Name of Book: Always
Author: Allison McGhee
Illustrator: Pascal Lemaitre
Publisher: Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books
Audience: Ages 4-8
Summary: The family dog tells its owner “I am the keeper of the castle. This castle. And I will keep the castle safe.” The castle is a small house by the ocean. The dog lists the duties of its job: guarding against monsters (spiders), halting an avalanche (of toys in the cupboard), diverting meteors (standing on the rooftop ready with a baseball bat), stopping “savage beasts” (pirate mice), and so on. What is the reason for such heroic acts? “Because you live here.”
Literary Elements at work in the story: The story is told by the dog who zealously guards its domain. The colors are soft and calming.
Perspective on gender/race/culture/economic/ability: The book has no overt statements to make on gender, race, culture, economic status, or ability. The child is a white girl, but could be any child who owns a dog and/or has concerns about being protected from “monsters” and other evils.
Scripture: Proverbs 17:17, 1 Samuel 20:17, John 15:13 , Proverbs 18
Theology: Love, devotion, friendship, loyalty
Faith Talk Questions:
- Which is your favorite of all the tasks the little dog does? Why?
- Who protects you and your “castle”? How does this person/animal protect the home?
- What can you do to guard your castle?
- Why does the little dog keep the home safe from squirrels, mice, storms, meteors, etc? Why do the protectors of your home do their tasks?
Review by Mary Anne Welch, 2008 Union-PSCE graduate
Always by Storypath is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.