MY LIFE IN DOG YEARS

Gary Paulsen, author and narrator, begins with an emotional dedication to Cookie, the sled dog who saved his life. He then reviews his life in terms of the eight dogs he has loved. In describing each companion, he draws on powers of observation that are as strong as the dogs are diverse—from Snowball, the mutt he saved and loved at age 7, to Caesar, a Great Dane who is kinder to children than furniture. Paulsen’s stories range from laugh-out-loud funny to tearful. He is obviously affected by his material; one can hear him chuckling and occasionally choking up. Listeners, however, may less moved than he is, for his narration is lacking in dramatic skill. While Paulsen succeeds as a writer of stories with great read-aloud potential, he’s less notable as a narrator. S.W. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2011]