Featured Book: Maggie's Second Chance

If you have ever been lucky enough to have a rescue dog rescue you right back, this book is for you. This is an incredible story about a beautiful Lab mix named Maggie who is left behind when her family moves. It illustrates, with heartbreaking images and text, the sad reality that so many dogs face when the family they love turns their back on them. Maggie is left alone in the icy, dark house with no blanket, food or water. When she is rescued (thankfully), it is clear to the animal services workers that Maggie is pregnant. She is taken to a place where she gives birth to her puppies, is fed, and is given what little love busy volunteers are able to find time to give her. But because she was black and difficult to see in photos, she didn't get adopted.

But Maggie's luck changes when a young boy sees her picture in the newspaper and asks the question, "What happens if Maggie doesn't find a home?" When he realizes that Maggie would likely be euthanized, he engages his classmates and teacher in creating a plan to propose an animal shelter at the next town council meeting. When the plan passes, the entire class gets involved to help. Maggie is rescued at the very last minute as she finds a new, and hopefully temporary home, at the new shelter.

This is a wonderful book to help open children's eyes to ways they can get involved in helping animals in their own community, and may inspire classrooms of children from across the nation to do their small part. Just imagine the impact we could make - and how many dogs' lives we could save - if everyone did just one small thing.

Thank you, Nancy Furstinger and Joel Hyatt, for such an inspirational and meaningful book for children and their adults.

Teachers and parents, if you are looking for a wonderful addition to your library, this is it!

To order your copy of Maggie's Second Chance, just click here. If you would like to read more books by this author, please visit Nancy's homepage here: http://www.nancyfurstinger.com

Just a little update: I contacted Nancy Furstinger to let her know how much her work has impacted the 125 children who participated in the pilot of this program, and I wanted to share her response with you! She wrote that Maggie's character was inspired by the real life story of a dog named "Jolly," and the class of fourth grade students featured in the book created this incredible organization, "Dawgs n Texas," which has saved over 7,000 animals to date! To read more about these inspirational students and how they are making a difference, "One animal at a time, One child at a time, One day at a time," just click here.