My Sister Gracie

Patricia Morley is professor emerita of English and Canadian Studies at
Concordia University and an avid outdoor recreationist. She is the
author of several books, including The Mountain Is Moving: Japanese
Women’s Lives, Kurlek and Margaret Laurence: T

This touching, utterly hilarious tale makes a point that could be
useful: families embrace differences.

Fabio, an only dog, wants his family to get another dog. “In many
ways he had it all—a bone to chew, a rubber ball ...” But he’s
lonely. His family agrees that he needs a present, another dog.

To Fabio’s surprise and horror, the new family member is a fat,
elderly beagle-basset hound named Gracie who prefers sleeping to
playing. Fabio plots to return her to the pound. But when some
neighborhood dogs start to tease and mock her, Gracie and Fabio become
allies: “Then brother and sister / Went off to the park / And sniffed
the world / Till it was dark.”

The irresistible rhymes and comic paintings will delight small children
and the adults who read to them. Gillian Johnson, a teacher and active
sportswoman, won Honourable Mention for Graphics at the Bologna
Children’s Book Fair for her first book, Fat Gracie, a comic
masterpiece. My Sister Gracie was inspired by a beagle-basset she
adopted from the local pound; well past her prime, the dog became a
cherished family pet. Love comes in all shapes and sizes, as Fabio
learns and readers are reminded. Highly recommended.