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** "This tender and eloquent volume is a canophile's paradise and tribute, inviting dog lovers to roll in it with luxurious glee . . ."

--Bulletin for Children's Books, starred review

The World According to Dog:

Poems and Teen Voices

Photographs by Doug Mindell

Houghton Mifflin, 2003

Ages 10 & up ISBN 0-6181-7497-4

In a collaboration with teen authors, this book combines Joyce's poems about the hilarity and joy of owning a dog, heart-warming essays by teens about their canine buddies, and evocative photographs by Boston-area photographer Doug Mindell.

Listen to Joyce read from this book.

Reader's Guide (click here)

Awards

2003 ASPCA Henry Bergh Children's Book Award

2003 Bulletin Blue Ribbon Book

VOYA Poetry Pick

ALA Best Book for Young Adults Nomination

Minnesota Book Award Finalist

Five Owls Book of Merit

Reviews

**The Bulletin (starred review)

"Sidman offers a score of fluid and lyrical poems . . . sprinkled with heartfelt essays by young people . . . beaming with fresh-faced talent of their eager young authors, providing moving testimony to the value for humans of the human-dog relationship."

**Booklist

"Even teens who prefer cats will appreciate Sidman's tight lines, sincere emotion, and clever humor as she pays homage to a creature she loves."

**School Library Journal

"Sidman's poetic observations of beloved pets . . . are rueful, contemplative, and sensory as they comment on canine behavior: The pacing and flow of her poetry are sure and her appreciation of her subject is astute."

**VOYA - Amanda Lang, Teen Reviewer

"I think that this book is fun because the poems offer a different look at the relationship between pets and teens . . . This book would be best enjoyed by dog owners, but even though I do not own a dog, I still really liked it."

How this book began . . .

This book started with a dog--my dog. I began writing poems about him in a dark time, when I needed comfort and he was there. Friends, reading the poems, told me their feelings about their dogs, which spurred me to write more poems. When my editor read the collection, she asked a "What if?" question. "What if we were to ask teens to write about their dogs, and include those stories with the poems?" I posted invitations on listserves and teen Web sites. Librarians and teachers across the country helped me. The essays that flooded in were so full of warmth that I knew teen voices belonged in the book. The teen authors provided photos of their dog, and Doug Mindell--with his emotive, expressive photographs--illustrated my poems. That is how the book came together. But it started with a dog.

("Note to the Reader" in The World According to Dog, c. 2003 Joyce Sidman)

from Always Take a Dog

"Go out walking.

In some part of every day,

step into the waiting arms

of the sky and whisk away--

but always take a dog,

so that you have something to follow . . . "

--from The World According to Dog, c. 2003.

DOG PARTY!!

Here is Joyce with several of the talented teen authors who contributed essays to The World According to Dog. Together, they held several "dog parties" in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area to promote the book and meet new dogs. It was lots of sniffy, furry fun!