cover image The Family Dog: Celebrating Our Favorite Relative

The Family Dog: Celebrating Our Favorite Relative

Linda Sunshine, Mary Tiegreen. Clarkson N Potter Publishers, $15 (112pp) ISBN 978-1-4000-4593-8

Sunshine and Tiegreen's little gift book for dog lovers gathers black-and-white photos--some archival, others modern--and juxtaposes them with quotes that are occasionally funny, sometimes poignant, and pretty much always heart-warming. Tiegreen's definition of a""Dog Person"" is rather particular--folks who""carry dog pictures in our wallets and select our clothing and furniture based on the color of their fur""--but even those who find themselves less obsessed with the canine world will find something to smile about in the pictures and text. Caroline Knapp (A Pack of Two) reflects on falling in love with her dog, E.B. White recalls a loyal collie of his youth (""For six years he met me at the same place after school and conveyed me home--a service he thought up himself"") and Dave Barry takes a dig at the old Lassie shows (""Lassie looked brilliant, in part because the farm family she lived with was made up of idiots""). The authors, who previously collaborated on the nostalgic The Family Dinner, offer up another serving of cutesy fun.