Friday, August 29, 2014

Survivors: The Empty City by Erin Hunter – A Book Review

     This book will fall under the “And More” portion of this blog’s title.  One of our Sunday School youth shared this book from one of his favorite series, the Survivors,  with me.  While I apologize to him that it took me so long to complete it, I wanted to honor his sharing the book with me by adding a review to this blog. 
     The theme of this book that spoke to me was developed through, Lucky, the lone dog’s consistency in putting the needs and desires of the dogs he encountered before his own.  He blessed the leashed dogs by teaching them to survive on their own after an earthquake (the Big Growl) devastated their city. By doing so Lucky was also blessed with a growing sense of community and developing relationships. While this book would not be listed as Christian fiction, it provided a great parable about God’s desire for us to live in community rather than isolation.
     The fun element in this book came from translating dog speak into people speak.  Longpaw, longpaw skins, sitting boxes, loudcages, and clear-stones were just some of the terms the author used to identify items through the dogs’ eyes.  Then as I encountered other things I began to label them: scratching table, longpaw picture maker, moon stick, and leashed bird. 

    Not a dog person?  Other related series feature cats (the Warriors series) and bear (the Seekers series).  The reading level of the series may be intermediate level elementary to middle school, but the interest level extends beyond that.  Thanks to Kevin Linscott for sharing!  

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