My Life in Dog Years

Paulsen, G. (1999). My life in dog years. New York: Delacorte Press.

     My Life in Dog Years is an nonfiction chapter book written by Gary Paulsen and is about Gary owning dozens of dogs and each one is special for some reason.  In each chapter of this book, Gary tells about one of his "special" dogs and the significance.  For example, Cookie was a sled dog whom saved his life.  Another one of Gary's dogs was Snowball.  Snowball was his first dog when he lived in the Phillipines.  A couple others companion dogs are Dirk and Josh. 
     Many literary terms were used in this nonfiction chapter book.  One of the terms included in this book was onomatopoeia.  On page 132 in My Life in Dog Years, the author uses "he distinctly made the sound ptui as he did it-- and then walked away from me".   Gary also used idioms in his chapter book.  On page 40 he says, "To make up the difference I started selling newspapers in the bar at night.  This kept me up and out late, and I often came home at midnight.  But it added to my income so that I could stay above water."   Gary also used dialect and similes.  A simile that "popped" out was when Gary said "Happy was built like an upright freezer and had just about half the intelligence but this time it was easy". 
     This nonfiction chapter book would be a great read for my 5th grade students.  Most of my students have pet dogs at home and would love to learn about each of Gary Paulsen's dogs and their significance to his life.  Afterwards, my students could even write their own chapter book on their own pets and how their pets have been an essential part of their life.