"Under her pillow was a yummy bone. Maggie knew she was forever home."
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Maggie's Forever Home by Julie Holzer Trafford Publishing
book review by Caroline Blaha-Black
This is a children's tale about Maggie, a sweet, spotted stray dog, who finds her forever home. Maggie lives on the street by a trash can, and one day she runs off and gets completely lost. Alone and frightened, she gets some help along the way from an owl and a toad, who look after her at night while she sleeps. In the morning a little girl finds her and takes her to a shelter, where they clean her up, and adopt her to her new home. She meets other animal friends there who welcome her: a friendly cat, Dan the dog, a pony, a pig, and Maggie is finally happy.
The author is a retired children's educator with many years of teaching children, and she feels, as the book cover states, that they should have joy and animals in their lives. There is a sign on the back of the book that reminds children to spay, neuter, and adopt animals to decrease the populations on the street. The illustrations are in full color, featuring Maggie and her many adventures until she is adopted into her new home. The text is written in rhyme, to capture the attention of young children, and the print is large and easy on the eyes. The cover is orange and glossy, and it features Maggie the dog. This is a good book for small children that want to learn how to read, also good for parents to read aloud to their youngsters.