Strongheart: The World's First Movie Star Dog

Reviewed by: Patricia Temple - Long Island Community Library, Long Island, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: February 10, 2015

Review

This picture book biography is the story of a hard working German military police dog who was sent to America at the end of WW1 to be sold. A Hollywood animal trainer and his wife adopted him and taught him to play and perform in the first movie to star a dog. The police dog, Etzel, became the famous actor, Strongheart, who stared in many movies, fathered a line of acting dogs and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Readers will enjoy meeting this little known star and learning about dog training techniques in the early days of movie making. Colorful illustrations help set the story in the early 1900's and show the range of emotions of both the humans and animals. Author's note at the end fills readers in with more details about Strongheart's movie career and life.

Overall Book Score: good