Craig & Fred Young Readers’ Edition audiobook

My mom recommended this book for my classroom after seeing the author on a morning show of some sort. The minute she told me about it I bought it because I have a little boy in my classroom who I thought would love it and now that I've read it (to make sure it is appropriate for 4th graders) I would wholeheartedly expect him to tear through it.Mr. Grossi writes about his experiences serving in the Marines as an intelligence officer. While stationed in a combat zone he finds a dog. Well, I guess the dog finds him. The friendly pooch makes himself at home and endears himself to all of those he meets. Mr. Grossi explains how they weren't supposed to grow attached to the mutts that were frequently seen around Afghanistan and how he could have been thrown in the brig when he decided to bring him back to Camp Leatherneck to try to get him sent stateside. Throughout the book he talks about his military experience, how his relationship with Fred was beneficial during deployment, but how it really helped him after her retired from military service. I really appreciate the post-deployment section as it talks about how relationships and acknowledging ones feelings help the healing process. He also shows how returning to civilian life is tough, even in unexpected ways.I would highly suggest this book for 4th grade or higher classrooms and for kiddos interested in military or dog stories.

Every day, I thank those who serve our country. This true story makes us realize some of the problems our servicemen face when they get out of the service. There should be a lot more Freds ( the dog) to help them cope. Well written and a good story. Thank you Goodreads for this book.

Not Just For KidsI read a brief note about this book somewhere and decided to give it a read knowing it is suggested for young people. I am 77 years young, laughed, cried and just loved the book. Excellent, clean read for any age animal lover.

Craig & Fred: A Marine, a Stray Dog, and How They Rescued Each Other (Young Readers' Edition) is a fantastic story for late elementary-eighth grade readers, and I enjoyed reading this story in just a day. Craig Grossi's autobiographical account of his service to our country as a Marine Intelligence Officer and his time in Afghanistan was first published in 2017, and the YR edition followed. I was inspired by the dedication, "For a brief time in my life, I walked among giants. This book is dedicated to those I walked alongside-to those who made it back and to those who did not. My story is not a profession of glory or grandeur; it is about how one person came to realize that it is not what happens to us but how we react that matters." (Dedication) Throughout the first hand account, Craig shares the obstacles he faced and how he overcame them. He was diagnosed with ADHD as a child, graduated high school, attended community college, enlisted, and served four years as a military police officer. He served as an intelligence officer in the Marines and was deployed to Afghanistan. His role was to communicate with villagers and to build a database of peoples' names, tribes, their jobs and families, locations, and to support the efforts of the troop. They endured high temperatures of 115 degrees, limited food, poor sanitary conditions, and carrying 70 pound backpacks. They were stationed near the Green Zone, and every time they moved to a new location they had to fill sand bags and pile them up to protect the troops from Taliban fired rockets, bombs, gunfire, and attacks. There are rules: no alcohol, no saluting superiors (safety risk) and no dogs (they will be euthanized). (p. 15) "Looks like you made a friend!" (p.16) The residents of Sangin had abandoned the area, and the Marines were occupying the area when Craig noticed a single dog, separate from more wild dogs travelling in packs. This dog, whom they named Fred, was affectionate and liked to scavenge for food scraps, and he was playful. Even Craig's superior, known as "Top", allows Fred to eat his MRE leftovers; everyone loves Fred. Craig identifies his mission, " Our mission was to beat back the Taliban, clear the bombs, make the area safe, and, hopefully, supply the area with electricity" (p. 47). There are parts of the account that are difficult, such as when a Marine when Joe was grazed by a bullet, when an Afghani woman is killed from a IED, and when two of Craig's friends are killed in action. While this is revealing more of the story, it is important for gaging the selection for young readers. Craig shares how Fred gave the Marines hope, and the feeling of a connection to home. Craig has to figure out how to sneak Fred onto a helicopter, ship hime to the U.S.A., and avoid being discovered or Fred will be euthanized and Craig could be sent to military prison, "the brig". (p.55)The Marines are fired upon and Craig shows signs of head trauma (p. 92). While he is shipped back to Camp Leatherneck for recovery, he and his friends start planning to evacuate Fred. What follows is another difficult part, where two of his friends are killed in action, and Craig feels terrible. He wonders, "What if..."(p. 131). There are six pages of photos that appear next, to help to shift the mood for the reader and to lead to Chapter 8, "Homecoming". (p. 138) Craig seems to transition well to life as a civilian, delighted that Fred made it safely home and thinking that he should get a job, buy a car, become engaged, and follow a sort of routine for success. He switches it up to follow his heart, enrolls in Georgetown University, rents and apartment, plays ice hockey, and connects with other veterans, including Josh. When Craig and Josh travel cross country, Josh answers questions about his artificial limb and Craig answers questions about Fred, both connecting with other people and learning how to talk about what happened in Afghanistan that was so hard for each of them, as a step toward healing. "The more people Josh and I talked to , the less isolated we felt. The conversations and connections felt good." (p. 183) "Fred came into my life when I needed him most. I rescued Fred once, but he has rescued me again and again." (p. 235). This is a wonderful story, and I would love to one day meet Craig Grossi and hopefully even Fred, and to have him share his story in person.

This book "Craig and Fred" by Craig Grossi, is about a marine who was in afghanistan on a dangerous assignment. While on his mission with other marines he spots a stray dog who seems to look goofy and covered in bugs and overall in bad condition, while also living in a bomb-ridden district. Although the marines have a strict rule of not approaching strays, Craig couldn't help but offer some food and a pat, but from then on they were inseparable. He named the dog Fred, Fred went along on all their missions and through all emotionally tough times with each other. Craig redeployed back to the United States without Fred and was struggling to get in contact with people over in Afghanistan to get him to his new home. Eventually the two friends were reunited after long and stressful months of not seeing each other and Fred was happy with his new family.I chose this book "Craig and Fred" because I was intrigued by the synopsis on the inside cover, I seemed to relate to it. My dad was in the army and based in iraq and now from that has PTSD. My dog Hatchet has really helped him get through that because of how loving he is so I think that was how I related to the book. I gave this book a five out of five stars because it had a real and interesting plot that i could connect some of what i know from my dads stories to the book. The author really puts you in his perspective of how he saw everything and all the violence he had to go through and makes you really understand what he had to endure. He demonstrates the meaning of friendship and how important Fred was to him while also hinting at what life without a best friend would have been like.Another reason I rated this book a five out of five stars is because of the descriptive detail in which the author chooses to use in his dialogue. The author uses the detail to make you feel all the emotions that he is feeling while also putting you in Fred's perspective and what you would think Fred is feeling and thinking. The author also used descriptive dialogue to make the reader feel empathy for him in his situation. This gets you intense into the book and keeps you wondering what is going to happen in the next chapter and makes you keep reading. I've had a dog since I was born and he was my best friend too, so I can relate to the strong bond between man and dog. “Each day, Fred reminded me that a loving, adventurous, and rewarding life was possible if I could continue to choose to be optimistic, even in the face of great calamity or despair"(Grossi 211). This is my favorite quote from the whole book because it really summarizes the friendship of the duo. The quote also brings up the topic of having an optimistic outlook on life and how his new best friend saved him from all the mental downs in afghanistan. This quote is very organic, It just comes from his heart, shows vulnerability and is authentic. He expresses how much this dog really means to himThere are many themes in "Craig and Fred" that you could have taken away but the theme that stuck out for me was the theme of resilience in the face of adversity. This theme stuck out for me because I thought it was a really important topic throughout the whole book. It was a mandatory thing for Craig to be resilient because if he wasn't then he would have been killed when in conflict. He did have Fred to help him along the way and he made sure to stay resilient also and to help out Craig whenever he felt needed, like any good dog would do. Fred also had to stay resilient just like Craig so he could help him and if he didn't then the both of them would have struggled.

** spoiler alert ** Craig and Fred is a true adventure story written by the author about his time in Afghanistan and the dog he found. The main essence of the book is about the friendship and companionship between a soldier and a dog in an active combat zone; and also returning from Afghanistan and dealing with the emotional fallout after his time on the front line.Craig’s job was to gather information about the Taliban (the Islamic terrorist organization in Afghanistan) for the The U.S government. He was based e found a dog that he named Fred- the became companions straight away! Fred even came patrols with the troops uninvited! Once Craig realizes that he really wants to keep Fred he takes a chance and comes up with a plan to smuggle Fred via helicopter back to Camp Leatherneck, the huge U.S military base in Afghanistan. When Craig has to go back to the war zone he leaves Fred in the care of some DHL staff on base, but he is badly injured. After going through physical and mental therapy he asks his sister for help to get Fred home to Virginia in the U.S.Fred was sent to the U.S where Craig’s sister picked him up and started to document Fred’s first experiences before Craig’s pending arrival. He had been medical discharged and would need to restart his life out side the military. He had difficulty resettling back in to civilian life and although he tried, he felt he did not have control of his brain. Loud noises like firecrackers and smoke alarms triggered war zone memories. He realized he was trying too hard to fit in and this was making him unhappy ☹️. He made some huge personal decisions and decided to start over with just Fred.Craig learned to trust other veterans from places like Afghanistan and this greatly helped him in dealing with the raw emotions of losing his mates in combat and the shock of nearly losing his own life. Three years later Craig went to the Veterans Affairs Hospital to seek help for his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. After seeking this help his life started to improve dramatically. He graduated from college, started a new personal relationship and new made new ex military friends. Whilst at college, he went on life changing road trip around the states and this experience gave new hope for life and changed his point of view of his life after war to a positive one.In my opinion, Craig and Fred is an outstanding story about overcoming adversity, and the amazing bond that can occur between humans and animals. It just shows that we need animals animals as much as they need us

Wished I had read the regular version and not the kiddie one. Darn lie-buries! Nevertheless, this was a great story. I love the dog. And the guy reminds me of a few veterans that I have met recently. Makes me want to join the Marines even more. I don't know what I'll do if I can't get that age waiver. That road trip adventure made me green with envy especially know as I'm recuperating from my collapsed lung and watching my own Summer Adventures that I planned go down the drain. Craig talked about wanting to replicate his time in the military with his life after he had gotten out because that was what was familiar to him. I think about my own life and subconsciously I do that too because my whole life I've been apart of groups that have had a mission or goal or done meaningful things (Scouts, sports teams, Church, missionary work, even being apart of local government work, etc).I liked the proper acknowledgments he gave at the end of the book where he explained reason why he was thanking the people instead of just rattling off names with no heart felt explanations.

I must admit up front: I read this book because I worked with & adore Craig's sister, Sarah! When I saw her post on FB that Craig's book was out, I was anxious to get my hands on a copy. WOW! Craig's story is both heartwarming & heart wrenching. As Craig experiences the most horrifying moments of his life, Fred is there. As Craig tries to assimilate back into life after Afghanistan, Fred is there. This is a story of compassion, friendship, hope & love, and one that Craig has blessed the world to know.

I started reading this book for my son who wanted me to read it first to make sure it was appropriate for him. After about 20 pages In I realized how amazing this story is and how incredible both Fred and Craig are. Stories like this need to be told more to young and old generations a like. This book even though geared more towards Craig's time with Fred also gives an honest insight into what Craig went through as well. I highly recommend this book to anyone.

I’m extremely happy I decided to get this book, it took me on an amazing adventure! I know at times it was hard, but they did their best to get through it. I had a hard time putting this book down, it made me smile and cry. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves dogs and appreciates the military.I’m glad Craig Grossi and Fred found each other. Thank you for your service.

This was a good young adult book! The author gave his life story in finding a dog while on a mission. This began a lifelong friendship. After serving in the Marines, he described his civilian life and a trip he took across the United States of America. He also wrote about serving in the Marine Corps.