Heroics

Harley the Hero by Peggy Collins is a special story. Inspired by a teacher named Sherri and her service dog Stanley, readers learn about disability and the importance of service animals in their community.

Harley is Ms Pritchard’s service dog. She has an invisible disability and Harley helps her during the day. He works very hard. Jackson is inspired by Harley and acts almost like a service person to his friend Amelia. When an emergency happens at the school, the children and the community learn just how special Harley truly is.

Teachers, parents and children will be mesmerized by Harley’s story. I love how Peggy Collins Stuart’s off by telling readers that Ms. Pritchard has an invisible disability, leading to so much discussion and learning right from the start. Readers and their adults can discuss the differences between visible and invisible disabilities and the important role animals play in helping people in their daily lives. I also love all of the information about Harley and service animals just like him. Peggy Collins ensures that readers understand that Harley has an important job and needs to not be distracted in order to do that job properly. 

I like that Peggy Collins includes an emergency at school, a fire. Fire drills are something schools regularly practice. I appreciated how she framed the emergency, showed Harley helping Amelia and also best practice when escaping the smoky building. The fire incident doesn’t feel scary, but empowering, showing readers that all the practice they do is important.

Amelia and Jackson are fantastic characters. We see Amelia illustrated wearing headphones during the day so we know that she needs a device to help her feel comfortable at school, much like Harley does for Ms. Pritchard. We also see how Jackson supports Amelia to also help her feel safe, inspired by Harley.

The illustrations in the book, also by Peggy Collins are bright and vibrant! She creates a school environment that every reader will want to join. Diverse faces and abilities feature throughout the story making Harley the Hero a very inclusive story and one that will touch many different readers.