Nubs

November 9, 2009
Larson and Nethery, who collaborated on Two Bobbies
, team up with Dennis to tell the moving story of the Marine major’s friendship with a wild dog he befriended at a border fort in Iraq. Dennis named the dog Nubs because his “ears had been cut off to make him a dog of war” (a statement never explained). Though Nubs futilely attempts to follow Dennis when he departs the fort, the two grow closer on subsequent visits, until the dog (now wounded) treks 70 miles through the snow to find Dennis. When the major is ordered to “get rid of the dog, or else,” he raises money to have Nubs transported to his San Diego hometown, where human and dog eventually reunite. Some spreads feel cluttered with narrative passages, e-mail sidebars, and multiple images; the photographs, gleaned from several sources, are of varying quality and resolution (understandable given the circumstances under which most were taken). But these do not diminish the emotional impact of the saga, which should appeal to fans of Owen and Mzee
and other stories of animals that triumph against the odds. Ages 3–up.

December 1, 2009
Gr 2-5-A true story of a feral dog from Iraq that found a home in the United States. In October 2007, Border Transition Team 3/5/2 arrived at the border of Iraq and Syria. The team members were greeted by a pack of wild dogs, whose leader became known as "Nubs" because of his docked ears. He developed a bond with Dennis, and as the troops would come and go over the course of several weeks, they were always greeted by the dogs. Nubs exhibited signs of malnutrition and abuse yet he continued to seek food and companionship from the Marines, often trying to follow them when they'd leave. In December 2007, when they relocated to the Jordanian border, 70 miles away, he embarked on a treacherous journey across the desert and, two days later, walked into the camp. Because Marine regulations prohibit the keeping of pets in a war zone, Major Dennis and his men collected donations and arranged to send Nubs to the United States. He was eventually reunited with the dog in 2008. The narrative, which sometimes lacks clarity, includes a substantial amount of original documentationphotos taken by members of the 3/5/2, emails from Dennis to his friends in San Diego, and copies of the State Department "passport" allowing Nubs to travel. This is a feel-good entry in the current trend of inspirational true animal stories."Kara Schaff Dean, Walpole Public Library, MA"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from October 1, 2009
Grades K-3 *Starred Review* Major Brian Dennis wasnt looking for a pet. In fact, for marines serving in Iraq, such a thing was against orders. As it turned out, nothingnot rules, not distance, not warwas going to keep them apart. Kirby Larson and Mary Nethery, authors of the cat-and-dog Hurricane Katrina survival story Two Bobbies (2008), pair with Dennis on this hugely inspirational true account of Nubs (so named because his ears had been cut off by an unknown perpetrator) and his devotion to the American soldier who befriended him. At first, Dennis only rubbed the dogs belly and shared some rations before embarking on a two-month mission. But when Dennis returned, so did a cold and injured Nubs. Dennis was able to clean the animals wounds, but two more missions meant more abandonment. Thats when the unbelievable occurred: through freezing temperatures the mutt limped for 70 miles until he found his friend. Simple dotted-line maps make Nubs various journeys palpable. The gritty, low-res shots of the two companions against the bleak Iraqi horizon are married with text so gracefully that many of the compositions could be book jackets. Dennis emails and various other official documents liven the layout, but the payoff is the grinning face on Nubs American passport. At long last, he was going home.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2010
Photographs trace the story of Major Brian Dennis, a Marine serving in Iraq, and a wild dog that Brian named Nubs. The climax of Nubs's story--trekking seventy miles across the desert to find Brian--is inspiring. At times, the text is distractingly anthropomorphized ("As the pack leader, he faced constant challenges from younger dogs wanting his job").

(Copyright 2010 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)