The book “Dog Days” by Karen English will be featured in the 2025 Great Bend Reads Initiative starting in January.
Each year, the Great Bend Reads team chooses a book that is given to every child in Great Bend USD 428 elementary schools after the winter break. Children are encouraged to take the books home and read them with their families.
Tammi Cale and her son Lincoln introduced the book to the USD 428 Board of Education when it met Monday. Lincoln is a fourth-grader at Jefferson Elementary School where his mom is a tech specialist.
Lincoln received a round of applause from the board members after reading aloud to them. Tammi then explained the choice of “Dog Days.”
“It is part of a series,” she said. If children enjoy the book, they will be able to find more books in that series in their school libraries.
“We do have English language learners in our community,” she said. Those children will be able to take home a copy of the book in Spanish so their parents can read it with them.
“It’s a really fun book,” Cale said.
Community engagement is an important part of the annual initiative, Cale said.
The organizers will partner with the Great Bend Public Library, Recreation Commission, JAG-K, 4-H and Kansas Wetlands Education Center for activities related to the theme. Local businesses will be invited to join the fun by sponsoring the community scavenger hunt for “dog bones.” Their finds can be logged to an online platform called Goosechase.
About the Great Bend Reading Initiative
This program was launched in 2015 to promote enjoyment for reading and boost student literacy skills by reading a well-loved children’s book. Reading together strengthens parent-child relationships and promotes school, family and community engagement. This year’s presenters are USD 428 librarians Holly Oyedeji, Kristine Boepple and Leah Yancey.
About “Dog Days”
“Dog Days” is the first book in “The Carter Chronicles” by Karen English. It is illustrated by Laura Freeman.
Gavin, a new kid at Carver Elementary, is trying to make friends and show off his soccer and skateboarding skills. Things take a turn when he and his new friend Richard accidentally break his sister’s prized snow globe. As punishment, Gavin is forced to walk his great-aunt Myrtle’s Pomeranian, Carlotta, every day after school. Dealing with a demanding aunt and a high-maintenance dog, Gavin navigates the challenges of making friends, avoiding bullies, and learning the value of responsibility. Through his daily walks with Carlotta, Gavin starts to see the dog in a new light and even forms an unexpected bond.
BookNoFurther.com says the recommended reading level for this book is age 6-9, or grades 1-4. Cale said the subject matter will be interesting to the older students as well.
