OLD DOG CORA AND THE CHRISTMAS TREE

From Powell (A Bold Carnivore, 1995) comes Gary Paulsen-like insight: Once a sled dog, always a sled dog, for although a Newfoundland named Cora is getting too old to pull, her owners can’t get the hearty dog to quit. Every Christmas the dogs help a mother, father, and Susan bring home a Christmas tree from the snowy woods. This year, Cora is not hitched up with the other two sled dogs in her bright red harness. She refuses to stay home, and follows the family into the forest. At first Cora gets underfoot; the family doesn’t understand what she is trying to do. But when the tree is selected, chopped down, and tied to the sled, Cora leads the other dogs—helping in spirit, if not in fact. Powell’s colorful woodcuts portray a crisp snow-filled north woods with deep blue shadows and green pines. The Yuletide setting is background dressing; the interactions of dogs and family predominate. An affectionate, unusual story. (Picture book. 4-7)