When I saw the PAWS series, I suspected immediately that it would have some of the elements I look for in a book to “gets kids reading.”
Last week, that was confirmed to me in the best possible way.
My 12-year-old neighbour and her friends were sitting in my living room. They had a clipboard and were grilling me for their “investigation into unusual neighbourhood happenings”—which in itself is an awesome story and yes, will be the subject of a future post.
But to come back to PAWS. The girl saw a pile of books I’m reviewing and on top was PAWS.
PAWS is kind of like the Baby-Sitters Club but substitute a dog-walking business for the babysitting.
“Oh my gosh,” she said. “What is that?!”
You know the expression, “her eyes lit up”? That’s exactly what happened. She read the description on the back of the book and was instantly hooked. So of course I gave her the book.
A couple of hours later, she came back to report how much she is loving the book. In fact, she was further along in it than I was. I asked her what she likes about it, and of course it’s the dogs. But also the three energetic main characters, who are in business for themselves.
Dogs + series + fun main characters + graphic novel = getting kids reading.
PAWS: Gabby Gets it Together
(Book I in the series)
Gabby, Priya and Mindy are Vancouver students in Grade 5/6. They decide to start a dog-walking business. One of the girls is more sporty, one is more cool and online-savvy and Gabby, who has limited screen time, is an avid reader. In spite of their different interests, there’s one thing that brings them together… “We. Love. ANIMALS!”
And guess what? So do their readers.
The problem is, though, none of the girls in PAWS is allowed to own a pet (for various reason—see below). Hence, they come up with the dog-walking business, which will give them access to cute dogs (“floofs”) and let them earn a bit of money at the same time.
This is a series, and each one features fun adventures as the girls navigate their social relationships, working together and figuring out the logistics of caring for animals and managing a business. In each one, at least so far, the story is told by a different main character. In book I it’s Gabby and in book II it’s Mindy.
Oh, and update: By the time I was ready to post this article, my neighbour is nearly finished book I and was very happy to receive book II.
More information
For more information about the PAWS series visit the Penguin Random House website. For information about the illustrator, Michele Assarasakorn, follow @Msassyk and msassyk.com. For information about the writer, Nathan Fairbairn, follow @NathanFairbairn and visit nathanfairbairn.com.
Read some other reviews
A starred review by Kirkus: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/nathan-fairbairn/mindy-makes-some-space/
A starred review by School Library Journal (you need to be an SLJ subscriber to view it): https://www.slj.com/review/paws-mindy-makes-some-space
Purchase
- Published 2022 by Razorbill, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.
- Hardcover picture book: 176 pages
- ISBN: 9780593351918
- List Price: CAD $17.99 / USD $12.99
- Ages: 8 to 12
If you want to purchase these books, please first check out your neighbourhood independent bookstore. Even if it’s not on their website or shelves, they can likely order them in for you.
Otherwise, clicking on these links below will take you to the Amazon.ca page which in turn will net a small bit of money for GKReading.com (it won’t cost you anything extra).
