroying the earth by just being born. This book and books written like this, continues the harm of the brain cells into the young readers, to make them believe that dogs are human beings and emanate human emotions. I don't choose a book on the art of the cover or the set up of the total book, nor do I care about mistakes etc. What I judge a book on is its content and knowledge to behold. Also if it is good reading. The knowledge of this author is very poor as she has no real knowledge about animals in general and about nature. She has never lived on a farm nor has she had a multitude of animals in her life, so what she is dishing out, is her garbage and allowing readers to be molded into her way of believing. I mark all my books up with pen, describing how I feel about what is being written. B.S. is written on some paragraphs, LIES is written on others and also TRUE' or 'good' or 'right on', or even "this is as far as I am able to punish myself to read this book!" Most of you know that I have been into animals for over 60 years and training is one of my forte's. I am the best at what I do because it is all I do, therefore, I do believe I can rate any dog book and be true to my convictions as the best in describing and rating such books. This book is harmful to the TRUTH and reality of life itself. I would never allow my children to read such garbage and to be pulled into this authors way of thinking. She starts out trying to write as if she herself were the dog, enforcing the fact that Dogs and animals are like humans and have human feelings and capabilities and a human soul. As an animal trainer, or a teacher of humans on the subject of animals (especially dogs) I have to take these readers and erase all this from their brains before I can get them to train animals. If you are training animals and you think as she does, you have a very long way to go. My suggestion is to read some of the real knowledgeable books on the subjects being written. I am very sorry to say that there are not MANY books that I have read that meet my high standards to steer readers into the correct way of thinking. Read a biography of a red fox. This is more inline with the truth than this childish children's book that will only harm the peoples thinking as they grow older with such a mind set. I could not finish trying to choke this book down and I know for sure I will not be reading any of this authors junk~ L.E.S.

[Cadyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great book to choose if you like dogs. It shows gingers life and all of her owners until she finds the right home to live in. It shows that dogs can live a good life and get to a good place in life just like ginger did. Ginger had 3 homes her third home was the right one. Ginger even finds her own brother in the book and they become great friends. Ginger never gives up. Any dog can live this life. I rate this book a 5/5 it has great dialogue and is very interesting. I recommend reading this book and the series.

[Atlas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely sobbed at the end. I’ve got a soft spot for strays and rescues because almost all of the dogs I’ve ever had were rescues. There’s so many dogs in the world that have been abandoned I wish more people adopted instead of buying pure breeds (that more often than not have more issues than mutts do). And I wish more people did their damn research. Dogs aren’t toys, they are a lot of work. Anyways. This book was heartbreaking and heartwarming I loved it. 10/10 would recommend if you want a good little happy cry

[Sean Harding · Rating 3 out of 5]

First in a series of dog stories this is a fair tale, whilst never reaching great heights, it tells its story well and engages the reader with it. As stated this won't go down as a book that is on one of those lists, but whoever reads it should enjoy it and be entertained and challenged to think about some of the issues raised.

[Kai has a dream · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was cute enough, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I enjoy the historical fiction books in the series. It was more sad than action packed like the book Sweetie, about George Washington’s dog in wartime. I would much rather reread Sweetie instead, but Ginger was a cutie. I mostly read the book for the pictures, which as someone in tenth grade, I should be reading a book for the plot.

[Heidi]

I was hoping this could be a series I could let my 8yo read freely, but I feel like I’ll have to check each of them beforehand. It was fine overall, but a little bit of an agenda weaved in, and a sleepover with a 9yo boy and girl in a backyard tent, which is not appropriate and not something young kids should be getting ideas about.

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

My niece (8 years old) recommended this book to me. It is the story of Ginger who is born in a puppy mill. She ends up going through several owners before she ends up at the right place for her. The section on the end on puppy mills was very interesting.

[Marlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter and I were both surprised by how sad this book started out. However, it was a lovely story, funny, silly, and hopeful. We also loved all of the information in the back, about golden retrievers and puppy mills and shelters.

[Beth Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Incredibly sad for nearly 2/3 of the book, but with a redemptive ending. Glad I just read this myself instead of reading with the kids. Puppy mills, bad owners, dog walkers, etc was just a bit much to overcome even though the ending is happy.

[Ethan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked the ending! I also liked how it introduced the main character from a puppy mill, because there are too many of those in the world. After the story, it gives information about puppy mills and shelters which I think is very important because not a lot of people know about them.