Mr. Maple: A Guide Dog's Journey

by Paul Castle

Mr. A Guide Dog’s Journey From bestselling author and illustrator Paul Castle comes the heartwarming true story of Mr. Maple, a Labrador retriever who grows from a playful puppy into a life-changing guide dog. Follow Mr. Maple’s incredible journey, from his first wobbly steps, through the challenges of guide dog training, to the moment he meets his forever person. With charm, courage, and a wagging tail, Mr. Maple shows young readers what it means to be a loyal companion, a working partner, and a true friend. This beautifully illustrated picture book celebrates love, teamwork, and the bond between people and their service dogs. A perfect read for children, families, and dog lovers of all ages. Page 32 7"x7" Hardback Reading Ages 6-10 Full Color English Paul Castle Studio Publication 2025

Genres: Childrens

36 pages, Hardcover

Published September 1, 2025

About the author

Paul Castle is a naturalized US Citizen. Born in Canada Paul now lives in the Pacific Northwest with his husband Matthew. The two are active You-Tube and Tik Tok content creators with most of their content centering on Paul's and Matthew's life together, Paul's impending blindness due to Retinitis Pigmentosa, and his guide dog Mr. Maple.

Reviews

[Sierra Reyelts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable story with fantastic illustrations to match!

[Mikayla Brehm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ugh—what a sweet, heart-warming book!! #Ilovemyhiggins

[Mary Heron · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a children's book that I bought (twice, for both my young neices) just out of curiosity I wanted to have a quick look. I know Mr Maples story through Paul and Matthews Facebook posts where they share daily activities Paul does as a blind man with Mr Maple his real guide dog. This is the story of how Mr Maple was chosen for the Guide Dog for the Blind association. His childhood, littermates, training, final exams and his qualifying as a guide dog. It's 24 pages full of the most adorable drawings (done by Paul himself) but my favourite is the final.two pages where we see pictures of Mr Maple and his seven littermates and see what became of each of them. I never realised that just because a dog was not suitable to be a guide dog there were other ways they could help people, like support dogs or K9 support dogs. Fascinating. Also congratulations to Paul Castle for a very entertaining and educational book.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's Mr Maple's story in a book, what's not to love! For those not familiar, Paul and Matthew are active on social media and Mr Maple is Paul's guide dog, who is a regular guest in their videos (being such a key part of their lives) and he is by far the most popular of the three (as doggos should be). And this tells of his journey from inexperienced pup to pro guide dog. It also has photos of all of his siblings and where they ended up, be it as guide dogs, facility dogs, K9 buddies, or beloved pets (seriously it is cute labrador overload). Best of all my current foster dog Ted thoroughly enjoyed my reading it to him (that's how I'm interpreting the quiet snoring anyway).

[Jenette Gonzalez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute rhyming story about how a puppy becomes a guide dog and the things they do. I love how it mentions the other pups in Mr. Maples litter and the path they all chose. To go along with the story is the amazing artwork by Paul. I’ve been waiting for this book to arrive and it was definitely worth the wait.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

So cute. I love that the puppies CHOOSE the path that is right for them, instead of flunking out of training. It is perfectly okay for some puppies to choose to be pets and not working dogs. We see Mr. Maple's journey, but also other paths for other dogs. It was also fun going back through the book to find the "hidden" penguin.

[Victoria Pring · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the most adorable thing ever. The artwork is incredible, though I knew this already from the authors previous books. The story in this book was so sweet too, I feel like a lot of people dont know much about guide dogs and how early the preperation starts. I also loved the shout out to all those special pups in the back.

[Eleni Negron · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Mr.Maple 😍 the author has the same eye condition I do and only has 5% of his vision left but he’s still making art. Seeing him succeed is inspirational. I’m very excited to show these with my future children one day.

[Dani]

Cute book explaining the process of how a guide dog comes to be. The illustrations are adorable.

[Harry Kloss · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely children’s book which explains the process by which a dog becomes a guide for the unsighted. Wonderful illustrations.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love supporting Paul and Matthew. Asuper cute book.

[SHR · Rating 4 out of 5]

gorgeous illustrations accompany a cute story about becoming a guide dog

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful. The story and pictures are amazing.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

adorable and sweet. I hope Mr Maple doesn't mind I read it out loud to Coco Kitty. I hope to donate this to my library.

[kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute and fairly accurate portrayal of the guide dog program

[Anja Peerdeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable tribute to a splendid guide dog !

Gorgeous art <3

[Sherri Bjorndahl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely book! All the story rhymes, and on the last page are photos of the 8 dogs in the litter and what their final jobs are.

[Skylar MoonStone · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet book in the life of a guide dog. Mr. Maple is such a sweet lovable character and its no shock as Mr. Maple is a real life guide dog.