Book Review: Nurturing Paws

Stories of beloved pets and cantankerous critters are what you'll find in the book Nurturing Paws. It's a collection of essays and poems about animals and their people. Reading each short piece will make you laugh or smile knowingly, and some of them will also bring a tear to your eye.

If you've ever seen the Chicken Soup for the Soul series of book, Nurturing Paws is very much the same type of book, and in fact, some of the authors included in the collection have previously been published in the Chicken Soup series. The stories are mostly about dogs or cats, sometimes dogs and cats. The occasional horse, rabbit and bird shows up, too. If you've ever had a pet or two (or dozens), you'll be reminded of your own four-legged (or feathered) friends.

The quality of the book seems very close to any other trade paperback, although something about the cover design just looks "small press" to me. It might be the font style and size that they chose. The print is not tiny, nor could it be considered large print. I feel like it's a good size for the average person.

This would be an excellent gift for the animal lover or for someone who prefers reading in short bursts. It's great to take to a doctor's office or anywhere you expect to sit and wait. I wouldn't give it to a fairly young child, because some of the essays deal with death, but it's a great choice for older children up to senior citizens.

Nurturing Paws is published by a small press called Whispering Angel Books. The company's founder, Lynn C. Johnston, is also the editor of the book and a contributor. Each piece is written by a different person of course, so the writing styles are quite varied. A couple of the ones I read were very sincere but didn't seem professionally written. Most were written at what I would consider a professional level.

The cover price of the book is $16.95, and you can order it through the publisher or from most major online bookstores. I received a free review copy of the book. The opinions expressed are my own.