As a dog lover, I always realized the dog is God spelled backwards because they both give unconditional love. This story introduces us to Brian a little boy who is blind and deaf. He needs someone to be able to help him without needing him to use his sight and hearing. God sends down a dog from heaven to see if he can fullfill the need. If he is successful, God will send down more dogs. The beautiful golden retriever is able to help Brian letting Brian use his sense of touch. Of course the world is full of dogs now.

The gorgeous illustrations add so much to the story especially as there are some pages that do not have words, the illustration tells the story. This book is a must for dog lovers and families trying to teach their children about unconditional love.

I received a copy of this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Before I begin my review, I am going to say that this is probably the hardest book that I have ever had to review. Because this book had great potential, but, well, just read my review!

UPS: I will begin by saying that I love the heart of this book. The reason it was written and the inspiration behind it gives it a very special personality and a good message. The wording of this book was also truly amazing, for even though this book is geared for children around 4 or 5, I read this book aloud with my mom and we found a few parts so very well written that they touched even us. The pictures are also full of color and very bright, perfect for children who enjoy colors.

DOWNS: However, despite the heart of the story, my family and I feel that it does not totally line up with the Bible. For instance, on one of the pages the author writes, "God could not touch Brian." I personally believe this statement to be so very false, because I have been touched by God in more ways than one. I do know what the author meant by this statement, that because God is not human, he doesn't normally touch in the same way a human can, but I am not going to tell a 4 year-old who is learning about God, possibly for the first time, that He cannot touch a child who is born blind and deaf, they simply will not understand. One of the other things that bothered us, was that the author also writes, "God needed help." and summarized, he went to the dog for help. This is very disturbing on two accounts,one, that a dog is equal to, or even better than God, and two, that God actually needs help. If the author was not trying to illustrate this kind of picture, re-wording it to be "God wanted to touch Brian through the dog" or something like that, would have been much more ideal.

OVERALL: I know my DOWNS really overthrew my UPS, and I really hate doing that, but I felt that I needed to explain a few things. So, I am afraid that I will only be rating Why Dogs Are 2 out of 5 stars, because though it is a great story and had good potential, it is not Biblically correct and I, as a professed child of God and follower of Jesus Christ, take that very seriously.

"I received this book from the publisher/author for the purpose of this review. All comments and opinions are entirely my own (with some help from family:-) ." ( )

When approached with reading/reviewing Tana Thompson’s children’s book, Why Dogs Are, I was eager to accept. A book about God’s love and care for those with special needs through his creation seemed like a perfect match for me. My husband is a veterinarian and treats service dogs. I am always looking for books to share with his clients and thought Why Dogs Are would be a great addition to his waiting room reading. I have some mixed feelings about this book. It has some great points, but I have some reservations about its view of God.

First the premise of Why Dogs Are is wonderful. What could be better than telling the story of God’s care of his people by providing comfort, help and love through his creation, in this case a dog. The story involves a young boy named Brian who is deaf and blind. God sends him a dog to teach unconditional love and forgiveness. I loved the illustrations of Brian’s interaction with the dog. Eye-catching and colorful, they vividly show the relationship that develops between a service dog and his person. The author also includes other illustrations of dogs and how they help people. This book does a good job of teaching children about special needs situations — showing people in everyday situations, living life just as everyone else.

However, I have a problem with the author’s view of heaven. She shows dogs living in Heaven and coming only to Earth to help Brian. After the dog’s success with Brian, other dogs are sent to help other people. I am not sure why the author took this route in explaining dog’s entry into Brian’s life. I think it may be a bit confusing to younger children. You may want to read this book with your child in order to explain the real story of Creation and God’s purposes for it.

Overall, I liked Tana Thompson’s book, Why Dogs Are, but I urge parents to read it first before introducing it to your child.

Audience: children ages 5-9.

(Thanks to BookCrash for a review copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.) ( )

This book is a keeper. Why Dogs Are deserves two paws up! If you love Dogs then you will want to read this book. It is quick, informative, a joy to read, and filled with tons of colorful pictures. Illustrator, Marita Gentry really did a great job of drawing the pictures. They added and helped tell the story. Children will love reading this book over and over again. I myself enjoyed reading this book and learning "Why Dogs Are". This book is the first in the Love Unleashed series. I look forward to reading more books in this series.

The lessons that this book taught was wonderful. God telling the Dog to go to Earth and teach Brian these lessons.

Teach him these two things:

First, to love without expecting anything in return.

Second, to forgive those who hurt him-then to forget the hurt and love them even more.

Then God telling the Dog what he shall be named from this day on was great:

"From now on I will call you DOG-that's GOD spelled backwards!"

FYI- The publisher did provide me a complimentary copy of this book through BookCrash. ( )