My sweet daughter spent most of her first three months in the hospital due to heart problems related to her Down syndrome. She was hospitalized more than a dozen times those first two years, including three heart surgeries and multiple complicated issues. Because we live about 80 miles from the hospital, our family refuge during that stressful and chaotic period became the Ronald McDonald House. Every Wednesday evening at the house was Pet Therapy Night, where different owners would bring their sweet bundles of fur and patience to share their love with scared, sad, and stressed-out families. I loved watching our children relax and smile playfully as they petted and played with these lovable dogs. My husband and I enjoyed the time as much as the kids! There's something special about the unconditional love and devotion of a pet that speaks to our hearts and calms our nerves. Reading Storee Wryter Gets a Dog by Barbara Simpson Carducci (60 pages, $7.99 for paperback or $4.99 for digital download) reminded me of this sweet refuge. My daughter is doing much better now and hasn't been hospitalized in several years, but we will always remember those special evenings with the therapy dogs at the Ronald McDonald House.

Storee Wryter is a young girl who loves animals. Her family begins a new adventure when a neighbor asks if Storee and her parents want to adopt a dog and train him as a therapy dog. In addition to being sweet and family-oriented, the story also provides some wonderful background information about the process of training a therapy dog. The story is written for about 3 rd through 5 th graders, but it would also make a nice read-aloud for younger or older students. The author has loved writing since she was a child and enjoys mentoring young writers. At the end of the book, she even includes a couple of story-starters with blank space for writing. I was expecting a typical pet story but was pleasantly surprised to find a much deeper tale of devotion and service to others. If your children enjoy reading about pets or want to know more about pet therapy, I think they would find Storee Wryter Gets a Dog to be a delightful story.