This is the true story of Dozer, a three-year-old goldendoodle who became a local celebrity when he spontaneously started running alongside participants in a half-marathon fund-raiser for cancer research. Levy and Panza write from Dozer’s perspective and remains true to canine sensibilities, with an emphasis on interesting smells, curious strangers, and the pure fun of chasing, racing, and playing tag. Throughout, the author avoids attributing altruistic intentions to the dog’s actions, and the result is in an engaging, believable tale that will resonate with young readers and listeners. The mostly full-page, mixed-media illustrations nicely mirror and extend the progressive action in the words. With obvious appeal to animal lovers, this could also be used to start conversations about empathy and community activism. Similar in tone to Alexandra Day’s Carl series of wordless picture books, this tribute celebrates dogs at their best and could be used as a bridge to independent nonfiction reading selections, such as Donna Jackson’s Hero
Dogs: Courageous Canines in Action (2003).