Summer is in the air! We can’t wait for you to discover these nine captivating books that will make your summer unforgettable! Enjoy this season’s TOP READS as seen in Paw Prints Magazine June/July 2026 edition.
Fourteen beloved authors celebrate the life-changing bond with their canine companions in this heartwarming essay collection edited by New York Times bestselling author and lifelong dog lover Alice Hoffman. Anyone who has ever been fortunate enough to share their life with a dog knows the experience is both profound and transformative. Here, in this charming collection of essays, fourteen celebrated authors share unforgettable tales of the dogs who left their pawprints on their hearts. With contributions from Isabel Allende, Chris Bohjalian, Bonnie Garmus, Roxane Gay, Emily Henry, Ann Leary, Tova Mirvis, Jodi Picoult, Elizabeth Strout, Amy Tan, Adriana Trigiani, Nick Trout, Paul Yoon, and Laura Zigman, The Best Dog in the World captures the full range of the canine-human connection, from the joy of welcoming a new puppy to the heartache of saying goodbye to a beloved friend. A love letter to the loyal companions who enrich our lives and teach us about empathy, joy, and unconditional love, this anthology is the perfect gift for dog lovers everywhere. Scribner Books, Simon & Schuster (March 2026).
From the social media superstar behind @SimonSits, Isabel Klee—known for her heartwarming tales of dog rescue—comes a winning memoir about a twentysomething woman’s search for true love in New York City and the dogs who helped her find it. A Jersey girl by birth, Isabel Klee had always wanted to live in New York City. At age 20, she got her chance, ditching her college upstate and moving into a grungy basement apartment in Manhattan. Dog-obsessed since childhood, her first post-grad job was becoming an assistant to a dog photographer, and something clicked into place: a career focused on helping dogs was the new dream. Isabel quickly found a passion for rehabilitating rescue dogs and helping them get adopted. At the same time, she was caught up in a whirlwind of friendships, parties, fickle boyfriends and grand romances, which she recounts in honest, tender, and sometimes devastating chapters about the search for love and belonging. Isabel’s first true love, though, was Simon, a fluffy puppy who’d been saved from the meat trade. As the highs and lows of her twenties hit Isabel in wave after wave, it was Simon who kept her grounded. Together, Isabel and Simon created a community of dog-lovers and a close-knit group of friends pursuing their dreams. William Morrow, HarperCollins (April 2026).
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A uniquely insightful, uplifting, emotional, and informative book that shows us how dogs make our lives better by making us better people, from the Dogist. Elias Weiss Friedman became known as The Dogist when he took thousands of photos of dogs and posted them online along with their unique dog stories. Even before he was The Dogist, though, he was a Dogist—a fervent dog lover, and an evangelist about the relationship between dogs and humans and the joy this bond brings us in the modern world. Over his decades of studying dogs and their people, Elias has arrived at a deceptively simple realization: Dogs make people’s lives better by making people better. This Dog Will Change Your Life, weaves together stories of the many dogs Elias has been lucky enough to know, both in his personal life and while doing his Dogist work. Told in a light tone that does not shy away from more serious issues (Elias is not above the occasional sentimental moment or dog pun), this book charmingly explores the ways that dogs are not just our family and our friends but also irreplaceable beings capable of generating boundless love and restoring balance to our lives. Ballantine Books (June 2025).
A year in the life of a family as they strike out into the unknown (aka Vermont), leaving all the comforts of home behind—a rollicking, lyrical novel from Pulitzer Prize finalist Daniel Mason, the bestselling author of North Woods and one of America’s greatest living writers. Miles Krzelewski is a devoted husband, a doting father beloved for his outlandish bedtime stories, and the proud owner of a truffle-hunting dog. He is also a bit lost, twelve years late with his PhD on Russian folktales and increasingly haunted by a sense that he’s become a disappointment to his family. So, when his wife, Kate, accepts a visiting professorship at a prestigious college in the faraway forests of Vermont, he decides that this will be the year to finally move forward with his life. But Miles is a man of many enthusiasms, one who possesses, in Kate’s words, a great capacity “to fall in with anyone, anywhere.” And no sooner does he arrive than he finds himself entangled with a cast of characters as colorful as those of any of his folktales. The new friends, the enchanted woods, the histories: sure, no PhD, but all good fun. Until Miles stumbles upon a bizarre—perhaps ridiculous—local legend, which, he soon suspects, might not be just a legend after all. Random House (July 2026).
Get ready to paws and reflect on the timeless glamour of our four-legged friends in Vintage Tails! This award winning 78-page black and white coffee table book invites dog lovers and fashion enthusiasts alike to embark on a delightful journey where canines display style, grace, and a sprinkle of nostalgia. Each page is a tail-wagging tribute to the elegance and sophistication of yesteryears, showcasing America’s Top Dog Models as they flaunt their fabulous retro looks. With a wag of their tails, these glamorous pooches bring to life three captivating categories: Fashion, where they don the latest canine couture; Entertainment, where their playful antics steal the show; and Travel, where they explore the world with a flair that would make even the most seasoned globetrotter sit up and take notice. TriMark Press. (April 2025).
Dog Only Knows is the perfect gift for dog lovers, featuring over 125 irresistible portraits by acclaimed artist Alison Friend—each uniquely mischievous, funny, and full of personality. Meet Midge, who keeps her mind sharp with a Rubik’s Cube. Alan, who looks like a million dollars in his new harness. Lola, whose motto is “People to see, bums to sniff.” Chupa Chops—how did he unwrap that lollipop? The oh-so-earnest Clive, who does everything—biscuit eating, squirrel chasing, ball fetching—with a single-minded focus. Irrepressible Debbie, who loves cocktail night, and Little Louis, a chain-smoking existentialist who can’t stop chewing over the canine condition. Welcome to Alison Friend’s world of dogs, a very special place created by an artist with a unique gift for depicting that ineffable thing we call “character”—dog characters, actually—using oil paint, empathy, techniques of the Old Masters, and an imagination like no other. With their big expressive eyes and Mona Lisa smiles, charming habits and childlike pleasures, the subjects of these portraits seem all too human yet fantastically doglike. Artisan (October 2025).
Ava’s got brains, bravery . . . and a party-hat-wearing magic chicken. Good thing, too, because she'll need all three. When eleven-year-old inventor Ava takes a wrong turn after school, she stumbles into a mysterious building that just happens to be run by an evil scientist named Dr. Heynis. Before she can say “bacon and cheese,” Ava is locked in a cage, surrounded by strange traps, creepy clones, and a whole lot of questionable artifacts. To escape, she’ll have to outwit Dr. Heynis and his trio of not-so-bright henchmen using nothing but her imagination, her emergency BLT sandwich, and the lessons her parents taught her. Luckily, she is not alone. With the help of two new friends and Rocco, a magic chicken with great dance moves, Ava tries to make her way out of the facility filled with riddles, laser traps, time machines, a vicious puppy, and the occasional shark pool. Fast-paced, hilarious, and packed with imagination, Trapped is the debut novel from eleven-year-old Bella Olson. Along the way, readers will find valuable lessons that parents will love and kids will enjoy—like how bravery doesn’t always mean being fearless, how doing things while scared still counts, and best of all that weird is the new cool. BenBella Books (April 2026).
“America’s Government Teacher” and author of the New York Times bestselling The Small and the Mighty pens a hopeful picture book about twelve ordinary Americans who stood up to do the next needed thing. One kind act. One spark of bravery. One big idea from someone nobody expected. In this beautifully illustrated collection, you’ll meet twelve real people from America’s past—some famous, most not—whose choices changed the course of history. You’ll meet María de López, who drove ambulances during World War I and helped win the vote for women. You’ll read about two boys—Norman and Alan—who met at a campout, stayed friends for life, and helped lead the country together. And you’ll discover how teachers, kids, and quiet changemakers made a mighty difference in their communities. With powerful storytelling from #1 New York Times bestselling author Sharon McMahon and vivid art from award-winning illustrator Susanna Chapman, We Are Mighty celebrates courage, character, and the idea that the smallest step can create ripples we can’t yet see. Penguin Random House (May 2026).
This completely captivating picture book celebrates family, tradition…and mangoes! Every summer, the branches of a little girl’s favorite tree droops heavy with mangoes. And this year, she is finally old enough to help her family harvest them. Her brother shares a memory about his first time mango picking: his father holding him steady as he reached high above for the fruit. But when the girl climbs the tree, she becomes too dizzy. Then her grandma shares a mango memory: learning, many years ago, to toss a stone that knocked the fruit from the branches. But when the girl throws her stone, she keeps missing. How can this little heroine create her own mango memory if she can’t even pick a mango? Narrated by a determined young Indian child, and set in a lush mango grove, Mango Memories is a picture book that honors generational traditions and beautifully introduces young readers to a culture with which they may not be familiar. Sita Singh (author), Penguin Random House (April 2024).