Writers and Their Pets, written by Kathleen Krull and illustrated by Violet Lemay. DuoPress, Workman. Thomas Allen & Son, 2019. $21.95 ages 9 and up

"For the first time, Rowling could afford her own pets - tropical fish, a cat named Chaos, a rabbit (at last) named Jemima, and a guinea pig named Jasmine. Dogs were her favorite as she built the Harry Potter universe. Butch, a Jack Russell terrier, accompanied her to pick out a companion: Sapphire, a rescued greyhound. Sapphire couldn't decide whether to be in the same room as her or not, so Rowling had to spend precious Harry Potter writing time ... "

There is not a lot to tell about this book, without repeating what you are about to learn if you read it. If one of the 20 authors featured is a favorite, middle graders will find the tales of their lives with their pets of interest, adding to the information they may have already gathering concerning their lives. Once they read one of the chapters, they are likely to continue on. There is a lot to digest, and they are sure to learn more about the author presented than they had known.

The chapters begin with a short introduction to the writer. What follows are two to eight pages of historical significance in terms of the effects their pets had on the author, their lives, and sometimes even their death. A featured box in most chapters provides a further connection between writer and pet(s).

"Sendak was laboring on a picture book
about an angry boy named Max 
(also the name of Sendak's German
shepherd). It was called Where the 
Wild Horses Are - until one
day he decided he really didn't
draw horses very well.
"Horses" became "Things."

Readers interested in writers, animals, history and the effect that pets have on their owners will find much of interest here.