September 29, 2008
After a half-dozen books about the dogs and other animals that live with him on Bedlam Farm in upstate New York (Dog Days, A Good Dog, Katz on Dogs), Katz's gentle, folksy style and intuitive connection to the world around him work a familiar but comforting vein, entirely suitable to his subject: "I cherish the considered predictability of these creatures, their sociability, their contented acceptance of life. I wish I possessed even one of those traits. I'm working on it." The latest features his adoption of Izzy, a sensitive border collie who inspires Katz to take up volunteer work with hospice patients. Whether meeting Timmy, a young boy dying of brain tumor, or Glen, a terminal patient who recollects his own beloved dog, Katz evokes vividly the hospice environment and the deep meaning its patients find in Izzy. Unfortunately, the balance of the book, concerning a black lab named Lenore and Katz's own struggle with depression and a painful past, suffers from a lack of detail and leaves little impact. Fans will be happy to return to the farm, but newcomers may want to start with his first dog volume, 2002's A Dog Year. Photos.
September 29, 2008
After a half-dozen books about the dogs and other animals that live with him on Bedlam Farm in upstate New York (Dog Days, A Good Dog, Katz on Dogs), Katz's gentle, folksy style and intuitive connection to the world around him work a familiar but comforting vein, entirely suitable to his subject: "I cherish the considered predictability of these creatures, their sociability, their contented acceptance of life. I wish I possessed even one of those traits. I'm working on it." The latest features his adoption of Izzy, a sensitive border collie who inspires Katz to take up volunteer work with hospice patients. Whether meeting Timmy, a young boy dying of brain tumor, or Glen, a terminal patient who recollects his own beloved dog, Katz evokes vividly the hospice environment and the deep meaning its patients find in Izzy. Unfortunately, the balance of the book, concerning a black lab named Lenore and Katz's own struggle with depression and a painful past, suffers from a lack of detail and leaves little impact. Fans will be happy to return to the farm, but newcomers may want to start with his first dog volume, 2002's A Dog Year. Photos.
Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
August 1, 2008
Katz, dog owner-trainer and author (A Good Dog, 2006), again delves with his signature good humor and sensitivity into the story of his two newest dogsIzzy, an emotionally damaged border collie, and Lenore, a black Labrador with training issues. Izzy was rescued after hed spent several years living semi-wild. While training Izzy and taking him on book-signing trips, the author discovered the dogs intuitive ability to understand what people needed from him. So he and Izzybegan visiting the dying in their homes to offer comfort. This is work that Izzy was brilliant at: lying on the bed with a dying child, laying his head on the lap of a patient with Alzheimers, listening to the stories of a man with cancer. Meanwhile, Lenore was in the background, loving a sometimes bleak man by thumping her tail or wriggling onto his lap to tell him things would be OK. As with Katzs previous work, the other dogs, as well as the donkeys, goats, sheep, and chickens, are also given their due in an absolutely heartwarming book. Highly recommended.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)