The Highly Trained Dogs of Professor Petit (Nancy Pearl's Book Crush Rediscoveries) - Hardcover

There is so much work for a boy to do in the serious town of Puddling Center that eleven-year-old Willie can’t even go to school. So when Willie meets Professor Petit and his five “Highly Trained Dogs”—each with its own special talent—he’s delighted. Maybe their traveling show will shake things up! But then Petit’s rival, Hulk Hoskins, rolls into town with a circus tiger, and the professor and one of his dogs end up in big trouble. Now it’s up to Willie and his new canine friends to save the day and put on a show this town will never forget!

Back in print for the first time in decades, this 1953 novel by Newbery winner Carol Ryrie Brink will have kids rooting for cheerful Willie, honest Professor Petit, and the amazing Highly Trained Dogs.

Carol Ryrie Brink (1895–1981) was an American author of more than thirty books for children and adults. She is widely known for her novel Caddie Woodlawn, which won the 1936 Newbery Medal, the award given to the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children in a given year. Carol grew up in Idaho and later attended the University of Idaho. She transferred to the University of California, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1918. She married that same year and settled with her husband in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where they lived for more than forty years and had two children. Brink’s first novel, Anything Can Happen on the River, was published in 1934. Three of Brink’s children’s books are included in the Book Crush Rediscoveries series: Family Grandstand (1952), Family Sabbatical (1956), and The Highly Trained Dogs of Professor Petit (1953).

Nancy Pearl is a librarian and lifelong reader. She regularly comments on books on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition. Her books include 2003’s Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason; 2005’s More Book Lust: 1,000 New Reading Recommendations for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason; 2007’s Book Crush: For Kids and Teens; Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Interest; and 2010’s Book Lust To Go: Recommended Reading for Travelers, Vagabonds, and Dreamers. Among her many awards and honors are the 2011 Librarian of the Year Award from Library Journal, the 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association, the 2010 Margaret E. Monroe Award from the Reference and User Services Association of the American Library Association, and the 2004 Women’s National Book Association Award.