30 books by dogs

You may have wondered what your pet dog would say if he or she could talk. But what if your dog could put pen to paper? These 30 picture books and novels -- for kids, teens, and adults -- imagine a dog's eye view of things.

From rhyming puppies to suave sleuthhounds, from saving the world to observing it wryly, these cultured canines have compelling tales to tell -- and tails to wag! Happy reading!

12 dog books for adults

1. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein (Harper Collins, 2008, $24.95) Enzo the lab-terrier mix, self-educated through diligent TV viewing, tells of his one last effort to earn human status in his next birth.

2. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski (Random House, 2008, $32.95) Almondine, a gentle dog, confesses she's the only family member who can hear the voice of Edgar, a boy who can't speak.

3. Dog Days -- An Animal Chronicle by Patrice Nganang (University of Virginia, 2006, $21.95) Translated from the 2001 French original, this story by a rather philosophical dog, Mboudjak, explores the vibrant, changing culture of Cameroon in the early '90s.

4. The Last Family in England by Matt Haig (Vintage Books, 2005, $19.95) Prince, a black lab, is torn between duty to his human family and pulling his canine friends out of scrapes in this tragi-comic take on Shakespeare's Henry IV Part II.

5. Timbuktu by Paul Auster (Picador, 2000, $12) Mr. Bones accompanies his homeless master on a trek from Brooklyn to Baltimore in this rich, poignant fable.

6. King: A Street Story by John Berger (Vintage Books, 2000, $18) In a spare, lyrical tragedy by Booker Award-winner John Berger, a German shepherd narrates the eviction of a homeless community over a tough 24 hours.

7. The Plague Dogs by Richard Adams (Allan Lane, 1977) This modern classic has a harrowing opening, but settles into a heartwarming tale of escaped lab animals adventuring in the wild.

8. A Dog Among Diplomats by J.F. Englert (Dell, 2008, $8.99) Charming, poetry-loving Randolph the lab is back with a new mystery to solve: his master's fiancee has apparently been kidnapped and framed for murder by a United Nations conspiracy. Sequel to A Dog About Town (below).

9. A Dog About Town (Dell, 2007, $8.99).

10. The Hidden Life of Humans by Erika Ritter (Key Porter Books, 2002, $19.95) Murphy the mutt shares comic storytelling duties with his temporary mistress, fortysomething Dana, as she wavers through a crazy brush with love -- or will both the passion and the pooch prove more permanent?

11. Lives of the Monster Dogs by Kirsten Bakis (Warner Books, 1997, $23.99) In this imaginative novel, super intelligent giant dogs colonize 21st-century New York and are the toast of town until they can't cope and barricade themselves inside a fantastic castle.

12. Before Your Dog Can Do Your Homework, First You Have to Do It by John O'Hurley (Hudson Street Press, 2007, $26.50) Scoshi, a wise old Maltese, writes letters to the family baby about how to get along in life. Of course, Dad then butts in with the human viewpoint.