Polacco, Patricia.
REMEMBERING VERA
New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 20147
IL K-3
ISBN 9781481442275

(2 booktalks)

Booktalk #1

Over 50 years ago, a little dog made her home in a pile of boxes at a San Francisco Coast Guard base. When seaman Dave Bunch found her on mopping detail, he loved her from the start and hid her from the Commander because he was afraid she wouldn’t be able to stay. As it turned out, everyone loved the dog named Vera. One day on an open sea adventure, she guaranteed that she could stay forever when she proved herself to be a Coast Guard hero! Based on a true story of an amazing pet and a mascot of the Coast Guard. (Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Award 2019-2020)

Booktalk #2

What would you do if you found a sweet, friendly puppy in an abandoned building? Would you walk away, take it to the dog pound, try to find the puppy a good home, or keep the puppy? Coast Guard serviceman Dave Bunch risked everything when he decided to keep a little puppy he found under a pile of boxes in a warehouse. When a dangerous storm caused a boat to capsize, Dave Bunch’s commanding officer finally saw the dog. What the commander saw next was unbelievable. Read this heartwarming story to find out what happened to a little stray puppy. (Prepared by: Jayne Pinson, Pinecrest Elementary School, pinsonj@gwd50.org for South Carolina Book Award)