Blending the timeless truths found in stoic philosophy and Christian mystic spirituality, The Puppy Prophet follows Daisy, a wise, old stray nearing the end of her days, as she poetically explores life’s most profound mysteries of love, hope, fear, friendship, God, and even death.
Beautifully illustrated and one-of-a-kind, The Puppy Prophet takes readers on a powerful journey that is thought-provoking, inspiring, and perfectly quirky. Whether you’re a dog lover, a deep thinker, or someone who just needs a bit of joy in your life, what you’ll find in The Puppy Prophet is wisdom literature at its best – and most fun.
Blending the timeless truths found in stoic philosophy and Christian mystic spirituality, The Puppy Prophet follows Daisy, a wise, old stray nearing the end of her days, as she poetically explores life’s most profound mysteries of love, hope, fear, friendship, God, and even death.
Beautifully illustrated and one-of-a-kind, The Puppy Prophet takes readers on a powerful journey that is thought-provoking, inspiring, and perfectly quirky. Whether you’re a dog lover, a deep thinker, or someone who just needs a bit of joy in your life, what you’ll find in The Puppy Prophet is wisdom literature at its best – and most fun.
The Puppy Prophet by David Lane (illustrated by Patrick Atkins) is a heavily pictorial short story, centred around "Dumpster" Daisy, a mongrel breed dog who has lived her entire life as a stray. One day in autumn, a very tried and sick Daisy places herself under a magnolia tree, where she offers wisdom to the many other dogs who gather around. Daisy's guidance goes a long way to supporting a cast of eighteen colourful characters, including Poncho the pudgy pug, Rosie the reserved Rottweiler and Benji the bubbly Beagle.
As stories go, this book has all the charm and briefness to be enjoyed in one sitting. It is less about Daisy's story arc, but the micro-tales (or flash fiction) of the other characters who interact with her, as each dog comes with a double spread where they summarise their predicament, followed by Daisy's counsel. By in large, there is little to no overlap between characters or their relationships with each other. Text spacing on the page is neither heavy nor blocky, and the flow lends itself to being more poetic in nature as opposed to detailed story telling.
The artistry The Puppy Prophet is second to none. Atkins' work appears on nearly every page of the book and the artist does a wonderful job of bringing the colours of autumn and the personality of each dog to life. It is the kind of artwork that appears in commercial galleries, and is of a quality rarely seen in books of this nature.
The storytelling is also of a high standard, with only a couple of instances where the flowery language tripped up this reviewer (and therefore needed a second glance). It is worth noting that the book draws heavily on religious undertones. Lane's intention is most likely to make challenging topics such as "how do I leave a legacy?", "why is it wrong to lie?", "how do I stop lusting over peanut butter?" more accessible and digestible to a wider audience (with a few adaptions to make it dog-situation friendly!) It does not feel overtly linked to a religious message of any kind, but more a head's up.
The Puppy Prophet is a thoroughly enjoyable book, perfect for any spiritualist or dog lover looking for a enlightening read, suitable for a multitude of age groups. Inspiring and deeply reflective, you'll come away from this book feeling a good deal more relaxed.
AEB Reviews