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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
Such a sad book, but with a happy ending :) - perfect for animal lovers.
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I read this along with Ezra for his Battle of the Books competition. This is a sweet and tender book about a little boy who wants to adopt a local dog that is being mistreated by its owner. I love how the author explored the relationships of the boy with his family members and with the dog's owner. She did a great job of exploring human nuance and why people do what they do.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I never read this one as a kid, but I probably would have liked it. I liked books where kids had to solve a problem on their own through ingenuity and hard work. In this case, the main character is trying to hide and care for a dog that a local man has been mistreating. He's unusually concerned about all animals for a boy growing up in rural West Virginia, where hunting is expected of him. The book is clearly best suited for classroom discussion, as it poses a number of complex moral questions that aren't really answered in the text, like whether it's OK to lie (or worse) in service of a good cause; if you should feel guilty about seeing other animals mistreated or killed and only working to save one of them; if it's appropriate to feel sorry for someone who's cruel to animals who had a hard childhood. I felt like some of these were skirted around pretty quickly (especially everything that happens in the last chapter) and I would have liked the author to dig more into these morally complex issues if she was going to bring them up, but hopefully in a classroom setting they spark valuable conversation and debate. Nowadays this wouldn't be the first book I'd recommend for a classroom (there are more than enough books about white boys and their dogs) but I'm glad to have finally read this.
This book started my lifelong love of beagles. Rest in peace, Toby and Molly! :)
Occasionally I like to revisit books I read as a kid but don’t remember the storyline. This book was a quick read but I struggled because the setting felt so foreign compared to our present day life in 2024. They had a tv but no telephone. He was paid $2/hour for work. And a kid tromped through the woods with his rifle.
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Not my kind of book!
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
A wonderful little book. I had no idea it took place in West Virginia; having just driven through the state, that was pretty cool to discover. 😊
