Before You Were Mine [Hardcover]

Maribeth Boelts (Author), David Walker (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

A little boy imagines what life was like for his new dog before he adopted him from a shelter. Maybe he had a boy who loved him, but the family had to move and couldn?t keep him. Maybe he belonged to someone who didn?t appreciate how mischievous puppies can be. Maybe he was treated badly, and now he can be shown all the love he?s been missing. This boy wonders about all of these things, but maybe they don?t matter. Because now, his dog is home.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Before you were mine . . . " wonders a little boy, "[d]id you live in a warm house with warm smells and a rug that was only yours? [Or were] you kept on a chain, with a dusty bowl and lonely sounds all around?" Never varying from this direct address, the little boy speculates about the life his dog may have led before being adopted from the shelter. He imagines happiness, cruelty, misfortune, neglect: "[Maybe] you ran away and they never heard that if your dog runs away, you look for him . . . until you find him." Softly framed pastel panels and vignettes depict a round, mustard-colored little mutt playing with an imagined boy, making puppy-mischief, alone and scared, before being taken to the shelter for "a meal, and a bath, and a bed of your own" before coming home with the narrator. Boelts's restrained text and Walker's affecting illustrations combine to pack a small wallop directly to the hearts of dog-loving children who will almost certainly give their pets an extra hug afterwards. A note on adopting a shelter pet follows this unabashedly emotional offering. (Picture book. 4-8) -- Kirkus Reviews October, 2007

"A poignant, thought-provoking book." -- School Library Journal, 12/01/2007

"In this witty, wise picture book Boelts presents a kids-eye view of a consumer fad that rages through school at gale force." -- The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review, 12/05/2007

"Whether children are on the shoe-owning or the shoe-envying side of the economic line, they can sympathize with Jeremy and rejoice in the way he eventually resolves his problem with his too-small shoes." -- The Horn Book, 11/01/2007

"Cozy, soft-edged pictures of an adorable dog characterize this warm-hearted book in which a boy, whose dog has died, gets another dog from a shelter. The young narrator, thrilled with his new pet, speculates about the dog's past in a series of questions. He imagines another boy loving the dog and playing with it: "Was your boy proud when you learned a trick? Did he talk about you at recess?" He pictures the dog as a lively puppy whose owners were annoyed by his chewing and digging, and in a few imagined scenes, the dog appears neglected and unhappy. But the story comes full circle as the narrator welcomes the shivering stray into its friendly new home. The pastel illustrations use a variety of layouts to infuse the story with emotion, and the author's note speaks of the "ripple of hope" created when someone adopts a dog. Children are likely to beg their parents for a trip to the shelter after reading this moving book." Kathleen Odean -- Booklist Dec. 2007

PreS-Gr 2

Boelts does an outstanding job of exploring the adoption of a rescued dog from a shelter. An unnamed boy whose family takes in this sweet-looking pet describes what the animal's life might have been like "before you were mine." The child wonders if his dog was loved, but too mischievous for the previous owners, or if they moved into a "no dogs allowed" apartment, or if he got lost, and "they never heard that...you look for him...until you find him." The boy also imagines how tough life must have been when the animal was on his own, and how frightened he might have been, even after being rescued. Walker's illustrations--some muted, others vibrantly colored--perfectly capture the misery and fear, the uncertainty, and ultimately the rapture of this pup because "you're home." The text and illustrations create moods that shift between poignant and blissful. A short essay about the "ripple of hope" created by a successful adoption of a dog from a shelter is appended. Pair this title with Marc Simont's The Stray Dog (HarperCollins, 2001) to drive home the joyous outcome when the right family meets up with the right dog.--Deborah Vose, Highlands Elementary School, Braintree, MA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. -- School Library Journal

About the Author

Maribeth Boelts and her family live in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Their second rescued dog, Dixie, lives happily with them.

David Walker lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Every dog he’s had has been rescued, but he’s always felt like the lucky one.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Juvenile (September 20, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 039924526X
• ISBN-13: 978-0399245268
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 9.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #132,820 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #51 in Books > Children's Books > Social Situations > Adoption

More About the Author

Maribeth Boelts lives in Iowa with her family and has been writing for children for almost 20 years. Her most recent titles, "Those Shoes" and "Before You Were Mine" have won a number of awards. Her picture book, "Happy Like Soccer" will be published May, 2012. A former teacher, Maribeth enjoys meeting and encouraging kids to read and write. "It is, in equal parts, an enthralling and confusing quest trying to crack the code on what makes a child pull a book off the shelf and continue turning the page. Figuring out what makes that same child laugh, feel understood or inspired is what keeps this career so interesting. I am grateful for every reader."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Before You Were Mine, May 30, 2008

By 

K. Badura (Buffalo, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Before You Were Mine (Hardcover)

I read this book to my daughter and I cried. It felt like this book was our family story. We lost Rebel after 14 years and rescued Sneakers from the SPCA soon after. My daughter asked a lot of the same questions as the boy in the book. I highly recommend this story to everyone.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy this book for every child in your life!, September 20, 2007

By 

Catapillargirl "Fantasy Book Lover" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Before You Were Mine (Hardcover)

This book is fantastic! I bought it for every child in my life. It urges people to rescue a shelter dog vs. buying from a pet store or breeder. I loved the artwork in this book as well!!!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for Anyone Who Has Adopted a Dog, December 23, 2008

By 

Suzy - See all my reviews

This review is from: Before You Were Mine (Hardcover)

This wonderful story for young children puts their "I wonder" inquisitiveness into high drive. A young narrator wonders what life was like for a dog recently adopted into his loving home. He asks all the questions I've wondered about my rescue dog, such as, "did you have another name -- like Gus, or Sam, or Teddy, or Howie, or maybe Miles -- before you were mine? / Was your boy proud when you learned a trick?"

The illustrations are soft, colorful, and appealing to children, showing the dog doing typical dog antics. The illustrator, David Walker, keeps the illustrations cheerful, including those taking place in the shelter. Only a couple of illustrations are sad, when the dog wanders "alone and scared, like a dog shouldn't be," and the boy's memory of his last moments with his old dog. The author and illustrator quickly turn around the unhappy pages with positive words and pictures of the new dog being cared for and loved.

Children who have recently adopted a dog will enjoy sharing the wonderings introduced in this story. However, be prepared to be moved to tears when you read it if you have experience with the larger picture of homeless pets behind this story. Not to worry for your young children though -- the book is celebratory rather than preachy about the benefits of adopting an older dog into your home.