Lucky Dog Comes Home

An animal-loving veteran builds community in this straight-talking tale. Growing up in Indiana, pale-skinned George has a remarkable affinity with the family dairy farm’s creatures—he’s frequently trailed by “the two milking goats, the noisy donkey, a duck with her brood, and some curly-tailed pigs.” But when war arrives, he leaves for “strange, freezing forests, and bombed-out buildings... shooting and being shot at.” After the war, learning that the family farm has been sold prompts his becoming a mail carrier, and the neighborhood’s hounds begin following him, forming a “daily dog parade.” The event amuses everyone except one “sad and lonely” grieving mother—until George makes an animalian delivery that helps her to cope. Spray’s voice has a conversational quality that makes the story feel like firsthand family lore, while Ritchie’s loosely sketched cartoons capture home as a place of comfort. Background characters are shown with various skin tones. Ages 5–8. (Nov.)