Still Her Spirit Sings by Robert Kurkela, illustrated by Janice Phelps Williams

"Still Her Spirit Sings: One Dog's Love, Lessons, Life and Legacy is a father's verse tribute to his beloved dog Spirit, whose unexpected illness
and death imprints deeply on the family, including two small children. To answer hard questions truthfully, and to pay proper full tribute to a
faithful furry companion is the stated goal of Still Her Spirit Sings. But perhaps even more important is the offering of compassion and comfort
in the whimsical verse portrait of Spirit. ... Still Her Spirit Sings is lovingly embellished with spare, haunting portraits of daily details of the life of Spirit.... will be especially treasured by parents and children who have experienced the loss of a beloved pet." —Review by Midwest Book Review

Read an excerpt          Order Still Her Spirit Sings  on Amazon ISBN: 978-0-9760220-1-5            Hardcover with Jacket  11 x 8.5;  32 pgs    $16.95        
Published by Kidzpoetz Publishing

Open Your Heart with Pets by Janice Marie Phelps (Janice Phelps Williams)

2008 Next Generation Indie Book Awards finalist in the Pets & Inspiration categories.

“I've always thought you can learn a lot from our animal friends—Janice Phelps seems to agree! In her new book, Open your Hearts with Pets, she describes what life should really be like with your 'pet'. If they are given the respect they deserve as living beings that share their world with us, then the person-pet experience should be good as gold!  Pick up "Open your Hearts with Pets" and discover a whole new relationship with your animal friend!” ~Jack Hanna, Director Emeritus, Columbus Zoo, Host, TV's "Jack Hanna's Into the Wild"

"Open Your Heart With Pets is an excellent book, every pet owner or guardian should read. In addition to providing useful hints about pet care it is full of many true stories about how pets help of many true stories how pets help in our life. As an avian veterinarian, I have first hand knowledge of many such cases and can easily relate to the stories written in the book. Pet lovers will be delighted to find information in the book about all types of pets not easily available from other sources." ~Ram Mohan, DVM, MS, Ph.D, Avian Health Clinic, Reynoldsburg, Ohio

Order from Barnes and Noble / Open Your Heart with Pets: Mastering Life through Love of Animals  on Amazon

Published by DreamTime Publishing    Paperback; 6 x 9 inches; 176 pages ISBN: 978-1-60166-009-1; $ 14.95; Category: Pets

Visit the Open Your Heart with Pets Photography Group on Flickr

They Called Me Beautiful edited and illustrated by Claire Starr (aka Janice Phelps Williams)

From the classic book "Beautiful Joe" by M. Marshall Saunders, edited and illustrated for today's children.

"...this is a family that cares for all living creatures...Each child looked after the pets, making sure that the best of care was provided....Beautiful Joe was a real dog but the story is fiction. It is a wonderful story for children as the child learns how the animals feel about the way they are treated." –Mavis Metcalf, BellaOnline's Birds Editor.    

Margaret Marshall Saunders wrote Beautiful Joe™ in the late 1800s, basing the book on the trials of a real-life dog who was treated cruelly by his owner. More than 100,000 copies of the inspiring story have sold. Now, They Called Me Beautiful is available featuring detailed illustrations with text edited and abridged for contemporary children. Told from the perspective of a mutt named Joe, They Called Me Beautiful focuses on the love and acceptance provided to Joe by the Morris family and their conscientious care of the many pets in their home.

Children will delight in hearing Joe describe Bella the African Parrot and the many canaries, goldfish, rabbits, and pigeons raised by the Morris children and their humane and compassionate approach to animals and humans alike.

"Aimed at young readers as it is and espousing the values so passionately voiced by Margaret Marshall Saunders in her celebrated novel, 'Beautiful Joe,' this book is a gem and we heartily endorse it!" — Michael Biggins, Chairman, Beautiful Joe Heritage Society

"This was a very touching story about an abused dog from the dog's point of view. Beautiful Joe encourages children and adults to value the lives of all living creatures and treat them with compassion, care and respect. This story has a gentle way of conveying the act of animal mistreatment to be intolerable and inhumane." –Andi Hardy Jory, Elementary School Teacher, Waleska, GA

Order from Barnes and Noble / They Called Me Beautiful  on Amazon

Paperback, 128 pages; Age Range: 5 to 9; ISBN: 9780970637710    $10.95

 

"I went to the website and ordered these beautiful cards. They are gorgeous. ... The book is delightful. I thought it would be a real tear jerker. But it is not. It is the story told in 'Joe's' voice about a mutt adopted by a loving family. By the way 'Joe' is beautiful Joe. It was written in the late 1800s so the writing is in the era. But still a beautiful book with great illustrations, although too small. It teaches anyone, not only children compassion and caring for animals. You guys with african greys will enjoy Bella. She's smart, sassy and I just loved her. I would recommend the greeting cards, blank inside, and the book "They Called Me Beautiful". —Dana H., African Grey owner and parrot lover.