Liberty by Kirby Larson - ESSENTIAL

Larson, Kirby Liberty, 240 pages.  Scholastic Press, 2016.  Content: PG (some mild animal abuse, attempted drowning of puppies).

Fish tries not to let the consequences of polio let him down.  His father is away fighting in Europe and Fish looks up to Mr. Higgins, an important inventor who has important contracts with the military.  He catcher Mr. Higgins eye when his older sister Mo takes one of his inventions to work.  More importantly to Fish, is the stray dog that he is seeing around town.  He tries to befriend the dog and succeeds, naming her Liberty.  But then one day a storm arrives and Liberty runs off.  Fish will need to find Liberty and rescue her, but in order to do so he will need help from more than one unlikely source.

I love that Kirby Larson writes such unique dog books.  And they aren’t really about the dog, but about the person that belongs to the dog.  Each is a little piece of history wrapped in a book that makes the reader feel oh so good when they are finished.  This time Larson weaves the story of a young German POW into Fish and Liberty’s story and adds just a touch about race relationships in Louisiana during the 1940’s.  Just a enough to educate without hitting you over the head.

EL, MS - ESSENTIAL.  Cindy, Library Teacher