To continue our monthly series of book lists, the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library would like to recommend the following inspiring (and true!) animal stories.
The Gift Of Jazzy by Cindy Adams. New York Post columnist Cindy Adams recalls the loneliness she felt after the death of her husband, comedian Joey Adams, in 1999 -- until a friend sent her a Yorkshire terrier. Adams recounts her first year with Jazzy and describes the ways the puppy helped her love and laugh again. 2003. Braille book BR 14819. Cassette book RC 67835. Digital book DB 67835. Large Print book LP 19880.
The Parrot Who Owns Me: the Story of a Relationship by Joanna Burger. Tiko, a 35-year-old orphaned, Red Lored Amazon parrot, and Burger, a renowned ornithologist and biology professor, have lived together for 15 years. He eats dinner off her plate, takes showers with her, and every spring, tries to woo her with his courtship ritual of shredding newspaper for a nest, hoarding food, and obsessively preening. Burger anthropomorphizes Tiko but backs these characterizations with hard science and decades of bird study. 2001. Cassette book CBA 7328
Grayson by Lynne Cox. Author recalls an encounter from her teenage years when a baby gray whale followed her during a long-distance training swim along the California coast. Describes communicating with the calf she called Grayson and battling fatigue, fifty-five-degree water, and dehydration to protect him until he was reunited with his mother. Bestseller. 2006. Braille book BR 16883. Cassette book RC 63873. Digital book DB 63873. Large Print book LP 22582. Also available in Spanish (Cassette bookRC 61064).
Cat Who Went to Paris by Peter Gethers. Gethers, a publisher and screenwriter, hated cats before his girlfriend presented him with Norton, a small grey Scottish Fold kitten who takes over his life. Gethers recounts their adventures from vacations on Fire Island to business trips abroad. The cat makes friends with everyone -- flight attendants, hotel managers, movie stars, and, finally, Janis, Gethers's true love, of whom Norton approves. 1991. Braille book BR 8854. Cassette book RC 34131. Large Print book LP 20849.
Marley and Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog by John Grogan. A columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer reminisces about the untrainable Labrador retriever that he and his wife acquired as Florida newlyweds. Recalls Marley's hilarious escapades and his capacity for love as the Grogans become the parents of three kids. Bestseller. 2005. Braille book BR 16584. Cassette book RC 61561. Digital book DB 61561. Large Print book LP 21960.
A Good Dog: The Story of Orson, Who Changed My Life by Jon Katz. The Dogs of Bedlam Farm (RC 62296) author recalls his relationship with his troubled border collie Orson. Describes efforts to correct Orson's behavioral problems on Katz's upstate New York farm and the evolution of their bond, which, Katz writes, tested "the limits of training, knowledge, patience, of love itself." 2006. Cassette book RC 63830. Digital book DB 63830. Large Print book LP 22537.
Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron. Spencer, Iowa, public library director Vicki Myron describes finding a kitten in the book drop in 1988. Named Dewey Readmore Books by library staff, the feline became an increasingly famous mascot over the next nineteen years. Myron also discusses her divorce, single parenthood, breast cancer scare, and love of librarianship. Bestseller. 2008. Braille book BR 17821. Cassette book RC 67516. Digital book DB 67516.