Baxter the Tweeting Dog by Doreen Marts

Baxter is a very friendly dog who lives in the town of Wackaloon. He spends lots of time on Twoofer - it's a secret communication technology that only dogs know about. When his friend Lucy is missing, he's really worried about her. At first Baxter isn't sure what to do, but then he remembers about Twoofer! Before long dogs from all over town are looking for Lucy and sending updates on where she's been seen. Will Baxter be able to find her?

Books about technology - particularly books for kids - can be kind of hit or miss. It's tough to aim it for the right audience while still accurately using the technology; including technology also runs the risk of giving the book a short shelf life and making it seem dated in the near future. In this case, I don't think that the audience (young readers who are either reading on their own or about to start reading on their own) necessarily needs to have used Twitter in order to get the jokes. The "Twoofs" are really just a way to get Baxter running all over town. Animal lovers (and dog lovers in particular) will find lots of cute, cuddly canines in these pages (many of them looked like they'd stepped out of a TV cartoon about tech-savy dogs in a city). I also liked the endpapers of the book, featuring the different dogs along with their Twoofer handles. Will this be a book that stands the test of time? I can't say, but it definitely is a book that taps into the moment.

Check out Doreen Marts' website.

I received a review copy from Edelweiss courtesy of Blue Apple Books.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
A Day in the Office of Doctor Bugspit by Elise Gravel
Prickles vs. the Dust Bunny by Daniel Cleary
Doggie Dreams by Mike Herrod
It's a Book by Lane Smith