When I read Jeanne Birdsall’s wonderful books about the Penderwicks, I was quite taken with Hound. Next time I have a contest, I thought, I’ll use the old “Hound Chooses” method. I mean, if it’s good enough for an award-winning writer, it’s certainly good enough for old Cathy C. Hall. So, here is what happened when I let my hound, Sally Hall, choose the winner for Rachel Dillon’s beautiful book, Through Endangered Eyes.

Notice the two scraps of paper (those are just a few of the scraps of paper with names of the contestants) and Sally nonchalantly looking the other way. Oh, don’t kid yourself. Sally knew what was expected of her. But dang if that dog wasn’t ignoring me.

She eventually deigned to paw a piece of paper with the name…Maddie! So congratulations, Maddie! You are going to LOVE this book! I hope it’ll be a big help in your workshop! (Perhaps by the time Through Endangered Eyes comes in the mail, Sally will be out of the doghouse.)