Admittedly, I don’t read a lot of children’s books, mostly because I have no reason to be around either children or their reading materials. Through a random email about trending topics on Twitter, though, I found out about “Marvin’s Shining Star” by Dr. John Otto and his son Payton, and I knew it was a story I wanted to read.
Dr. Otto is a veterinarian in Norman, Okla., and works frequently with the Friends for Folks program that helps inmates train service dogs that are then introduced into the community. It’s a story of redemption on both ends: Rescue dogs get to become something really great and offer their services to others, and inmates in the prisons where the programs are offered want to work harder so they can be the ones that get a chance to train the dogs.
Through the program, Dr. Otto met Marvin, and inmate who committed a crime when he was young and was set to stay in prison for the rest of his life. As the book jacket/Amazon profile says:
Life doesn’t guarantee a second chance, but in turning a rescue mutt into a world-class, search-and-rescue responder, Marvin, an inmate serving a life sentence in an Oklahoma prison, earned his — in the process he inspired other inmates to try and atone for their wrongs. Inspired by a heart-warming true story of a man, a dog, and the prison therapy dog program (originally started by Sister Pauline Quinn in Washington State) that has convinced more than one tough-on-crime advocate that rehabilitation is indeed possible, told by the veterinarian son and grandson of a former acting director of the FBI.
If you have any connection to social justice, those that are incarcerated, or want to make a difference in the lives of the children of the incarcerated, I can’t implore you enough to buy this book, donate this book and share it’s message. Education is incredibly important in breaking the cycle of incarceration in this country, and books like “Marvin’s Shining Star” are imperative in making that happen.
I love this book because it recognizes the inherent human dignity of every person, regardless of their choices. It shows that people (and pups) deserve a second chance, and given support, love and encouragement, they really can make a difference. Marvin certainly did, and will continue to make that difference through “Marvin’s Shining Star.”
I’ve read the book more than a dozen times, and still can’t get through it without crying at the end:
“As for Dr. Otto, whenever he sees the first star in the night sky, he always says a little prayer for his friend Marvin, and then he makes a wish…that all the Stars in the world might get a second chance, just like Marvin’s Shining Star.”
If you are interested in learning more about the awesome work Dr. Otto and the people at Friends for Folks do, you can check them out here.
You can donate to the program by purchasing the book, which in part goes to Friends for Folks, or by making a direct donation here.
Editor’s Note: I originally found out about this book and wrote about it for Linked Magazine, which I am the editor of. Read my original story about the origins of the book here.
PBR & PEARLS 