Beautiful Joe

Rating:
Summary: A true story you'll cherish
Review: This is a true story of the mistreatment of a dog who ultimately ends up very happy. It was written over 100 years ago and is still timely. It is a book meant for children yet also for adults. It is a book that you will hold dear to your heart, and for you pet lovers, a treasure indeed. I recommend it most highly. I would also recommend it being read in schools.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Joe Changed My Life
Review: Trying to raise a humane child? If so, you want this book. I didn't realize until I was an adult that Beautiful Joe is essentially a humane education "tract"--a series of quasi-essays on various types of animal abuse held together by the plot line of Miss Laura's attempts to stop animal cruelty. I was surprised by the realization, because I had understood Beautiful Joe as Literature with a capital L--the real stuff, the good stuff. And I'd argue that it is. Much like Black Beauty, it both fulfills and transcends its original object of educating and agitating in the service of animal rights. Each one of its characters and incidents has remained stamped in my mind and heart since I first read it as a child in the 70's. In fact, Beautiful Joe changed my life: today I rescue, rehabilitate, and find good homes for abandoned, neglected, and abused dogs. Every tear that I have shed over these dogs has its source in that first burst of childish grief for poor old Joe. He's a good dog--and he can count me among his good works.

Rating:
Summary: My favorite childhood book
Review: What a wonderful surprise to find this book at Amazon. I loved this book and read it over and over till it fell apart. My own children are grown now, but I look forward to reading with my grandchildren and the 2nd and 3rd graders I teach.