Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle by Major Brian Dennis, Mary Nethery and Kirby Larson is one of those books that makes you laugh, cry, cheer and scream. The book, detailed in photographs and emails from Iraq, offers a hard look at some of the unforgotten victims of war. It's the story of a stray dog in the middle of war-torn Iraq who, not only fights to survive, but chooses the person he decides he is going to survive with. Major Brian Dennis names the pitiful leader of the pack of wild dogs Nubs, because obviously someone has butchered the starving dog's ears -- and that's just the beginning. From the time the Major meets the young adult dog in October 2007, until the time the dog boards a plane in early 2008 from Jordan to San Diego by way of Chicago, the reader keeps wondering "How can this dog survive?"
Read this book! Tell your teachers and librarians to get this book and read it to students and classes. Share it with friends and siblings. I got this book six hours ago -- I've read it twice, once by myself and once with my son, Max. I plan on reading it tomorrow in class at Takoma Education Center, and then, again and again. This is a BIG story told sparingly in a little book -- it's about a man and a dog, but it is also about friendship, compassion, camaraderie and will. The war in Iraq is now in its 9th year; when reading The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle you will cheer wildly for Nubs and Major Dennis, but you'll also wonder when will the suffering end.
