Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Book Review: Logan and the Mystical Collar by Suzanne Burke

by Suzanne Burke
Publisher: Greyhound Stories
Published: July 17, 2013
ASIN: B00E0CNMP4

Amazon Synopsis:

A famous Egyptian queen, a not so ordinary dog, and a bully cross paths to alter the course of history!

After a mystical collar inscribed with hieroglyphics is found in a dusty old antique shop and placed on Logan the greyhound, he is launched into an exciting time travel adventure to Ancient Egypt. There, Logan meets up with a very familiar cast of characters, only he can’t figure out why they don’t know him. His curiosity lands him in a place where there are secrets he must guard or risk being killed!

In this heroic adventure, there are mysteries, clues, suspense, and the Great Race between Logan and his nemesis, Zeus! A race that proves to be more significant than either expect, and ultimately leads to events that change the course of ancient history. 

Written in a timeless style, if you like Indiana Jones, King Arthur, The Wizard of Oz, or Back to The Future, you’ll love this adventure story set in fascinating Ancient Egypt!

Ages 8 to adult

Color Illustrated, 132 pages

*Includes history chapters on Ancient Egypt and educational projects for children to expand their critical thinking and creative writing skills, and vocabulary. Deals with the sensitive topic of bullying.

Book Links

My Thoughts:

Logan awakens to find himself in ancient Egypt with no idea how he got there. Strangely, he seems to be able to talk to the woman there who he discovers is Cleopatra. Also strange is that some of the other greyhounds strongly remind him of his pack mates from home. He notices a distinct difference between himself and the others in that his coat is a light tan and theirs is black. He seems to be rare here.

Logan has several adventures in Egypt which lead him and the other greyhounds into danger. The story attempts to demonstrate the intelligence of the greyhound by having them come up with solutIons to problems that humans would come up with. While this may not be realistic in terms of what a greyhound would actually do, it does get the idea across that the greyhound is a very intelligent and resourceful creature.

Logan is bullied by the pack leader who is much bigger and stronger than he is, but he still challenges him to a race. I liked that Logan did not back down from this bully but stood up for what he believed in and was able to help the bully see that leadership through bullying is not leadership. True leadership is guidance and helpfulness to those you are leading.

There are a number of twists and turns in the story that will keep middle-grade readers interested. I liked seeing the suspenseful parts from Logan's point of view.

Logan's Mystical Collar is a fictional story, but it is an excellent source of information for facts about Egypt, Cleopatra and Alexandria. At the back of the book, after the story has concluded, there are nonfiction sections on these topics as well as information on greyhounds in Egypt and greyhound adoption. In addition there is a writing section with writing activities and vocabulary to learn that comes from this story itself. This short book would make a great addition to a classroom or homeschool setting.

Logan and the Mystical Collar is not a long book, but it is jam-packed with a lot of action and information. Even as an adult I enjoyed reading this book partly because Logan was a real dog (though the events in this story are purely fiction) and because of the facts about Egypt and greyhounds at the back of the book. I think dog lovers of all ages will enjoy this book. I gave it 4 stars out of 5.


Thank you to the author for providing a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. A positive opinion was not required. All thoughts are my own.

About the Author:

Suzanne Burke became involved with retired racing greyhounds after adopting her first retired racer, Allie in 2002. She has over twelve years experience with this breed and has been an active volunteer for one of the nation’s well known greyhound adoption groups, Greyhound Adoption League of Texas since 2002.

Her vast knowledge of this breed comes from fostering, ownership, working with lost greyhounds, and rescuing greyhounds in dire circumstances. Suzanne’s inspiration for writing Greyhound Stories is based on these experiences. Her hope is to inspire others with her stories and share the lessons she’s learned about life, love, joy, overcoming adversity, positive thinking, appreciating the simple things in life, and perhaps living a little bit more in the “now” – all through the eyes of the greyhounds that have touched her.

Author Links
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