Disclosure:
I received Madison Morgan: When Dogs Blog (Volume 1) by Pam Torres to conduct a review on, but the thoughts in the report are all mine and my families.
As a mom who wants Charlie to experience books of all kinds when I saw Madison Morgan: When Dogs Blog (Volume 1) was about dogs and blogging I knew he would enjoy it. I like knowing Madison Morgan: When Dogs Blog (Volume 1) is geared towards children in middle school, but I thought if I read it first I would be able to tell if it would be appropriate for Charlie, I am glad I did.
Once I read Madison Morgan: When Dogs Blog (Volume 1) I knew it would be something Charlie would enjoy. We sat down to read Madison Morgan: When Dogs Blog (Volume 1) since it is longer than most of the books we read we would read a chapter or two a night. When we would finish those sections Charlie always asked me to learn more since I had read Madison Morgan: When Dogs Blog (Volume 1) first, I could understand why.
I like how Madison Morgan: When Dogs Blog (Volume 1) makes you laugh but that it also teaches us a lesson. I can not wait to see if there are more books by Pam Torres as I know we would enjoy it just as much as we enjoyed this one. I think Madison Morgan: When Dogs Blog (Volume 1) would make an excellent gift for any child no matter their age.
All in all Madison Morgan: When Dogs Blog (Volume 1) was a huge success and is something I will make sure to always have in our library.
Life is getting tricky for eleven-year-old Madison Morgan. She’s not interested in boys, fashion, or the latest gossip, unlike her best friend, Paige. Since her mom died, her stepdad, who she knows as Henry, has way too many complicated systems around the house but way too little to say about her mom’s death. To top it off, in her first year of middle school, Madison and her new friend Cooper have become the “school project” of a bully named Donald.
All she wants is a dog to call her own, but all she gets is the parental-brush-off. What is a straight-talking, spunky middle grader going to do? Kids from ages nine- to twelve-years-old are sure to get a laugh from every page of Madison Morgan: When Dogs Blog, the young adult novel by author Pam Torres that charts the sometimes harsh, frequently funny days of the wise-cracking, dog-loving Madison.
When her dad arrives home with a foster dog, a scrawny brown terrier named Lilly, Madison is amazed to find she can understand dogs, their emotions, and often their pasts. However, this rare ability also leads her to uncover some extremely harmful activities that are happening right in her very own neighborhood. If she exposes the culprits behind them, she may risk losing Cooper, not destroy her plan to remain invisible at school. As Madison struggles to feel normal and understand her ability to translate dog-speak, this coming-of-age story shares how one quirky young girl saves the day with the help of her father and their friend Netta at the Second Chance Rescue Shelter. Frank, funny, and full of adventure, Madison Morgan: When Dogs Blog is a must for any middle grader, who is sure to be enthralled by this dog blogger.
Pam Torres was born in Logan, Utah and spent most of her childhood in Prairie Village, Kansas. Besides playing Dorothy during tornado weather and digging Peter Pan-like underground forts she also played piano and ran cross-country.
She started her family early, had five energetic and creative children, and returned to school when the last one was four. She has fond memories of reading to and playing with her children in between hefty amounts of volunteering at church and their schools. Several of her favorite activities were doing Writer’s Workshop, updating the art docent program, recruiting volunteers, working as the parent liaison for the curriculum team, publishing articles in the newsletter and directing a very popular after-school art club.
About this time she met and married her current husband, who had a four-year-old son of his own, making them a lopsided Brady Bunch. In college, she majored in communication with an emphasis in journalism and writing. As managing editor of the UWT’s literary magazine, she learned to format, work with editors and produce a quality product. Working as an advertising and contributing editor for Walk About Magazine, she quickly learned that in order to move up in the public relations and advertising fields she was up against stiff competition: twenty-somethings willing to work 80 hours a week. Pam’s children were all blessed with huge teeth for their small mouths so her job search priority became finding the best orthodontia coverage. After researching several companies she took sales management position in downtown Seattle.
The writing was the one constant in her life through all the struggles of single parenthood, step-parent issues and bringing a large family together. She continued to write her brains out in hopes of writing full time one day. After five years in sales, she quit her well-paying job to devote herself to her writing. Her supportive husband is her biggest cheerleader and she frequently acknowledges that she couldn’t have done it without him.
Madison Morgan: When Dogs Blog is her debut middle-grade novel. She organized Project Madison around the book’s release and is donating 10% of her proceeds to the ASPCA®, animal shelters, and other programs to benefit homeless and abused animals. www.madisonmorgan11.com
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
