b'books, movies, music & more.A REGULAR COLUMN FEATURING DOG-THEMED BOOKS, and occasionally, MUSIC & FILM, REVIEWED BY THE NEW BARKER TEAMYou Can Never Die the books humor, thoughtfulness and the sometimes breath-by Harry Bliss takingly beautiful pen to paper that grace these pages, whetherCeladon Books they are his words or his illustrations. This is the type of bookApril 2025 oneshouldkeepconvenientlynearbytopickupandflipthrough at any given moment. Depending on the page youAt 395 pages contained in land on, the writings and illustrations will elicit either a gasp, aanoversizedhardback laugh, or a few tears. cover, the physical weight If you have never heard of Harry Bliss and do have a senseofYouCanNeverDieis of humor, warped or otherwise, you will soon be one of hismuch heavier than its title biggest fans. Usuggestsofthesubjectmatter.Inspiredbyhisdeep love and devotion tohis dog, Penny, with whom he shared his life for seventeen Save Our Dogsyears, Bliss does not so much grieve her passing as much as he by Molly Weinfurterremembers all of their best moments. And with a dog, thats Self-publishedanymomenttheyreinourlives.ItsasifPennyspassing October 2024openedupavalveofhonest,sometimesperversethoughts Inspiredbytheauthorsownflowing from mind to pen to paper in his journals. Its the puppymillsurvivordog,Zoe,writings and detailed doodles from those journals that make up Weinfurter spins a story reminis-You Can Never Die. cent in the style of a Nancy DrewBliss is the creator of the internationally syndicated comic Mystery.strip Bliss and a cartoonist and cover artist for The New Yorker. Not long after the books pro-He is the coauthor of two New York Times bestselling books tagonist, Paisley, receives a gift of a WhenIseeadog,Ifeelmyselfbecoming Dalmatianpuppyfromherparents, she uncovers a secret. The gift is Paisleys formal intro-tender Isoften.Thissameshifting- duction to the family business of breeding dogsa massiveamount of puppies. Her parents are selling the puppies to retailtoward-tendernesshappenswhenIsee stores, who turn big profits by reselling them. At first, Paisleychildren. The accumulation of this shifting in thinks her work is important to help run the family business.She thinks nothing of her parents telling her that the largeenergy can be significant. Does it make us barn containing the breeder dogs and puppies is off-limits tokinder to each other? Nourish our sense of everyone but just the three of them, including Paisleys youngersister Tori. She watches as her parents pull the puppies fromhumanity?DidPennysfurryfaceinthe their sad, weary mothers before they are weaned, and load themwindowmaketheworldkinder?Wecan into a van then driven to various stores that sell the puppies. After speaking with a new friend, whose mother works innever know how many lives our pets touch, dog rescue, Paisley is conflicted and tries to deny her feelings.but the numbers over those seventeen years She decides to show Tori the barn, which is hidden on theirproperty beyond the woods. Once inside the barn, the look ofof Pennys life cannot be underestimated.shockthensadnessonherlittlesistersfacemakesPaisleyrealize that something is not right. But, how will she tell herHarry Bliss, excerpt from You Can Never Die parents of her concerns? How will she and Tori be able to savewith Steve Martin, and has written and illustrated more than the dogs? How will their parents ever forgive them?twenty-fivechildrensbooks.Although,itsagoodbetthat From the author: This book is written for anyone nineonce any publisher of childrens books gets their hands on this years or older to understand and enjoy. However, its aboutbook, Bliss will have seen the last of illustrating for innocent a puppy mill, so the content may be sensitive to some youngimpressionable young minds.readers.Ikeptkidsinmindwhilewritingit,sonothingIf you dont have a sense of humor or are easily offended, is graphic. And, if you normally avoid dog books that makethis is just a warning, thats all. We all grieve in different ways. you sad, I dont want to give away any spoilers, but I can assureHowever, if you are a fan of Bliss, you will definitely appreciate you that the ending is safe for dog lovers. U52THE NEW BARKER www.TheNewBarker.com'