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Album of Dogs
Briefly discusses the history and characteristics of twenty-six common dog breeds.
64 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1955
3 people are currently reading
100 people want to read
About the author
Marguerite Henry
124 books749 followersMarguerite Henry (April 13, 1902–November 26, 1997) was an American writer. The author of fifty-nine books based on true stories of horses and other animals, her work has captivated entire generations of children and young adults and won several Newbery Awards and Honors. Among the more famous of her works was Misty of Chincoteague, which was the basis for the 1961 movie Misty, and several sequel books.
"It is exciting to me that no matter how much machinery replaces the horse, the work it can do is still measured in horsepower ... even in the new age. And although a riding horse often weighs half a ton and a big drafter a full ton, either can be led about by a piece of string if he has been wisely trained. This to me is a constant source of wonder and challenge." This quote was from an article about Henry published in the Washington Post on November 28, 1997, in response to a query about her drive to write about horses.
Marguerite Henry inspired children all over the world with her love of animals, especially horses. Author of over fifty children's stories, including the Misty of Chincoteague series, Henry's love of animals started during her childhood. Unfortunately, Henry was stricken with a rheumatic fever at the age of six, which kept her bedridden until the age of twelve. Born to Louis and Anna Breithaupt, the youngest of the five children, Henry was a native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Because of her illness, Henry wasn't allowed to go to school with other children because of her weak state and the fear of spreading the illness to others. While she was confined indoors, she discovered the joy of reading. Soon afterward, she also discovered a love for writing when her father, a publisher, presented her with a writing desk for Christmas. On the top of stacks of colored paper her father wrote, "Dear Last of the Mohicans: Not a penny for your thoughts, but a tablet. Merry Christmas! Pappa Louis XXXX."
Henry's first published work came at the age of eleven, a short story about a collie and a group of children, which she sold to a magazine for $12. Henry always wrote about animals, such as dogs, cats, birds, foxes, and even mules, but chiefly her stories focused on horses.
In 1923, she married Sidney Crocker Henry. During their sixty-four years of marriage they didn't have children, but instead had many pets that inspired some of Marguerite's stories. They lived in Wayne, Illinois.
In 1947, she published Misty of Chincoteague and it was an instant success. Later, this book—as well as Justin Morgan had a Horse and Brighty of the Grand Canyon—were made into movies.
She finished her last book, Brown Sunshine of Sawdust Valley, just before her death on November 26, 1997 at the age of 95.
"It is exciting to me that no matter how much machinery replaces the horse, the work it can do is still measured in horsepower ... even in the new age. And although a riding horse often weighs half a ton and a big drafter a full ton, either can be led about by a piece of string if he has been wisely trained. This to me is a constant source of wonder and challenge." This quote was from an article about Henry published in the Washington Post on November 28, 1997, in response to a query about her drive to write about horses.
Marguerite Henry inspired children all over the world with her love of animals, especially horses. Author of over fifty children's stories, including the Misty of Chincoteague series, Henry's love of animals started during her childhood. Unfortunately, Henry was stricken with a rheumatic fever at the age of six, which kept her bedridden until the age of twelve. Born to Louis and Anna Breithaupt, the youngest of the five children, Henry was a native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Because of her illness, Henry wasn't allowed to go to school with other children because of her weak state and the fear of spreading the illness to others. While she was confined indoors, she discovered the joy of reading. Soon afterward, she also discovered a love for writing when her father, a publisher, presented her with a writing desk for Christmas. On the top of stacks of colored paper her father wrote, "Dear Last of the Mohicans: Not a penny for your thoughts, but a tablet. Merry Christmas! Pappa Louis XXXX."
Henry's first published work came at the age of eleven, a short story about a collie and a group of children, which she sold to a magazine for $12. Henry always wrote about animals, such as dogs, cats, birds, foxes, and even mules, but chiefly her stories focused on horses.
In 1923, she married Sidney Crocker Henry. During their sixty-four years of marriage they didn't have children, but instead had many pets that inspired some of Marguerite's stories. They lived in Wayne, Illinois.
In 1947, she published Misty of Chincoteague and it was an instant success. Later, this book—as well as Justin Morgan had a Horse and Brighty of the Grand Canyon—were made into movies.
She finished her last book, Brown Sunshine of Sawdust Valley, just before her death on November 26, 1997 at the age of 95.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 7, 2022
The reason to have this book in your collection is because it has some of the best illustrations of dogs. In the inside cover has these details:
"Skipping dry statistics and depending largely on the Wesley Dennis illustrations for descriptions, the author vividly examines twenty-five pure-bred dogs plus the mongrel. Her interest lies in the very hearts, the very spirits of the dogs themselves.
Almost no breed, except the mongrel, is an accident. Man combined with nature to give each dog his individuality; to shape him for a specific purpose on the earth. Underlying each sketch is the mysterious process of life itself."
This would be a great book to read to children to talk about the breeds. For an adult, the stories are simple and good, and a nice way to learn a little of the development of breeds, but otherwise no great literature. This book says it was published in 1970, but I think the same book as 'Wagging Tails: An Album of Dogs' published in 1955. It has some of that 'gee whiz' feeling from an earlier age as in this paragraph:
"Hey, Dad! I just thought of something! Mongrels are a mixture like us! They're Americans!"
As I said earlier, the illustrations really make the book a good one to have. And if you had a budding artist in your child or an interest in drawing dogs yourself, this would be a great book to use for examples.
"Skipping dry statistics and depending largely on the Wesley Dennis illustrations for descriptions, the author vividly examines twenty-five pure-bred dogs plus the mongrel. Her interest lies in the very hearts, the very spirits of the dogs themselves.
Almost no breed, except the mongrel, is an accident. Man combined with nature to give each dog his individuality; to shape him for a specific purpose on the earth. Underlying each sketch is the mysterious process of life itself."
This would be a great book to read to children to talk about the breeds. For an adult, the stories are simple and good, and a nice way to learn a little of the development of breeds, but otherwise no great literature. This book says it was published in 1970, but I think the same book as 'Wagging Tails: An Album of Dogs' published in 1955. It has some of that 'gee whiz' feeling from an earlier age as in this paragraph:
"Hey, Dad! I just thought of something! Mongrels are a mixture like us! They're Americans!"
As I said earlier, the illustrations really make the book a good one to have. And if you had a budding artist in your child or an interest in drawing dogs yourself, this would be a great book to use for examples.
November 18, 2014
I honestly consider this one of the best books ever written, and it's sad how tough it is to find a copy. Similar to the more popular Album of Horses, this features 23 different breeds (including a sweet story about the unique importance of mutts, as featured on the cover, at the end) with a full-page color illustration and a 2-3 page short story or brief and engaging breed history with additional margin sketches. You could read it for the classic drawings alone, but this is children's literature (also more than suitable for adults) at its finest. Besides the last story, my favorite is the Dachshund, in which the author describes her own pet.
November 3, 2024
This is a review of the first edition, which was called Wagging Tails: An Album of Dogs, which you can (sometimes) find at the Internet Archive. I think the title got changed due to the success of the Henry/Dennis Album of Horses.
The artwork is much, much better than the text. We have many black and white drawings, and at least one full-color portrait of each breed, or mongrel. Wesley Dennis paints his own dog, a Dalmatian named Dice, with a wide-eyed chestnut foal. And, for longtime Marguerite Henry readers, there's a striking portrait of Henry's Dachshund striding confidently in front of a stable, where out peeps Brighty and Misty.
The text is the real failure here. This was published in 1955, so Henry only focused on the popular breeds in America at the time. Modern dog lovers will be shocked not to see Yorkshire Terriers, Jack Russells, border collies, French Bulldogs, or even golden retrievers. They will wonder why on earth Great Danes and rat terriers were included. They will also see what German Shepherds used to look like, before American breeders destroyed their hind legs and spines.
I was personally sickened to see all of the cropped ears and docked tails. No one cared about the casual cruelty inflicted everyday on newborn puppies, not even given anesthesia. There's also a lot about the "sport" of hunting, delivered in a "golly gee whiz" attitude.
Each essay is casually tossed off. Not a lot of time or work went into this. Henry treated legends as facts. She also had no clue about English bulldog history. It's only been since the 1900s that the face got so flat, and the legs so short. When they fought bulls, they looked more like pit bulls of today than modern English bulldogs.
I freely admit that I teared up at the final essay, dedicated to the All-American Mongrel. It talks about a shelter where unwanted dogs were shoved into a furnace. A decent father and son team took over, and turned it into arguably the first no-kill shelter. They claimed they didn't have pedigree dogs there.
Not true today. Pedigreed dogs crowd shelters. Millions are killed every year. Millions more suffer in puppy farms, animal testing labs, and being bred sickly and deformed to win their owners a ribbon or trophy.
There is also no mention of the most popular dog in America since the Civil War -- the pit bull, which (granted) is a type of dog, not a breed. It's also the most misunderstood dog in the world. They are not born mean. They do not have locking jaws.
I absolutely love dogs, but rarely read dog books, since they usually make me cry, like this one.
The artwork is much, much better than the text. We have many black and white drawings, and at least one full-color portrait of each breed, or mongrel. Wesley Dennis paints his own dog, a Dalmatian named Dice, with a wide-eyed chestnut foal. And, for longtime Marguerite Henry readers, there's a striking portrait of Henry's Dachshund striding confidently in front of a stable, where out peeps Brighty and Misty.
The text is the real failure here. This was published in 1955, so Henry only focused on the popular breeds in America at the time. Modern dog lovers will be shocked not to see Yorkshire Terriers, Jack Russells, border collies, French Bulldogs, or even golden retrievers. They will wonder why on earth Great Danes and rat terriers were included. They will also see what German Shepherds used to look like, before American breeders destroyed their hind legs and spines.
I was personally sickened to see all of the cropped ears and docked tails. No one cared about the casual cruelty inflicted everyday on newborn puppies, not even given anesthesia. There's also a lot about the "sport" of hunting, delivered in a "golly gee whiz" attitude.
Each essay is casually tossed off. Not a lot of time or work went into this. Henry treated legends as facts. She also had no clue about English bulldog history. It's only been since the 1900s that the face got so flat, and the legs so short. When they fought bulls, they looked more like pit bulls of today than modern English bulldogs.
I freely admit that I teared up at the final essay, dedicated to the All-American Mongrel. It talks about a shelter where unwanted dogs were shoved into a furnace. A decent father and son team took over, and turned it into arguably the first no-kill shelter. They claimed they didn't have pedigree dogs there.
Not true today. Pedigreed dogs crowd shelters. Millions are killed every year. Millions more suffer in puppy farms, animal testing labs, and being bred sickly and deformed to win their owners a ribbon or trophy.
There is also no mention of the most popular dog in America since the Civil War -- the pit bull, which (granted) is a type of dog, not a breed. It's also the most misunderstood dog in the world. They are not born mean. They do not have locking jaws.
I absolutely love dogs, but rarely read dog books, since they usually make me cry, like this one.
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September 11, 2009J636.7Hen
March 6, 2022
This is a lovely collection that mixes personal stories with history, very enjoyable.
October 15, 2024
Totally charming mix of stories, facts, and anecdotes related to a variety of dog breeds plus mongrels.
January 20, 2025
A foundational work of my childhood.
January 30, 2021
Lovely collection of short (roughly 2-5 page) stories about different breeds of dogs. This book is lesser known that Henry's Album of Horses, but is similar in format. Marguerite Henry profiles twenty-three different types of dogs each in a short story which either Henry writes about the history of the breed or profiles a specific dog. Breeds include beagles, boxers, collies, Pekingese, and many others. Either way the stories make the breeds and dogs come alive and really give the reader insight on breed characteristics. Wesley Dennis's lively illustrations are also a treat. They are found throughout the book, with some small ones on the pages of the story and a beautiful full-color painted picture of the type of dog at the beginning of the story. Wonderful book that dog lovers of all ages will enjoy and it makes a great companion to dog breed encyclopedias that just have facts and breed characteristics. The dogs really come alive in this story and readers learn what makes each breed of dog special.
December 28, 2016
As a children's writer, Marguerite Henry is one of the best. She covers several breeds of dogs in this one with the wonder and delight of a child. I read it out of interest and was delighted by her style.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews