BOB THE RAILWAY DOG by Corinne Fenton tells the story of the early days of the Australian railroad.

When a railway worker adopts a homeless dog named Bob, they become fast friends. However, Bob is a wanderer and soon finds himself riding the rails and exploring stations across the country. Based on a real dog, this story immerses readers in nineteenth century Australia.

Librarians will find a large audience among children who enjoy both dogs and trains.

To learn more about the author, got to http://corinnefenton.com/.

Published by Candlewick on November 8, 2016. ARC courtesy of the publisher. ( )

This book's setting takes place in South Australia in 1884. The main character is a dog, named Bob, who loves to travel and ride the trains to new places. His adventurous spirit captures the readers attention and brings them on his journey. The fact that this is based on a true story made this book more interesting for me. I thought it was somewhat of a slower read, but would still be a good book to read to my students. I could ask questions about the setting and how it is set in a part of the world that many kids probably have not been able to see. I also enjoyed the illustrations and how it really painted the scene. ( )

In my opinion this was a good book for students. It is factual and true to history, which makes it a good informational book. Students will engage in this book because it also tells a story, in addition to giving real glimpses into this point in history. The laying of railroads was a huge turning point in human connection making it important for students to learn about. Through a funny plot, and a dogs POV, students will learn about railroad workers. It is also a good book because it has life-like illustrations. The detail in the pictures match to the words very accurately. This helps children who aren't particularly strong readers yet. At one point in the book, the dog was riding on top of the train car. The illustration clearly depicted this action that the author was writing about. In the words he used strong adjectives like "wind-blown fur" and "freeing ability", these actions are depicted by the dogs fur blowing back and his strong stance atop the train car. The message this book relays is to follow your dreams and anything is possible. ( )