Sparky

Dog Diaries #9

by Kate Klimo, Tim Jessell (Illustrations)

In this Dog Diaries–meets–Horse Diaries Special Crossover Edition, a no-nonsense fire dog meets her match in the biggest, hottest flames Chicago has ever seen—and a rescue horse with an attitude!   In the 1800s, firefighters used horses to pull fire trucks. But horses spook easily and run away from fire—so they needed fire dogs.   And there’s no better fire dog than Sparky. Sparky is so good at her job, she knows when the alarm is going to ring before it even rings! But today is no ordinary day. There’s no choice but to put Cinders—a rescue horse with an attitude—to work at her very first fire, one destined to become one of the greatest disasters of the nineteenth century! With realistic black-and-white illustrations and an appendix including information about dalmatians, the Great Chicago Fire, and more, this is historical fiction for kids who don’t like historical fiction, and a perfect choice for supporting Common Core State Standards.   Get the horse’s side of the story! Read Horse Diaries Special Cinders.

Genres: Dogs, Childrens, Animals

157 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 26, 2016

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

[Becky Loader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I spotted the "Dog Diaries" series at my local public library. The one featuring a Dalmatian takes place at Fire Station 6, on Maxwell Street in Chicago. It was the home of the "Little Giant," one of the city's first steam engines. The "Little Giant" was the first rig to show up at the scene of the Great Fire in 1871.

The author has created a wonderful story about a Dalmatian and firefighters who were at Fire Station 6. I was especially taken by the way the horses, who pulled the steam engine, were incorporated into the story.

At the back of the book, the author has included history of the Great Chicago Fire, the Dalmatian as a fire dog, and where to find out more about Dalmatians. I was impressed that she included the website to the Dalmatian Club of America.

The illustrations, all in pencil, look appropriate to the time. They are charming and look like real dogs and horses, not cartoons.

There is a companion book, under "Horse Diaries: Cinder," that depicts the horses' side of view.

The last photo in the book is of the real Fire Station 6 crew, the "Little Giant," and a Dalmatian.

[Hawley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pleasant and easy enough book to read aloud to my 7 & 5 year olds. Their big siblings loved this series and recommended we read this one.

[Asmara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sparky has a hard time during the Chicago fire. Everyone is taking things from houses. Someone steals Sparky. A little girl find him across that that is about to crumple. The person who has Sparky is about steal something from a house. The girl finds him is the daughter of the fire chief.

Asmara, age 7

[Sarah Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read aloud to Jed. A great story for a dog lover while also teaching some history from the Great Chicago Fire. For sensitive kids, none of the main animals or people characters die in the book. It is acknowledged that many did not escape, however.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was exciting and suspenseful.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

See the first book in the series for a full review.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A perfect book for animal lovers (particularly dogs) and historical fiction buffs.

[Stasia · Rating 5 out of 5]

These little books are packed with so much information!

[Cassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun book about the Chicago Fire, with a dog from Dog Diaries, and a horse from Horse Diaries; great ending, and no one is important dies, and educational. God Bless!

[Emily Dudek · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can read Horse Diaries,Cinders too!

[Diamondback Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story was very depressing to me, but I’d read it again. A butcher got so tired of Keenan’s barking, his voice box had to be removed. Then one of the horses dies and they eventually buy a replacement who has her own book entitled “Horse Diaries: Cinders.” The fire got worse and then Sparky gets kidnapped but eventually gets rescued in the same chapter. As Sparky and Lizzy set out on their journey, they had no water to drink but eventually find shelter. In the end, Sparky gets married with the “little lion” Keenan, which was such a happy ending. I’m hoping this other book about a Dalmatian fighting fires entitled “Riley: Fire Station 5” by a different author will be better.

Update: I read this one again and it wasn’t as depressing as before, although I still enjoy a similar book better.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Z and I have really enjoyed the Dog Diaries series as a whole, but this one was less interesting to us than most of the others. If you are looking for a series to read with your animal-loving kid, though, this is a great one to explore.

[Hillvan]

660L

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the horse diaries edition was better though. But I like it.